Aditya Birla Group-An indubitable part of my life | Sharannia Pillai, IIFT

Even in my family, ABG has always been a hit! Birthday gifts for dad were always a tough choice amongst Peter England, Louis Phillip and Ralph Lauren and needless to say, like every mom, my Ma only trusted Freshwrapp to keep our tiffins warm.

Soon came my job and came with it the need for a trusted network that my clients could reach me on and Vodafone-Idea Limited was the answer. It’s high-speed internet and amazing network coverage everywhere in Bangalore was a huge blessing!

 All in all, ABG has been an indispensable part of my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Trials don’t shake me down!

It was July 30^th, 2012 and I was aboard Tamil Nadu Express with my mom, excited to start my first day at my undergrad college. It was 4:10 am when I heard the train come to a screeching halt and a man scream “The train is on fire!”. To my dismay, it wasn’t a nightmare. The train had caught fire killing over 50 people in a bogey which was second to mine. Kids like me, going to my university, were mere bodies burned and their dreams like mine, were buried with the ashes. That incident pretty much clouded my entire existence. It took me months to get over what happened, to get over the survivor’s guilt. And there is only one thing I tell myself each time I’m faced with a challenge, ‘As long as you’re alive, everything else is achievable!’.

Since then, there have been numerous obstacles in my life, each one making me stronger than the last. During my MBA preparations last year, my mother suffered a stroke, which lead to paralysis on one side of her body. I flew home to take care of her. Just when I thought things couldn’t have gotten worse, the day my mother was discharged from the ICU, my grandmother, passed away in our native town due to medical negligence. It all felt like a cruel game, I questioned life, ‘How is this fair?’ ,’How could I tell my mom it’s okay that she can’t attend her own mother’s funeral?’, ‘What was the purpose of all this?’, ‘Why now?’.

None of those questions were ever answered. It was painful and tested my belief in anything positive. My mother recovered, slowly, learning from the basics, holding a pen, learning to walk, etc. I kept trying to find the light, every minute of every day. I kept the faith. Amidst this, I missed a few of my MBA Entrance exams for which I had worked hard the entire year. It felt unfair, but I had to believe that I did my best for the exams I did give before. And I was shortlisted to one of the most premier B-schools in the country for an interview and I knew I could not waste this one chance I was given to make my hard work count. And I did what needed to be done-left no stone unturned and believed in myself. The result? IIFT welcomed me with open arms.

Fortunately, my efforts had paid off. So, here I am, stronger than ever, ready to face and conquer every challenge that comes my way. There is one thing I know for sure and that is I won’t stop. Not today. Not ever.