The Trailblazers - Lecture 1
InsIghT presents the first part of a daily review of the Trailblazers series, a set of interactive sessions with eminent alumni. The guest for 13.10.08 was Mr. Manoj Kothari, founder, Onio Design.
Mr. Kothari started by remembering his days in IITB (he was a 1992 passout of the Mechanical Engineering Department), and said that he was definitely one person in his class that did not want to do the 'done' thing at that time - going to the US for higher studies. Though he initially joined a job related to his degree - in a tractor company - he was always on the lookout for a change.
After a few years at the company, he had an epiphany - he realized that he should be following his heart rather than just looking for money. He evaluated his interests and found that he had always liked art. He joined the National Institute for Design (NID), and finished his degree from there. He, along with his roommate from NID, then started taking on freelance projects related to design. Along the way, Onio Design was formed.The audience responded extremely positively to the lecture - the down to earth nature of Mr. Kothari struck a chord with many people. The question and answer session that followed the main lecture was informal - one got the impression that the students present were taking tips from a senior, which was the aim of the whole session.
The session, which was originally planned to end at 7:30 PM, finally wrapped up about half an hour later, testimony to the interest showed by the audience.
