Aman Virk is from the Class of 2014. Right after college, he joined the Armed Forces. In this interview he talks about his time at the college, internship at top law firms and joining the Armed Forces.
Shreya Vajpei: Did you always plan to do law? How did AIL happen?
Aman Virk: Honestly, AIL happened to me because nothing else did. I was that typical kid in class XII who gave all the entrance exams he possibly could. So, out of all the exams I cleared destination AIL seemed to be most suited.
SV: What was your law school life and routine like? What extra-curricular activities did you participate in?
AV: Law school life was an extended vacation for me. Since I wasn’t much of a go-getter, the sole aim in life then was to graduate from college with 65% aggregate and a bagful of memories that would last a lifetime, and I think I managed both. I don’t really remember having a proper routine in college.
As far as the co-curricular activities are concerned, I voluntarily participated in a couple of moot court competitions (Surana and Pro-bono). I mentioned ‘voluntarily’ because there was a time when Gagandeep/Amita Ma’am or our seniors would literally hold the 1st years by their necks and push them onto the stage to keep the ritual of ‘Thursday activities’ going. For instance, one fine Thursday, I was coerced to represent Austin house (I always found the house system in AIL really amusing) in a group discussion competition not more than 10 minutes before it was scheduled to begin.
SV: Looking back, what are the things you miss most about college?
AV: What I miss the most are the people. I was fortunate enough to have made some amazing friends in college and just to be able to make ‘scenes’ with them at will seems almost illusive now.
SV: Any memory where you broke a rule in college and got into trouble?
AV: Oh that? Plenty! So, I’ve been suspended twice in college. Once for 6 months from the hostel and the other time from classes. Also, AIL as always was very diligent in writing letters to ‘inform’ my parents about any misconduct. To mention a few, I have received warning letters for intentionally kicking a football with the aim of breaking windows of the Registrar’s residence. Ofcourse, we can have a good laugh about it now.
SV: Upon graduation, you joined the armed forces. Did you always plan on it?
AV: Not till the end of my 4th year. I had interned with a few firms by then to realize that I wasn’t really cut out for a corporate setup. Then I had intermittent plans to prepare for judicial services but I never had the patience to study for it and I always gave up too soon. So at the cost of sounding extremely ironic army seemed to be the ‘safest’ option as it was familiar territory for me.
SV: How did you prepare for the SSB?
AV: I went to Col. Garcha for coaching, who’s a retired army officer residing in Mohali. I honestly believe that I owe clearing the SSB to him. Apart from that, there was a lot of self-introspection involved in order to prepare the interview and my parents and my brother were extremely helpful in conducting mock interviews which made me more self aware and confident. I also brushed up my current affairs before the SSB.
SV: What was the training at IMA like? Funniest incident?
AV: Training at IMA was a memorable journey full of eventful and uneventful events. But I guess the only way to have a good time in the academy while you’re at it is to find humor in misery. So any ‘session’ at IMA would eventually turn out to be funny. Also, since me and my close friend Vishavjit joined the academy together most of our anxieties were sorted.
SV: You’ve been quite a traveller. Please share with us some of your favourite experiences.
AV: The most fantastic trip so far has been the bike trip to Leh when I was in 4th year of college. The experience of sharing mutton rice with Karan Sandhu, Vishavjit Kahlon and Karan Handa and sipping Captain Morgan while listening to Kun Faaya Kun at Darcha (11000 ft) will always be unforgettable.
SV: Given a chance to turn back the clock would you have done anything differently from what you’ve done in life?
AV: Nothing at all. I would just go back in time to experience it all over again.
SV: You have interned at top law firms like Trilegal and Phoenix Legal. In your opinion, is the army better than a corporate job?
AV: No it isn’t. As I had mentioned before I felt I was more suited for the defence forces. However, I have my friends who are working in top firms like Trilegal and from what I’ve gathered from their experiences is that there is a lot of scope of professional and personal growth in corporate setups. Furthermore, at times I do get a little envious of their swaggy lifestyles, fat paychecks and extended weekends.
SV: We found this picture of you. What is the story behind it?
AV: This is from 2nd year when we were suspended from the hostel for 6 months for being found in possession of intoxicating substances (Beer bottles). So we thought it would be amusing if we made t- shirts for it and wear them to college the very next day. Again, it was all about finding humor in misery.
Aman Virk can be reached at virkaman91@gmail.com.
