PART A
The Aditya Birla Group is among the few groups that can not go by unnoticed. It doesn’t matter what products you like to consume; chances are your path have crossed ABG some time or the other. Currently active in 14 industry sectors and a global leader in several businesses, CSR and sustainability do not fall out of focus in the race of being at the top. As one would expect, ABG plays a significant role in my life, majorly because of its clothing brand – Van Heusen.
Van Heusen, which has become my go-to brand, justifies the tag line, “Power Dressing.” It is one of the brands I can always rely on to find a suit with the perfect fit. To some, this might be a superficial and shallow reason to have something as a big part of your life, but what they overlook is the ability of a well-tailored suit to bring out a change in the confidence of a person. I am no different. Generally looked at as a person low on confidence, clothing by Van Heusen has brought a general change in my body language that allows me to depict confidence with non-verbal cues.
Another reason for ABG playing a big role in my life is the CSR activities that the group is involved in. From education to healthcare, ABG works in 5000 villages, reaching out to 7.5 million people annually. ABG is also working at creating model villages and has selected 300 villages for the same, out of which 90 have already reached the level of model villages, making them self-reliant in every aspect.
PART B
Every road you take is riddled with speed breakers and obstacles. Life is no different, and each person faces obstacles in some way or the other. Every individual has his/her ambitions that they work towards achieving. I, being no different, have faced obstacles in reaching where I desire to be. One of the ambitions I had was getting selected in a good B-School. This turned out to be no easy task, and I was unable to get into any of my desired B-Schools on my first attempt of CAT. I decided to take another go at it after a year. This time around, determined to pitch in my best, I began my preparations. Soon after I began, my maternal grandmother was diagnosed with a rare form of muscular cancer for which treatment is not available in India and the best doctors could do was manage the pain and make her as comfortable as possible. As time went by and the disease spread, the degree of suffering for her increased. This turned out to be the most traumatizing experience for me to see her suffering in pain up close. In this set of events, my studies took a back seat, and I devoted my time to spend with her and look after her. Unfortunately, she left for her heavenly abode soon after. This was one month before the CAT exam, and the mental state I was in did not allow me to focus on my studies for another couple of weeks. Another devastating aspect was the state of mind of my mother, and I understood soon that it was my responsibility to look after my mother and at the same time study for the exam as it has always been a dream of my mother to see me graduate from a B-School. I started my studies after brief counseling sessions from my friends and family and was able to secure admission in one of the premier institutes of India.
