Life, believes Naba Ishrat, was all chalked out and set, as she was on her CA course. But, encounters with personnel from different corporate fields made her realize her strengths and hence gave her career a direction
Some things are destined to be, it just takes a couple of trials to get there, feels Naba Ishrat, who after her masters in finance from one of the renowned colleges in the city walks the talk with Corporate Citizen.
She went through three phases of life since her childhood. During her school days she always wanted to be a lawyer. The black coat and the court life fascinated her. But she could not pursue it due to family pressure as this course was not considered noble by her family. She took up accounts (CA), but again that was not her destiny as she moved to finance. She is of the opinion that life is not easy, but perseverance and above all self confidence helps in realizing one’s potential. She jumped guns after CA and went on to pursue her masters which gave her the first stepping stone to make the cut into the corporate world. After getting into Bajaj Finserv as management trainee she moved to Fullerton as the credit manager for mortgage after her MBA.
Naba recalls her earlier childhood days and most importantly the campus placement, the most talked about event in any college campus these days.
Convent educated Naba hails from Kanpur, better known as the leather city, the Manchester of India, the industrial capital of Uttar Pradesh, which also boasts of several business establishments. She completed her schooling from St Joseph’s Senior Secondary School which imbibed discipline in her. This school, with a good learning environment helped her focus on getting her basics strong. Being reserved and an introvert, she never thought facing the public was what was in store for her. Her career in CA made her more focused. During her CA article ship, meeting well-known clients like Air India, Sahara or an MNC made her realize that she was more a management person. And this was the reason for her to take up the management course. But she says, “No, regrets”.
“It was a beautiful journey in this campus. I was blessed to meet some amazing people who made my two years look like a couple of days,” says Naba. There were friends who made things beautiful for her, back benchers like Vidya Dubey and Ramnik Saluja. “They were my strength, they boosted my morale, and going down memory lane is sheer nostalgia.” This was the period where she realized that there was much more in store than just being a CA by profession. Besides friends, her college authorities also played their role in shaping her career. Her corporate interface trips to Delhi, Mumbai moulded her to be among the few top-notch Gen-next in the corporate world.
There was no fear as she knew that if she did everything well, it would be hers. And it was her patience and perseverance which prevailed over all the pressure, as she was in a well-balanced state. With a financial background, it was sweet sound to her ears to hear that Bajaj Finserv was coming to pick up candidates for placement. The best part was the fact that it was one of the best non-banking financial companies (NBFC). The process included a preliminary short-listing of students. She went through a 55-minute personal interview. “The only thing that I had in mind was to keep the smile intact on my face. That I would not let the stress test get over me, and it worked well for me, says Naba”. The end result was her name was at the top of the list.
She kick started her journey with an internship with the State Trading Corporation of India, a body of the Government of India, which was termed as the honeymoon period. “I knew I had to make it big here.” Being proactive and well learned made her the top performer and the center of attention in the conference room as all her work was appreciated. However, because of their policy, the PPO did not happen, but she was confident that better things were waiting for her. And all the best qualities as a professional and more so as a human being saw her move to another NBFC, Fullerton, from Bajaj Finserv. There was pressure, considering that she was too naive for this underwriting segment in Fullerton. But, believing in herself helped her hit the bullseye as a credit manager
Being a Muslim, life was not easy especially when it came to rights and freedom. But, her father, a retired Manager Development Officer at a national insurance company, always believed in girl empowerment, and she owes it mainly to her father as she goes back recalling her father’s words, ‘Beta you can be powerful.’ “My father, mother and my darling sister and my best friend Nishtha have been my pillars of strength,” says Naba.
There were many. Like when she cleared her CA entrance exam despite negative motivation from everyone. Later, when she was also awarded by Lila Poonawalla for her excellence in conducting the HR meet at MBA college, and later when she was selected as the president of the students’ council of BIMM. “The tag of president did not give me that happiness, but it was the love and respect that my juniors gave me on the campus. Remembering me as the perkiest and most caring lady is simply worth living, she adds.”
“The tag of president did not give me that happiness, but it was the love and respect that my juniors gave me on the campus. Remembering me as the perkiest and most caring lady is simply worth living”
Naba with her college friends
Naba with her best friendBy Joe Williams
