Ideally this post should have been dated – January, 2009, when I should have supposedly got IIM calls once the CAT results were declared! But then, I had managed to screw up a section in CAT yet again! My dream college, like everyone else – Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad (IIM-A) had eluded me once and for all…

On 19 March, 2010 (the date which I will remember for the rest of my life now) – I, as a part of team frontrunners, got a life-time opportunity to achieve one of my long-cherished dreams: If you don’t make it to IIM-A, you beat them! Yes, NITIE vs IIM-A grand finale in Lessons in Marketing Excellence (LIME) at Taj Hotel, Mumbai was the perfect opportunity. The stakes were really high, the competition rigorous and the prizes – just awesome!

The IIM-A team seemed to be having the best marketing combination possible – three guys from 2nd year with marketing specializations and having already secured impressive jobs in the industry. To add to that, the same team was our nemesis in the semifinal round – pushing us to the second spot by a whisker!

Nandan Nilekani’s UIDAI project itself seemed to be the most challenging and arduous case study in LIME till date. And we had the most reputed jury in place with loads of industry experience. Yes, this was not going to be easy.

But then team frontrunners had always believed in the quote – “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going”, always using the underdogs tag to perfection!!

And YES – WE DID IT!!!

After a decent presentation followed by a tricky Q&A round, team frontrunners finally won the LIME competition after an intense battle with the so called ‘numero uno’ – IIM-A.

Yes, my dream had come true and with that an opportunity to be at the chequered flag in the Spanish Grand Prix, to attend the prestigious fast-track BLT (Business Leadership Training) programme of HUL with an international stint, and to be the guest editor on a Storyboard episode on CNBC.

But then this was ‘our destiny’, for team frontrunners consisted of two marketing jewels who are now destined for even bigger things – ‘Abhijit Kamra & Jeeta Das’!!

Well, frankly speaking, its really impossible for me to put on paper the rigour, sincerity and dedication with which both of them dissected each and every case LIME threw at us for the past 4-5 months or so (ya its been a really long time now). But I will give it a try anyways!!!

Always playing the catching-up act, I am absolutely a fan of the determination and unparalleled hardwork with which both of them toiled day-in, day-out, night-in, night-out for 5 consecutive months……………….

In my 25 years of life-history, I have never ever witnessed someone with such passion and infatuation (ya I really cant find another word which conveys the same meaning in a positive way) for marketing case studies. Yes, I was sometimes a little short of time to be completely devoted to the cases, but even if I had spent that much time, still would never have touched the marketing excellence levels set by this awesome twosome!!!

Guys – It really has been an honour of the highest order for me to be a part of such a super-fantabolous team, which was indeed a frontrunner, in its truest sense of the word, all-the-way!!!

Yes, it was a privilege to be a frontrunner that decimated the challenge of top-12 B-schools in the country, across a variety of cases spanning different sectors.

A learning experience to be treasured for the life-time, it really would not have been possible without the super-human efforts of Kamra bond & JD!!!

I don’t think I have done this before, but guys – this blog-post is dedicated to both of you as well as to the team frontrunners which made the impossible-possible!!

When Dreams come true…. Indeed!!!