Season Finale - Deepak Mehta - IIMs, Education System, and Indian Society.

The season finale of The Takeaway Club™ is very special because in a lot of ways it exemplifies what this podcast is about - deep, candid chats with interesting, super inspiring people.

It was an absolute privilege to have Deepak Mehta on the show.

Deepak did his undergrad in computer science at BITS-Pilani, Goa, and went to do his MBA from IIM- Ahmedabad. He currently works as a manager at CRISIL.

He is one of the most popular personalities on Quora, where he has over 167,000 followers. he has written almost 4000 answers on the platform on every topic under the sun including Indian society, Comics, Politics, Economy, Education system, Marriages, World affairs.

Deepak is beloved on the Quora platform for his highly researched, incisive, insightful answers that leave you thinking. His ~4000 answers on the platform have been read over 100 million times and he has been awarded the Quora top writer for 5 years straight between 2014 and 2018.

His articles have been published in a number of global media houses including HuffPost, Forbes, Apple News, CNN, Business Insider, The Independent, Yahoo among others.

Personally, I’ve been following him on Quora for years now, right from the time I got into the platform back in my school days - he is one of the smartest persons I’ve had the fortune of learning from; He has had a phenomenal impact on my personality, my ideas, and my ideals.

At ~3 hours, this is the longest episode on The Takeaway Club™ so far - a personal milestone that I couldn't have pulled off, if not for Deepak's patience and enthusiasm throughout. While the episode length might seem daunting unless you are an ardent podcast fan, I promise once you start listening to Deepak, that will be the last thing on your mind and you'll be left wanting for more.

Though the length is not always an accurate measure of a conversation's quality, in this case, it is certainly true, with the episode getting better and better as we progress.

While the entire conversation was like a minesweeper, filled with lessons and takeaways, I was really amazed at Deepak's perspective on society, stereotyping, and the principle of marriage that really strikes a chord with the current climate.

It was an incredible conversation and in a way, a highlight reel of his ~4000 answers from his 7 years at Quora - a condensation of his wisdom in an audio format, if you will.

Given the wide-ranging topics under discussion, and the sheer length of the episode, I thought it'd help to break it down so you can jump around, focus on what you are curious about the most.

The first half of the chat focuses on Deepak's life, his journey - IIM days, the lessons he learned, how his relationship with his father has impacted his life in a profound manner. This is a must-listen, particularly for anyone in their undergrad, or wants to pursue a degree in management and want to hear a candid perspective of someone who has been there and done that.

The second half is all about Deepak's perspectives on delicate topics such as the education system, marriage system, society as such, that makes you see the same old things in a totally new light.

For the show notes, head over to www.thetakeaway.club