Freshers at IIMB try to go beyond their comfort zone

(From left) Ritika Kapoor, Kunal Jain, Reema Kumari, Abhimanyu Timbadia and Ramanuja Desikan CR. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

The new batch for Masters of Business Management at the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore has students from diverse backgrounds. | Photo credit: File photo

The new batch for Masters of Business Management at the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIMB) for the academic year 2026-28 has students from different backgrounds who have faced their dream in different ways.

Overcoming challenges

Born in a small village in Bihar, Reema Kumari (22) is visually impaired. She lost her sight in 2015 when she was 12 years old. “We moved to Noida in Uttar Pradesh to seek better opportunities for studies and medical care. When I lost my sight completely, my family did not know the next step. Saksham, an NGO, helped me learn Braille and introduced screen reading software, independent of computer and phone. Later, I prepared for IPMAT and CAT,” she said.

After clearing IPMAT, Ms. Kumari joined IIM-Rohtak for BBA, an experience that shaped her early understanding of management. “I appeared for CAT in my third year and secured admission to IIMB,” she said.

She hopes to gain meaningful experience in the corporate sector while working to create opportunities and support systems for children facing similar challenges.

Identity enforcement

Kunal Jain, who grew up in Bhagalpur, Bihar, is an openly queer person. He moved to pursue his studies in statistics at Hindu College in Delhi. He noted that studying at Hindu College changed things for him.

“First, I looked for people like me who were successful in the corporate world. But I didn’t find any. Second, I started to express my identity more loudly. I felt lighter than in life,” he said.

After graduation, Kunal moved to Bengaluru to work in corporate companies. “I wanted a career in strategy and finance, in the rooms where decisions are made for the greater good, and that led me to study at IIMB,” he said.

From camera, action to reality

For Ritika Kapoor, the journey to IIMB did not start in the classroom, but on film production sets. “My entrepreneurial challenge and journey began with the independent production of an award-winning short film. Challenging timelines taught me to see each project as a business.”

But she was left with questions about why talented teams performed differently under different leadership and how organizations managed uncertainty and more. “This led me to join the MBA and find answers to my questions through classroom debates, different perspectives from colleagues from different industries and geographies. The program helps me move from experiential intuition towards a more structured understanding of organizations and strategy,” she said.

A big transition

Also part of the new batch, Ramanuja Desikan CR left the comfort of a central government job to pursue his passion. He was a Customs Inspector at Chennai Customs till May 2026 and resigned to pursue his MBA at IIMB.

“The diversity of people and situations at customs helped me appreciate the importance of empathy and authority. I learned that effective governance is not just about applying the rules, but understanding their impact on various stakeholders while maintaining integrity and accountability,” he said.

A significant shift

Even for Abhimanya Timbadia, the shift was significant as he graduated with a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and a Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Science. He graduated from Ashoka University as a gold medalist. “At Ashoka, I worked on post-quantum cryptography research with DRDO. This combination of humanistic thinking and technical fluency shaped my career choices,” he told The Hindu.

Published – 02 Sep 2026 21:49 IST