Years ago, I got through my dream MBA college – MICA. At the beginning of it all, there was a short one month orientation program. One of the professors during that program was Deval Kartik and I used to enjoy her classes. Sadly, we didnt get to be taught by her later.
Batchmates, phone bills and the pathways would testify that over the next two years Yours Truly spent all his time being madly in love, and playing cricket.
Yesterday almost ten years later since I first entered the college, I got a message from a tripper. He studies in IMT Dubai, and excitedly told me that he was sitting in a Strategic Brand Management class, and the professor mentioned my brand and me, while explaining differentiation in industry.
I had never ever imagined that I’d ever be on a slide in an MBA classroom. Six years back, when I started this brand This Guy’s On His Own Trip, I had only wanted to travel.
All we have done in the last six years is to try and enjoy as much when we do group trips, pose like SRK, pat a lot of doggies, sit under the stars. And when we could, draw people out, make them think, laugh, talk, dance. And hugged them a lot, and smiled and cried with them.
But I had never expected that one day someone would use me as an example. I have not entered a corporate office in years, I don’t remember MBA models, in six years I haven’t spent a coin on media advertising, nor do I know who heads what brand. I was sitting in a discussion with an AVP of Hotstar and there was a discussion on Reach of the brand. The only reach I understand is how many thousands of people I have hugged on trips in the last six years.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Deval maam. I don’t think I deserve the honour but my mum felt very happy when I told her about this 
