PART A
Aditya Birla Group is one of India’s largest conglomerates spread across 34 countries in all the 6 inhabited continents. It acts as a holding company for more than 72 manufacturing and services subsidiaries throughout the world employing 120,000 personnel from 42 nationalities. The group had a revenue of approximately US$44.3 billion in the year 2018.
The origins of the Birla Group lay in the second half of the 19th century when in 1870 Seth Shiv Narayan Birla launched a cotton- and jute-trading business in the town of Pilani, in Rajasthan, India. In the mid-1960s, Aditya Vikram Birla joined his father, B. K. Birla, in that branch of the family business, which by then consisted of Grasim, Hindalco, and Indian Rayon. By the end of the decade, Aditya Birla, then 24 years old, was placed in charge of these companies, which formed the core of the Aditya Birla Group and provided the platform for future growth.
Aditya Birla Group is all around us. It would not be a stretch to say that Aditya Birla group is our companion in this journey of life, from cradle to grave. Whether it’s the houses we live in (UltaTech Cement, Birla White Cement), or the clothes we wear (Pantaloons, Grasim, Peter England, Allen Solly); whether it’s the cellular service we use (Idea), or financial services (Aditya Birla Capital/ Birla Sun Life Insurance Co Ltd) ABG products and services are all around us. How profound the influence of ABG is in our life can be understood from the following snippet:
While writing this article I was interrupted by my mother:
“Can you go and get some groceries for me?”
“Sure.”
“Here you go, take this list and get the items from More”
“Ok…. Oh!... Wait….” And then it occurred to me!
PART B
“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”- Joshua J. Marine
Challenges are a part and parcel of life. In fact, challenges, no matter how small, make life worthwhile and help build character and personality. Unless and until we are faced with challenges, we cannot truly understand who we really are.
My days preparing for CAT reinforced one thought “It does not matter how many times we get knocked down, but how many times we get back up”. In 2017, I was working in a leading aerospace company and thought of appearing for CAT. I could not give enough time for preparation as the work schedule was hectic and we had strict timelines to adhere to. Going above and beyond the office hours had become the norm and at the end of the day having any energy left for studies was next to impossible. In such a manner weeks and months went by and then, finally, the D day came. The exam went well, or so I thought. When the results were announced, I had scored well in VA and LRDI but had performed miserably in QA. Thus ended any hopes of getting a B school call.
Things on the work front, on the other hand, were looking up. I got promoted. But that also meant that my responsibilities had increased manifold. So, in the month of June, I had two options before me. First, give up on an education in management forever and continue with my job or second, try to prepare for CAT 2018 knowing that the time I would be able to spare for studies would be even less than the previous year. To be honest, I was tempted to choose the first. But the passion inside me for an education in management refused to budge and I decided to take up the challenge. The months ahead were hectic and difficult, very difficult. But looking back it all feels worthwhile.
Fast forward a few months, I am sitting at my desk writing this article for ABGLP Woo Me Competition and eagerly waiting to begin my B school journey.
#VGSoM #IITKharagpur #ABGLPWooMe