Maharashtra labourer’s daughter to shape her dreams at IIMB

Bharati Amodkar who joined the 2020-22 batch of PGP, the flagship programme of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, has had a remarkable journey. Bharati is the only daughter of a daily-wage earner. She toiled hard and broke societal norms to reach the corridors of India’s most prestigious B-school.

“We lived in a 10x10ft room that we called home. My father was a daily-wage earner then. He traveled from village to village every day selling grains and my mother accompanied him. Their legs shivered carrying quintals of load on their backs. But, at the same time, they had a modern mindset to educate their only child. This inspired me to not just be an observer, but be an effective decision maker too,” Bharati told TOI.

Bharati completed higher secondary education from the zilla parishad government school in her village in Savda, Maharashtra. She recalled how difficult it was for girls in her small village to dream big. “I struggled to get proper resources, guidance and platforms for learning. In class 10, I heard that if I could get an engineering degree from a good college, I could earn nearly Rs 25,000 per month. I made all efforts to crack CET,” she said.

Once Bharati cleared CET and got admitted to Government College of Engineering in Aurangabad, things became easy. The hostel said it would not levy fees if she secured a good percentage. “I managed to maintain good percentage all four years and didn’t have to pay for my hostel stay,” she said.

Bharati landed a job at TCS during campus placement. She then went on to prepare for CAT and made it to IIMB in her second attempt. Bharati says she wants to bridge the vacuum in women’s leadership in management and also work for the welfare of women and children in society.

Source: Times of India