She is so much in love with the language, culture and people that Sujata Kolekar postponed her marriage date so that she could appear for her examination in Japanese. “I never studied for professional opportunities,” says Kolekar, who is now a senior director at Capgemini in Pune. “After my 10th standard, while I was doing my Diploma in Engineering at the Government Polytechnic in Pune, I had a lot of free time,” she recalls. “I went to a language institute and discovered that Japanese is pictorial. I thought my liking for drawing would help me to learn the language.” Her parents were, however, a ‘little’ concerned about her studies – but they supported her. “They have always encouraged me to explore new thing things,” she explains. Even a couple of years earlier, her father allowed her to study in the ‘only boys’ division from her eighth standard so that she could go in for the technical education she wanted. “He was one of the great futuristic fathers,” Kolekar says. “I am always thankful to my father for having given me freedom to make my own critical decisions.” Having gone on to finish her BE in computers from Pune University, she went to Tokyo for a JMEC (Japanese Market Expansion Competition) business training; programme, then earned an MBA from the University of Melbourne. Back in Pune, she also studied cyber law at Asian Law School. Kolekar worked as a delivery partner in Cognizant Technologies Solutions, where she handled Japan delivery for insurance accounts and also as a delivery manager in Syntel. She spent seven years in Japan as program manager for AXA Insurance as well as Workscope Japan. Between her course in Pune and her stay in Japan, she completed her level 2 in the language, which is just one step below the native level. Her fluency, accent and phraseology have earned her ‘zillions of appreciations from native Japanese speakers’. “Apart from having spent so many years in that country, I have many Japanese friends who have helped me a lot,” she says. “But I keep studying it as I never feel that I am fluent in it. Even at present I am learning it for five or six hours every weekend.” Over the past 20-plus years, Kolekar says, she has seen many changes. “I have seen different worlds in my workplace. I have been inside core Japanese culture, served Japanese and European, as well as American clients. Change is the only constant in my professional life.” Having been in Pune for more than eight years because she likes the city, she explains that her job however requires a lot of travel. That is something she likes too and she has visited about 30 countries. “Though I am based in Pune, I might be anywhere tomorrow as my teams and clients are across geographies and I need to meet them frequently,” she points out.
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Kolekar says she is passionate about Japan and Japanese culture
