One of the biggest conglomerates of India has a strong presence in the world market through its fashion and lifestyle, telecom and cellular services, chemical and carbon black production, etc. Its global footprints range from North and South America to Thailand and Indonesia that accounts to 34 countries. The company draws more than 50% revenues from outside the world making it one of the few conglomerates to represent India on a global scale.
Aditya Birla group’s influence on my life has been two-fold. Its impact lies on the spectrum of content gained from the company’s impeccable retail services and the bliss derived from its extensive corporate social responsibility.
The company has furnished the Indian market with deluxe fashion and apparel retails through brands like Van Heusen, Louis Philippe, Peter England, People, Planet Fashion, Pantaloons, etc. The company was able to tap the advantage of common people’s inclination towards brand products through the aforementioned retail chains. I have personally used the idea’s telecom services for almost a decade and never found a glitch to report. The company’s strategic merger with Vodafone is remarkable as it portrays the skilled acumen at its core. The benefits are not just confined to my satisfaction as my father, being an avid consumer of linen apparel, loves to buy from Linen Clothing. This brings me to the mark created by Ultra Tech Cement in India as the largest producer of cement products to catering the needs of construction.
The most important role Aditya Birla group has played is of harnessing the strength of India through consistent efforts in social responsibility towards the people of this country. The company has worked on escalating socio-economic conditions through education (establishing Aditya Bal Vidya Mandir and providing scholarships), health and family care (mother-child care and AIDS awareness), sustainable livelihood encompassing agriculture and watershed development (The Aditya Birla rural technology Park aims at the formation of intellectual capital), women empowerment processes (encouraging formation of self-help groups or SHGs), infrastructure support (immediate relief measures to natural calamities affected areas) and has espoused social causes (tending against social evils and their complete eradication through improvement in social adjustments eg- dowryless marriage etc.). The company also conducts awareness drives on various social issues such as child marriages, alcoholism, drug addiction and other social evils that hinder the growth of the society through the medium of street plays, films, and lectures. This stimulated conviction in me to work for the society and I eventually enrolled in an NGO catering the literacy needs of the non-affluent segment of the society.
Not only Aditya Birla group’s corporate reach has amazed me but has also startled by the extent to which the company tries to strive in its social endeavors. The legacy of Mahatma Gandhi is rightly fully implemented by G.D. Birla, Aditya Birla, and Kumar Mangalam Birla through their values of truth, non-violence, and justice.
“Fruition of persistence”
(How I overcame my challenges)
I was in the sixth standard when my friend urged me to expand my musical horizon and introduced me to Linkin Park. A band from Agoura Hills, California that started recording from a bedroom studio and faced setbacks and failures due to limited resources, turned out to be the most exemplified bands in American history.
I was taken aback by the thrill running through my spine as I heard the song “In the end” album Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park and that is how my passion for music commenced. I started listening to the music of different genre to increase my music acumen. I would knock my friend’s door off just to get another piece of a decent gig. But still, I was naïve to the world of music. I would sing to the songs on the radio and try to match the pitch and tone of the songs. At the time I was in the eighth standard, I was participating in various singing competitions with results always against my favor. As a consequence of that, I started taking vocal classes from a renowned music school in my hometown Ghaziabad. After giving in for 2 months, all came to shatters when I heard my father’s transfer to another city. It came with the turmoil of setting to a new place and adapting to the nitty-gritty of a new place. I left my classes and my passion for music hit a roadblock. In the summer of 2012, I revisited my friend who once became a stepping stone to my inclination towards music. That day became a point of time in my life where I was again tweaked in the direction of my passion. I was sitting on the couch when I heard the voice of the guitar resonating out of my friend’s room. It became an invaluable feeling that struck my ears and remained as a memory forever.
I came back and bought a guitar. The new energy was reverberating in and out of a desperate desire to get back on the road to my passion. I took guitar classes and gradually started to get certified; but seldom did I know of another hurdle placed in my way. This time, it was the imbalance created by my negligence towards studies as it was reflected in my tumbling grades. My family started worrying about studies and as a repercussion to my poor performance, I was grounded and my guitar classes were dismissed. But through relentless efforts, I overcame that challenge by attaining a distinct division. Amidst all, my father was transferred back to Ghaziabad again.
I formed a band grouped with my friend who at that point of time became a professional drummer and we started performing in local bars and cafés at inexpensive bids meanwhile balancing our studies. It went well for a few months but was discontinued due to our parent’s pressure to adopt a career more economical. As our next best interest, I pursued economics and my friend took management.
As it is rightly quoted,” Success should not be measured by the number of wins a person gets but by the audacity to stand back at each failure”, we aspire and pledge to contribute to music in some way or other.
