Flights, Panels, and A Fan Following

Spice Jet has been in turmoil. Blame it on bad business strategy or extraneous factors, the ultimate impact is felt down the chain – to the passenger who books a ticket.

The Entrepreneurship Development Cell, a student organization of Vishwakarma Institute of Information Technology, Pune, annually hosts a summit Vishwapreneur which has been growing steadily with each passing edition. This year we decided to kick start the event with a panel discussion featuring 5 entrepreneurs, to be moderated by the Managing Trustee of Vishwakarma Institutes, Mr. Bharat Agarwal himself. A much awaited session, it was set to be high profile from the word Go. That is until Spice Jet flew in, or didn’t.

Exactly a week before the event on Saturday, I got a call from the convener. Since I had been mentoring him over the past month, I didn’t make much of it. “Umm, Nisha di, we have a problem. Bharat sir won’t be able to make it next Saturday. His flight has been cancelled.”

“What?” I said, “Who will moderate the panel then?”

“You”, he replied matter-of-factly.

“You must be out of your mind!”       

“No, I’m serious. We have spoken to him about it.”

“I’ll confirm it with him then.”

I immediately called Bharat Sir and after confirming the news with him I simply asked, “Are you ok with me taking over?”

“It was I who suggested you do it, Nisha.”

“Oh.” Taken aback I gulped and added, “I’ll need your help. Can we meet to discuss the content?”

“Sure. Come over to my office on Monday.”

Over the week I was flooded with a myriad of emotions – pangs of anxiety followed bouts of excitement, as I watched video after video of panel discussions on YouTube. Whatever little spare time I had from work, I spent in educating myself on the nuances of panel moderation. The anticipation was building up and my appetite was going down. Tossing and turning in bed I wondered how to step into the oversized boots of the Managing Trustee of my alma mater.

On my panel I had a veteran from the manufacturing sector, Mr. Umesh Dashrathi, a jeweler from a 135 year establishment Ranka Jewelers, Mr. Vastupal Ranka, dynamic Dy. MD from a leading real estate firm, Ishwar Parmar Group, Mrs. Darshana Parmar Jain, an entrepreneur from Hyderabad, Dr. Anil Kumar Kaza and Vice-President and Chief Scientist R&D, Persistent Systems, Dr. Abhay Jere – all stalwarts in their respective fields to be questioned by a fresh graduate with 6 months of coding experience. What were the odds?

D-Day finally arrived and I was up by 5 am to add that last minute finesse with help from a dear friend, who was kind enough to come to my home in the wee hours just to help me out, lest I make a fool of myself and ruin the opening session of the Convention. However, I was surprisingly calm that morning despite the near panic attack I had the previous night.

At the venue I coolly interacted with all the dignitaries. Even as my introduction was read out for the first time in my life on stage, I felt completely in control. The discussion went very smoothly and fortunately presence of mind and quick wit stood by like bodyguards. We breezed through, both panelists and I, and the session was a hit by verdict of the audience!

If a picture speaks a thousand words, what about a video? Do the math :-)

Post the discussion I was overwhelmed by the generous compliments showered on me by faculty members, participants, the organizers and panelists themselves.

As I was thanking the panelists outside the auditorium a few students came up to me, “Ms. Advani, we have been participants of Vishwapreneur since 2 years. We are big fans of yours. May we have a picture with you?” I felt inexplicably humbled as I clicked a photograph with them, asking them about themselves and offering advice for their future plans.

Still reeling from the ‘fans encounter’, as I walked back to my car, a girl from VIIT stopped me. “Nisha Ma’am, you don’t know me but I know you. You are my role model.” At times like these, I wish the English language offered some words to utter. But, even if it did, I guess I’d still be speechless. I chatted with her about college and her career and told her to stay in touch. 

Driving back home, I reflected upon my journey over the past week – from the phone call to the fans. What if Spice Jet had not been in trouble and Bharat Sir’s flight had landed as per schedule? We often fail to realize that we are mere pawns of a larger game that the universe is playing out. At times it works in our favour, at times it doesn’t. Seemingly unconnected incidents connect down the line. Maybe someone’s cancelled flight can be another's ticket to a new opportunity. So before you start commenting on some corporate’s business mistakes, hold on…there may just be something in store for you!

P.S. : Thank you Bharat Sir! Your mentorship always strikes magic :-)