So in no particular order, today I’ve decided to share with
you Kruti’s experience at Sandarbh. Here goes…
Me: Hi Kruti! Tell us all a bit more about yourself
Kruti: Hello! I’m Kruti Shah and I’m from Vadodara, Gujarat.
Before coming to Sandarbh I definitely considered myself to be an introvert,
but now when I’m interact with different people from different parts of the
county, I realise how talkative I actually am. Shifting to a new city has been full
of mixed emotions for me – excitement, anxiety and of course a wish to explore
as much as I could.When I got here, I felt like I already knew everybody. There
were no strangers and I genuinely didn’t feel out of place.
Me: Exactly! I can relate to that. Through all the social
media interactions, even I felt really familiar with everyone. But tell me,
work-wise how was your initial experience in office?
Kruti: My first day itself felt like a roller coaster ride.
It was a day full of site visits and lots of talking. I travelled through
Bangalore and familiarized myself with the on-going sites. Interacting with Sai
was like talking to someone who had known me forever and that helped me open up
more.
As interesting as the first day was, the first week and a
half was a little difficult for me. The people around me were friendly but it
took me some time to adjust to the work environment and how everything was done
in office.
In our initial interactions, I had pointed out that my field
of interest was Project management and even though I tried my hand at other
things, I started enjoying most only when I was put onto the project management
team. The first few days I worked on designing spaces and resolving drawings
but I couldn’t entirely involve myself in this. I even designed a page for the
Sandarbh website. This was fun but I still didn’t feel completely engaged. But
I found my place when I was introduced to how project management works – how task
lists are made, what their purpose is, the level of detail that one must keep
in mind while documenting work on site. Arjun, you and I were assigned to
manage the work at 3 different sites. I was given a project in Whitefield which
was at the interiors stage. Initially, I hadn’t seen the site but only had an
idea of it from the sketchup models. I was ordering materials for the site,
making calls for quotations, communicating with the people working on site as
well as material vendors. With all of this activity, even though I hadn’t been
to the site, I was somewhat able to connect the site with the drawings.
Me: So did you eventually get a chance to go to the site?
Kruti: My first day in office was just an introduction to various
sites. The first opportunity that I got to visit a site was a project in
Narayanpura. Arjun was more familiar with the site and I went with him. At
first I just looked around, taking in the overall design, the spaces, the
elements. I observed Arjun as he made a task list and took a few photos here
and there. I hadn’t seen the drawings of the project before and so I did feel a
little confused. I certainly wasn’t 100% sure of what was happening.
After that I got an opportunity to visit the site at
Whitefield with Akshay. Since I’d been involved with this site I did have an
idea of the design and the activities on site. I had interacted with the
carpenters on the phone before this, but that day I got to communicate with
them in person. A lot of questions were asked and I didn’t know the answers to
them all. I realized that I should make an attempt to know more about how
things are done on site. Akshay and I made the task list together. The difference
was that he was also paying attention to the smallest of details. This was the
extent of observation and inspection that we had to get to. After all, the
details are just as important as the big picture.
I was better prepared the next time I went back to
Whitefield. I was more aware of how things work and how to deal with the people
on site. Today a lot of work was going on simultaneously. Stonework, carpentry,
electrical and paint – each activity was taking place with the effort to
complete the project as soon as possible. With so much happening, I did feel
some amount of friction on site but nonetheless the work was going on.
Being on site is very different from being in office. It is
more tiring but I also get a lot of exposure to sites as well as the various
aspects of Bangalore – the rain, the sun and the scenes.
Me: Wow! Your first month seems to have been pretty action
packed, full of ups and downs. What are you expecting out of the remaining
months of internship?
Kruti: I can’t say for sure but I feel like I’ll get better
at dealing with different kinds of people from different walks of life –
whether it is Sai in the office, the vendors I’ve been calling for materials or
the people working on sites. This would certainly help me in the future. I also
feel like I’ll get better at managing things – which I hope will reflect on how
I manage my college work when I go back. What I can say for sure is that I
already sense a difference in my ability to communicate with people.
Me: I’d certainly agree with that. Anyways before we wrap
up, any last words for our readers?
Kruti : I don’t quite know what to say but I look forward to
each day being interesting and full of fun!
-Mannat
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