National-Conclave-2014-Jalgaon

A successful show is an outcome of Hard Work of Back Stage Heroes

Here’s a heart-felt tribute to each one of them.

On 26th day of November 2014, when my phone rang three times in a row, little did I know, it was a call from my destiny. I was engaged in an important client meeting and felt a bit irritated with the continuous calls. The number was not on my contact list, and I began wondering as to who may be calling. After wrapping up the meeting, I called back and heard those enthralling words, “We’re calling from ICAI. Congratulations! Your paper has been selected for the National Conclave.”

Hearing those words, my mind raced into the flashback to the moment when I submitted the paper. A friend had informed about the organisation of the event. I was happy to learn that it covered ‘use of MS Excel’ as one of the topics, which happens to be one of my passions. With the intent of giving it a try, I typed out a paper, pulled in some screenshots and sent it to the specified email address.

While the thoughts were buzzing in my mind, a soft voice over phone brought me back to the present. She (Avita Ma’am) asked, “So, we want you to join us for the event and present the paper. Sanchit, would you be able to make it?” It was a moment of great joy for me.

I asked for some time to check with my boss before confirming my participation. I broke the news to him, and Sir generously encouraged me and quickly sanctioned the leave.

Immediately after I confirmed, Avita Ma’am shared the event details. I began thinking about how to prepare for the presentation. After a lot of deliberation I finally called up my mentor, CA Parveen Kumar,  and asked for his guidance. Following his advice and guidelines, I started with the power point presentation.

With an inflow of wonderful ideas from my colleagues, and a lot of hard work, a draft version of the presentation came into being. I gave a mock presentation at office, and received great feedback. I fine-tuned the rough edges and finalized the presentation. Many thanks to Shivani Ma’am, Sharanam and other members of the office team for your valuable inputs and support.

Finally, the Day of the Journey arrived.

On the way, I was thinking about how the things would go and what to expect. I reached the city an hour earlier than the scheduled time and called up the coordinator, wondering what to do next. The coordinator, Sagar, was there to pick me up and dropped me to the hotel. Soon, we drove to the venue and attended the technical sessions on Company Law and Service Tax. It was followed by an Orchestra Performance.We had a great evening with lots of music and dance.

I was scheduled to be the second presenter for the day. The moment I entered the auditorium, nervousness hit me. I almost panicked, when the video embedded in the presentation refused to play. My co-presenters and new-found friends helped me calm down and encouraged me. I finally managed to set the presentation right.

I was just done, when I heard my name announced. Due to some technical difficulty, the first presentation was rescheduled and I was supposed to be the first one. I said a small prayer before getting off my seat and finally took stage. I felt anxiety fade away once I begin with the presentation.

It went on  the point of time where questions were to be asked. Excel being not-so-easy tool, I was expecting a lot of questions. However, there was only one question and the session winded up.

After other presentations, we had a short speech by the Session Guest, where he provided a great feedback on the papers. The lunch hour that followed, provided an opportunity for interactions with students. Overall, it was an experience worth a lifetime.

I convey my heartiest gratitude to the entire organizing team for coordinating such a wonderful event. A special thanks to Aishwarya, Sagar, Ankit and all other members who put in ardent efforts to ensure comfort for the Paper Presenters.

The event was an enriching experience. The joy of being awarded with the “Best Paper Presentation” would have been incomplete without the delight of making new friends. I was unaware that a span of a few hours could help make such good friends.

Thanks a lot Aishwary, Bhavna, Gautam, Pooja, Pritesh, Ritesh, Sai, Shailendra, Subhash, Vidhi &Yogesh for being a part of not only this event, but also for the role of true friends that you all played with your continuous encouragement. It was your company, which made the duration of two days felt short. Needless to mention, it was an experience I shall cherish forever..

Cheers to our Friendship!

Wish You  A Very Happy & Successful Life Ahead..!!

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Authors Note:

1. Conclaves (similar to seminars) are organized by Board of Studies of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) with the aim of imparting technical knowledge to the students and shape their personality by polishing their interpersonal, behavioural and communication skills. The Conclave being mentioned above was the first such event hosted by the Jalgaon Branch of ICAI (situated in North Maharashtra, India).
2. Names have been mentioned in Alphabetical order.
3. Thanks to Twsha Jain for Proof Reading the Article. 🙂