There are very few “business families” in India who have the recognition and the respect that the “Birla” name commands. Having been founded in 1857 as a cotton trading business, the Aditya Birla Group has since grown to over 35 companies active in over 14 industry sectors. That being said, the greatest presence of ABG in my life has been in the sector of their inception – textiles.
For as long as I can remember, my father has been buying his clothes from Louis Phillipe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England. I still remember how amazed I was as a child when I found that all these brands were “owned by the Birlas”. A few years on, when it was time to buy formal apparel for me in college, my father took me straight to the section of the store that had Louis Phillipe shirts. Since this was my first piece of formal clothing, the brand will forever remain a part of my memory of transition from a teen to an adult.
With the confidence in these brands built for over a generation, I have never bought a formal shirt that does not belong to them. During my next transition phase, when I decided to appear for CAT and go for management studies, I had to buy my first blazer for the interviews at various B-schools. I turned back to Louis Phillipe because I wanted to dress to impress. It is safe to say that I am now a customer for life!
This second transition was laced with a lot of challenges, not anything like the fashion choice above that I knew how to handle! I had planned to go for higher studies since my second year of engineering. I was determined that I didn’t just want to move from one classroom to the next but to gain some experience in the industry in between the two, which would enable me to make the most of what I learned. This proved to be much easier said than done.
After I started working, preparing for CAT became a huge task. I struggled to find the will to study after my regular ten (sometimes over twelve) hour work-day at the office. To add to the stress, I received the troubling news of my mother being involved in a motor accident a few days before the exam. This was a tough time for the family and I learned that if I wanted to achieve my ambitious goals, I would have to go well beyond my comfort zone. I gave it my best and got in the 99th percentile. That was great feeling.
But I had incorrectly thought of CAT as the ultimate challenge for my B-school ambitions. As it turns out, this was only half the battle. An equally challenging task lay ahead. Preparing for the interviews and even getting leaves at the office during times of great work-loads for the interviews was really challenging. This was the time when I seriously considered leaving my job. It was the support of a few of my colleagues that really helped me overcome this challenge. Getting into a prestigious college such as SJMSOM, IIT-B would not have been possible without the unwavering support I had from my family, friends and colleagues.
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