IIM graduates who left cushy jobs to follow their passion
What's the story
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are the most sought-after business schools in the country that provide quality management education. At IIMs, most students dream of landing jobs at top companies with fat pay packages. But, there are some IIM graduates who gave up jobs to pursue their dreams and follow their passions. Here are five such IIM graduates you should know about.
#1
Famous cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle is an IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus
Renowned Indian cricket commentator, Harsha Bhogle, is an IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus who chose to pursue his passion as a career. After completing BTech from Hyderabad's Osmania University and PGDM from IIM-Ahmedabad, he worked for an advertising agency and a sports management company for four years. However, Bhogle, who started commentating at 19, gave up his job and went on to become a celebrated cricket commentator.
#2
IIT-IIM alumnus Vinayak Lohani, the Founder of Parivaar ashram
Vinayak Lohani, an IIT-Kharagpur graduate and IIM-Calcutta alumnus, chose to work in the social space instead of a corporate career. In 2003, he founded Parivaar, a free residential school for poor and vulnerable children, including orphans, street children, child-trafficking victims, etc. He had briefly worked for Infosys before joining IIM-Calcutta. Parivaar, which was started in West Bengal, has expanded to Madhya Pradesh too.
#3
Novelist Amish Tripathi used to work in financial services industry
Famous novelist Amish Tripathi is an IIM-Calcutta graduate who decided to pursue a writing career after working with top companies in the financial services industry. He is best known for the Shiva Trilogy and Ram Chandra Series. He worked with top firms like Standard Chartered, DBS Bank and IDBI Federal Life Insurance for nearly 14 years, before beginning his writing career.
#4
Popular author Chetan Bhagat is also an IIM graduate
Popular author Chetan Bhagat is an IIT-IIM alumnus who also chose to follow his passion for writing. He graduated from IIT-Delhi and did MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad in 1997 following which he worked an investment banker with Goldman Sachs for nearly 10 years. Bhagat is the author of a number of bestselling novels. He is also a columnist, screenwriter, motivational speaker, and TV personality.
#5
IIM graduate Krishnna Natarajan is a noted Hindustani Vocalist
Krishnna Natarajan is an IIM graduate turned Hindustani Vocalist from Mumbai. He is the founder of the music foundation, Rageshri Foundation. Natarajan, who pursued a bachelor's degree in electronics engineering, later earned an MBA from IIM-Kozhikode. He had earlier worked as a teacher, trainer, consultant and management professional for several educational organizations, including Career Launcher.