The fact about the massive Indian conglomerate, Aditya Birla Group is that their strength is the diverse subsidiaries that has managed to impact not only the urban but the semi-urban crowd as well. When one of their brands, pantaloons forayed into the fashion retail business of tier II cities and opened stores in towns such as Guwahati, my hometown, it changed the fashion landscape of the city. Till then I was this young teenager watching Miss India where they would announce Pantaloons as one of their clothing members and I would be awed by it. Pantaloons was an aspirational brand for me as was the case for many of my friends. It was probably the first brand that made me realize the importance of brand value, the impact of brand perception and intention to buy. Every cloth I bought for every single function was insisted that it had to be from Pantaloons. They further changed the way I look at formal wear. Being an MBA student, it is imperative that we dress in monotone business wear. Brands from Aditya Birla Group such as Louis Phillipe, Van Heusen made my otherwise boring formal pieces interesting by incorporating drool worthy cuts and customized fit for the Indian body type. Another habit changer product by Aditya Birla Group was the way Indians carried food particularly lunch to school or offices. With the introduction of brands such as Freshwrapp, it converted a newly introduced product to an accepted standardized product. This was another notable change that I personally remember which brought forth a radicle yet fresh wave.
The inhibitions that are inherent in us or challenges that are imposed due to external systematic factors is easy to recognize, change and overcome. What is difficult is when we do not realize certain inhibitions are incorporated so deep in our psyche that they only appear when we face particular situations in life. Those are the ones difficult to recognize and change. My latent inhibition which I realized was seeped so deep into my belief system that it seemed almost natural, was the fact that I would restrict myself from expressing my ideas because of the fear of being judged or for the fear of my ideas adjudged inferior to my peers. I believe my life has changed for good in the past year. The moment I stepped into the rigor of MBA life, I realized nothing could be achieved if not expressed well. The fact that intense competition coupled with my personal prestige of not letting myself down; proved to be an effective antidote to the poison of inhibitions that plagued my self-confidence. I gained immense confidence in the area of public speaking so much so that I was assigned as an emcee for a ceremony in our Annual cultural fest. I let my fear of stage fright not get the better me and convinced myself enough to walk the ramp in the cultural fashion show of the college. In doing all of this, amists motivating and pushing myself to always strive for more has taught me that nothing is beyond our reach if try enough diligently and consistently.Also, no challenge is greater than the challenge we fight with our own self to better ourselves every single day.