As the breeze slipped through my fingers, the wind playfully danced with my hair while I sipped filter coffee on a lazy Sunday morning sitting. The flurry of air was subtle, yet all pervasive. Aditya Birla Group is that air which we breathe every day, infused seamlessly in the day to day lives of a million people by making a wide spectrum of offerings encompassing finance, clothing, infrastructure and innumerable more. Their social initiatives towards solar power plants, midday meals and support to running medical camps is transforming the Indian landscape.
ABG has been instrumental in shaping my life and holds a special place in my heart. As I hear the name of this mammoth conglomerate a sweet bell rings in the corner of my head which instantly associates this brand with home calling and childhood .The cauliflower and potato wheat roll, tightly wrapped by my mother in SUPERWRAP foil as she ran across the house packing it in my steel tiffin box, oozes learnings with respect to the importance of healthy food needed to be packed safely in a child’s life. This was followed by stealthily tearing the aluminium foil between school classes and munching on the warps. The accompanied distinctive sound of the crackling foil brought smiles on the faces of the hungry and giddy classmates, who would begin with the lookout session for the prospective open tiffin boxes. This is something which fills me with joy even today as I pack my lunch in their foil, see a group of children waiting for the school bus or even see warps in the menu card of restaurants knowing the importance that SUPERWRAP has in my life, keeping the freshness of food and childhood memories intact.
B) Challenges in the guise of opportunity to excel
As rightly captured by Rumi, “If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?” . The essence of life comes from the challenges we face and how we deal with them to come out victorious. As I trace back my life journey and recount the challenges that I have faced, one of them out shines. Being from a defence background, I got the opportunity to grow up in different parts of the country, appreciating diverse cultures. However, often the postings were in the middle of the academic year demanding greater determination and rigour to excel. However, in my primary school, we were posted from Coimbatore to Pune in January thus, with close to 2 months before the finals .The challenge intensified as not only did the city changed but also the board, books and syllabus.
Initially I was overwhelmed by the sheer quantum of work that needed to be put in by a 10 year old. However, I did not allow it to undermine my inner drive to try and excel even in adverse situations. With dedication I prepared the time table and allocated time to each subject. With continuous effort, regulated breaks, support from my family and positive outlook I not only became a rank holder but also managed to balance the time to take enthusiastic part in the annual day by essaying the role of a sapling in the school skit! I hold this incident close, to remind myself that the light of my ambition is brighter than the challenges of changing circumstances which cannot dim my sense of purpose and goals.