Aditya Birla Group has been a part of everyone’s life at some point in time. And for me, it has always been there, whether be it buying trending clothes from Pantaloons in my younger days to buying professional suits and shirts from Peter England, Louis Philippe and Van Heusen. From having lunch packed in Freshwrapp aluminium foils in school days to using Idea Network for the last 10 years. Also, the iconic marketing campaigns such as “Walk and Talk” and “What an !dea, Sirji” for Idea Network are some of the memories from my teenage years which used to be on every person’s tongue back then.
One brand that I have been associated with for many years is Allen Solly. It was one of the favourite clothing brands of my father. Being a naughty child, I used to wear his over-sized Allen Solly t-shirts and roam around and he could not do anything about it but smile at me. I used to feel special as wearing those polo t-shirts as it helped me grab my father’s attention towards me. When I was in 12th standard preparing for the board exams and shopping for the school farewell, he bought a blazer from Allen Solly and said that now you are about to enter a very scary world where people will try to pull you down at times and wearing this blazer will give you confidence to fight and rise above it. At that moment, I felt more confident than ever which motivated me to perform good in the board exams. After that I joined a government engineering college in Delhi and aspired to work in the corporate world. During the final year of engineering, I was working hard to get a good placement and make my parents proud but I was not able to convert the first two companies that came on campus. I was disheartened and started believing that I was not good enough to get a job. My father supported me throughout and finally I got the highest package on the campus. I still remember that my mother cried out of happiness and I saw pride in my father’s eyes when I gave them this news.
Then, I graduated from engineering in 2016 and started a new phase of my life in the industrial world going away from home for the first time in my life. Initially, I was unable to adjust in the new environment but my parents gave me strength to survive and have a positive attitude towards work. The day I received my first salary, I took a leave and boarded the first train to see my parents. I went home with gifts for them. I gifted an Allen Solly jacket and a suit to my father and he could not express his happiness in words as his son had bought him something from his own earnings and that too from his favourite brand. It gave me a very different kind of feeling of joy to see his face and all those memories of my childhood flashed in front of me where I was teasing him in a funny way wearing his large t-shirts.
I always gave my best to fulfil my parent’s wishes and be available for them every time. But something happened in August 2017 which shook my family to core. My father was diagnosed with Acute on chronic liver failure and was hospitalized. We gave in everything to help him recover from it but his medical condition got worse with time. Even in his deathbed, he used to smile at me and give me courage and confidence to take care of my family. He left this world on 23rd September, 2017 and that day, I felt like I had lost my world and there is nothing ahead. But I had to act strong to give strength to my mother and sister in those hard times.
After his death, I took the responsibility of looking after my family and supported my mother and sister in every difficult phase of life. Also, both of them are the pillars of my strength and have been very supportive in every life decision. Whenever I feel low and disappointed, I open my father’s wardrobe and wear his Allen Solly clothes which now, are not over-sized. This reminds me of what he said to me about facing this scary world and gaining confidence to overcome that fear.
Now, I have entered into a new phase of my life as an MBA student and I still connect with Aditya Birla Group’s brand Allen Solly and the impact it had in various points in my life. I will always cherish this relationship with the brand which my father built at first place.