Vijaysinh Parmar & Ashish Vashi | TNN
Ahmedabad: The view that he gets of the IIM-Ahmedabad campus is from a tiny hole in the boundary wall through which he delivers cups of tea to the students and faculty inside. But when Rambhai Kori, 51, who runs a tea stall near the IIM-A gate, sat in a classroom on Thursday on a chair meant for professors, the chaiwalla had arrived in life.
The moment captured the strong links with Rambhai’s kettle (RBK, for short) cherished by every individual who has been to this premier business school in the last 25 years. The bond got cemented on Thursday in a paper titled ‘RBK—A Role to be Understood’ presented in the Faculty Development Program-08 at IIM-A.
Rambhai, who still remembers his first customer Omprakash Manchanda, seemed at home in the classroom when Umesh Neelakantan, Sonal Katewa and Jaspreet Ahulwalia made a presentation on him. He made interventions during the discussions and spoke confidently. The comfort level came from the fact that there’s hardly anyone on campus he doesn’t know by name. And it’s not without reason that the alumni have been staying in touch for years together on www.rambhai.com. Students described him in the presentation as “light hearted, simple and loveable’’. “His way of talking and mingling with students and delivering products to clients says so much about his time management,’’ observed Katewa. “Rambhai is a great human being and a great brand by himself. Relationships are the life and blood of his business,’’ said Ahulwalia.
Within minutes of the presentation, Rambhai was back at RBK. “Maja aaya,’’ (I enjoyed it) he remarked to his clients, as he served tea. “I interact with these students every day, but it was a different experience doing the same on the other side of this boundary wall.’’
The moment captured the strong links with Rambhai’s kettle (RBK, for short) cherished by every individual who has been to this premier business school in the last 25 years. The bond got cemented on Thursday in a paper titled ‘RBK—A Role to be Understood’ presented in the Faculty Development Program-08 at IIM-A.
Rambhai, who still remembers his first customer Omprakash Manchanda, seemed at home in the classroom when Umesh Neelakantan, Sonal Katewa and Jaspreet Ahulwalia made a presentation on him. He made interventions during the discussions and spoke confidently. The comfort level came from the fact that there’s hardly anyone on campus he doesn’t know by name. And it’s not without reason that the alumni have been staying in touch for years together on www.rambhai.com. Students described him in the presentation as “light hearted, simple and loveable’’. “His way of talking and mingling with students and delivering products to clients says so much about his time management,’’ observed Katewa. “Rambhai is a great human being and a great brand by himself. Relationships are the life and blood of his business,’’ said Ahulwalia.
Within minutes of the presentation, Rambhai was back at RBK. “Maja aaya,’’ (I enjoyed it) he remarked to his clients, as he served tea. “I interact with these students every day, but it was a different experience doing the same on the other side of this boundary wall.’’
CUPPA OF JOY BRIMMETH OVER: Rambhai Kori at his tea stall outside IIM-Ahmedabad
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment