ISB Hyderabad – A Month Already Gone!

Akshay Chaturvedi

ISB: the place I always wanted to be, the place I never believed I would make it to, I made it to. And I’ve been here for a month now.

Modi-guy, BJP representative and collector of nicknames

In the first week, they said I was a fantastic actor, specializing in Arvind Kejriwal. The week after, I got called a ‘baby doll’ by a few ungenerous female colleagues as we danced the night away. Then, I got branded as ‘Modi-guy’, and all things Bharatiya Janata Party were redirected to me. The congress-supporting economics professor labelled me the official BJP spokesperson at ISB.

Then the struggle with academics began. My quad mates became my family and I soon got another tag: the ‘bakchodhi king’ (bakchodi is Hindi slag for gossip), because of my relentless love of making conversation and talking – but at least I talk sense! Assignments ended late in the mornings and our laughter filled the building every time we got together.

The BJP wasn’t the only party I was involved in; there were parties all the time. Parties that helped us know each other more and which will possibly form the basis of connections with each other and with ISB for years to come.

A scorpion strikes at ISB

And in all that awesomeness – one thing stung. And it stung badly. Actually, it wasn’t just a thing. It was a living scorpion!

On the way to my accounting examination, one of these wild guys stung me, and how! The pain started to radiate up – to the knees, to the thighs, and then to the chest. An ambulance was soon rushing through the newly-developed roads in this part of the Hyderabad, the kind driver telling me I would be fine soon. Once at the hospital, a team of fine doctors were looking into the case and trying best to neutralize the poison that was fast spreading in my body.

A dozen drips, injections and visits from awesome friends later, I was just fine. While I was reminded again and again of how close a shave this was, the love and affection I had earned in these three weeks was more than apparent. My mother’s old adage, “be good, come what may, it pays” seems to have been borne out.

Modi-guy, alive and well

So here I am. Alive, kicking, representing the BJP and channeling my inner Narendra Modi. Surrounded by lovely friends. And raking up another business idea.

I still love ISB, and the fact that people compare me to Modi (with whom, of course, I cannot compare), and the fact that this place is extremely fun – as long as you want it to be and happy to work at a certain top consulting firm, which starts with ‘M’ and recruits heavily here. I still love the fact that this place helps me learn so much every day, mostly in the discussions I have outside the classroom.

And yes, you won’t catch me wearing the shorts and slippers again. Once bitten, twice shy. One month gone, 11 more to follow. Let’s see what you got, baby!

About Akshay Chaturvedi

Akshay Chaturvedi is currently pursuing an MBA at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, where he was democratically elected as director of the graduate student board. He turned down an offer from the University of Oxford due to his commitment to Indian growth and has worked with the BJP, assisting senior leaders in their campaigns and leading manifesto outreach programs. He spent most of his pre-MBA career at Ernst & Young and has also worked with KPMG and AIESEC, as well as cofounding an international non-profit ecommerce initiative, IndiaIndulge, which has partnerships in 17 countries and local outfits in North India. He also founded the Hyderabad branch of Global Shapers: World Economic Forum and has been recognized by LinkedIn as being among the world’s top networkers.