During the summer of 2006, Karan Attri received an offer that many only dream of. As a school kid in the fifth grade, he was shortlisted to play the lead role in a television soap called Golu ke Goggles. After an extended period of screen tests spread over several months, he passed muster and very soon the soap was being aired on Star Plus. It did not take long before he became a star in his school in Shimla.
A few months earlier, he had been noticed by Ranjit Kapoor of the National School of Drama, during a two-minute role in Ramayana. He often had to shoot for the soap in Mumbai the hub of India’s entertainment industry.
As the soap rolled out for the viewers, Karan became an established name in the school. Such was his passion for drama that he even headed the Dramatics Society at Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology, Delhi.
But Karan was determined that he wanted to make a mark managing a business, and acting was always going to be a hobby for him. Now, with one year of classroom learning at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore behind him, Karan is a Mantra intern at
“There is an aura about
If the acting stint for the Star Plus soap was like living a dream, Karan may have got another dream opportunity as an intern at
Each Mantra intern works on a specific business-related project. We use their millennial mindset to explore business areas wherein we need fresh views and innovative ideas,” says Manu Wadhwa, Vice President, HR and Services,
The Mantra Summer Internship Programme has been developed to suit the unique needs of
For the current batch of Mantra interns, there was a classroom session where they were introduced to the company. They were briefed about the Fruit Circular Economy and the Support My School programmes. Over the next 60 days, each of them have been given a clear deliverable, with a mid-term review to be included.
The final review is spread over the last two days and projects are presented to the president of the business unit. The top five projects win a substantial cash prize.
Diverse background to the fore
When Mumbai-boy Vinit Shetty took a one-year break after graduating from NIIT University in computer sciences, he was considering a career in filmmaking, a passion he had grown up with. It helped that there was no pressure from his parents for choosing a particular career. He had found time during school and college to become an Arsenal fan, and looked up to champion sportspersons like Lionel Messi, Roger Federer and Sachin Tendulkar (in no particular order) as his heroes. He joined XLRI at Jamshedpur, one of India’s premier B-schools, and
“Winning can happen but it is the process that is so important. How hard you can push yourself for it,” he says, while taking a break from the HR-related project he is working on.
As a school kid, Ozair Hamdani was used to plotting his moves on the chessboard in faraway Botswana, where his family had settled when he was barely seven. After earning a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, Ozair found himself at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, learning the ropes of managing a business.
Little did Ozair know that one day he could be pursuing an internship programme at
If Ozair returned to his Indian roots, Swati Sharma is still not sure of which place to call her own. Daughter of a paratrooper with India’s defence services, she has seen the remotest locations across India thanks to her father’s work profile. Among them were schools where there were no separate rooms for different classes, and even those with no tables and chairs, where the kids sat on gunny bags on the floor.
“I will do everything, and more, at work that can help me achieve my passion. That is my sole aim and that is why I have to do very well,” says Shashwat, head firmly on his shoulders.
The passion that the young professionals bring to
Scratch beyond the surface and you will notice that the Mantra interns carry the values of persistence and agility, and share a passion for the brands that
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