The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : This vibrant youth seems to have time for everything

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 05, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

This vibrant youth seems to have time for everything

"I was amazed at their (the Chinese's) economies of scale. The value for money is unbelievable in terms of physical purchase of products"

Her areas of specialisation range from mergers and acquisitions to dance and French. She seems to have time for everything.

Divya Ramachandran, who represented the country as part of a delegation of young achievers, talks to Meera Srinivasan about China's achievements.

Divya Ramachandran, Vice-President, Helios & Matheson Information Technology Limited, represented the country as a `distinguished young professional and entrepreneur' recently.

She was part of the Government of India's delegation to China, which included a hundred other young achievers from different walks of life.

They visited Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xian between October 8 and 17 to get a feel of the country's culture and way of life.

Divya Ramachandran

The 27-year-old heads the `acquisitions and mergers' division at Helios & Matheson.

An economics graduate from Stella Maris College, Divya later went on to pursue management studies at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad.

Well versed in French

When her father acquired Tact Inc. earlier this year, she became one of the youngest members of a NASDAQ listed company. Divya is well versed in French and teaches at the Alliance Francaise.

Having travelled widely, she draws inspiration from business professionals across the globe.

So what fascinated her the most in China? While you are expecting the `Great Wall of China' (which the team visited) for an answer, she would take you by surprise, for she is in total awe of China's hardworking and enterprising businessmen.

"I was amazed at their economies of scale. We have heard a lot about their manufacturing excellence, but the value for money is unbelievable in terms of physical purchase of products," she says.

She is also quite impressed with their infrastructure. "Shanghai is like New York. It is amazing how they have managed to construct beautiful eight-lane highways and the kind of buildings they have with our kind of population," she exclaims.

However, she feels the Chinese have always had reservations in speaking what they really felt. She says, "Most of us here speak our minds, don't we?"

A dancer too

Divya is a Bharatanatyam dancer, trained under renowned dancer Sudharani Raghupathy.

She enthusiastically recalls the opportunity in China where she, along with other delegates, performed an impromptu fusion dance number.

"We did not have any time to rehearse. We quickly discussed what we could do on our way to the venue."

The youth exchange programme was initiated in the wake of `India-China Friendship Year 2006' by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

The group had young achievers from fields as diverse as sports, academics, social work, art, media, local body administration, entrepreneurship and special abilities.

Grandmaster Aarthie Ramaswamy was the only other delegate from Chennai. All States (except Arunachal Pradesh) and Union Territories were represented.

A similar delegation from China would visit India in November.

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