In the quest of joy, food and family

My name is Ajinkya. I joined GUS Education India in the year 2018. It was the time when GEI was still taking off as a full-blown in-house digital marketing agency. Little did I know that this association with GEI will go on to become a more personal relationship than a professional one.

Prior to GEI I was servicing Fortune 500 brands at major multinational companies. While it was quite intoxicating to work for global brands in popular conglomerates, I craved for meatier role at work – a place where I could explore campaign strategies directly and track results in real-time. GEI offered me that opportunity. It is thrilling to see the contribution we make in building a brand in the digital space – my way of finding joy and drawing satisfaction from the work I do.

In March 2020, pandemic changed the course of lives for everyone. People like me, who lived away from their families in far off cities and relied on takeaways for food had to deal with a pressing concern – arranging meals. After we went into total lockdown, I realised that the only food item I could cook using my induction stove was – instant noodles. And no, it was not because of the lack of cooking skills, but the unavailability of cooking essentials like pots and pans that there was this hopeless possibility of me eating instant noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner for days at length! It was quite a disturbing thought, to be honest.  Travel restrictions made it all the more worse as there was no way I could have travelled back to my hometown to be with my family. This was when I spoke to my reporting manager Jessie and told her about the situation.

“It’s a rush of nostalgia all the way to think about those days now...lockdown would have turned into a nightmare had Jessie and Nikhil not come to my rescue!” - Ajinkya Kanate, Manager, PPC Team

Call it my stroke of luck, Jessie happened to have basic kitchen essentials with her which she hadn’t used for the longest time. She offered to share them with me and sought our business head Nikhil’s help to find a way to get all the utensils delivered. Within minutes of speaking to Jessie about my issue, Nikhil called up to check on me and assured that everything will be taken care of. And just like that, within a span of few hours I was able to set up a small, little kitchen in my apartment! That day I cooked Suji Ka Halwa and Uttapam to celebrate the blessing of good food throughout the lockdown. My mom was more ecstatic than me and thereafter, she found a more pertinent reason to call me multiple times a day – to guide me through cooking. Those days have now become some of the most cherished memories for me.

Reflecting on the years gone by, I feel happy that I chose to work for GEI where I found more meaning and joy at work and a family away from family. Nurturing human relationships at an organisation doesn’t require grand gestures, it is the little things like checking on your employees in the times of need that foster the feeling of belonging – something I am grateful for and will always be at GEI.