Part A: Why Aditya Birla Group is big in your life?
Who can in their wildest dreams ever, estimate that a small cotton trading firm started in Birla Haveli, Pilani, Rajasthan by Seth Shiv Narayan Birla could escalate to a multinational private sector conglomerate spanning across 34 countries? Atypical! Right? Aditya Birla Group did it exceptionally. They had the vision to transform society and our lifestyle and bring the 'Big into our lives'. The group has interests in metals, cement, branded apparels, carbon black, chemicals, fertilisers, telecom, IT Services and many more to count.
Vodafone Idea Limited is the leading telecom service provider in India. Its network signal floats on the top right corner of my mobile screen for the past five years. When Jio came to the market four years back by literally launching a genocide for its competitors, Vodafone Idea stumbled initially but later balanced itself. Even the Jio alluring didn’t compel me to give up on Vodafone Idea primarily because of its good network availability in any corner of the country and secondarily its premium cost and offers. It is a notch above the rest of them. It helped me stay connected with my dear ones when I was far away.
College diaries are full of fashion trends, cocktail parties, outings, and the scariest part being the interviews. An imperative part of all the events is to look confident and happy. Putting on good attire ticks the first checkbox for the list to flaunt your personality. With a massive bouquet of leading fashion brands like Pantaloons, Lifestyle, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and more, I always looked up to these stores in Lucknow for the apparels that I had to wear for my college functions and interviews. Choosing from a wide range of options available in these stores was always a tough nut to crack. The quality, the fabric and the classy looks gave an instant boost to my self-esteem. It’s cliché, but confidence drives one to success, which happened to me in most of my interviews.
Good companies thrive, and great companies inspire. Being an environment protection enthusiast, ABG’s “Recycle for Good” campaign inspired me to contribute more to what I already love. The company recycles millions of used aluminium cans at Novelis, the world leader in aluminium rolling and recycling. ABG is not only a company worth billions of dollars but also does its CSR activities by building schools, hospitals and institutions carrying a legacy for future managers like us to aspire.
The company is built on the pillars of ethics and values, which resulted in the position that they are holding today.
Part B: How Have You Made An Impact in your life despite the odds?
Challenges are an important part of life that gives experiences and a taste of both sides of the coin, success and failure. It helps us to grow and test us against the time.
The 10th boards result is an important landmark in the steep climb of the career for every child, and so was mine. I had to choose amongst the options of becoming a doctor, an engineer or a failure where I chose to go with engineering as it resonated with my mathematics score. The journey heralded, and I entered into the zone of daily 6-hour coaching classes with hardly a day off, aiming to elbow away all my peers to reach the most prestigious engineering institute, the IITs.
It was a great ordeal to cope up with the school and coaching simultaneously. I flunked a lot of time in my mock tests initially. The scores gradually improved but still, I was far behind in the race of 14 lakh JEE aspirants. I became sceptical about my 12th boards too.
The two years were about to end. I did pretty well in my boards, but my JEE exam didn’t went well. Devastated, I motivated and consoled myself that it is not the end of the world. I landed at the top engineering college of Uttar Pradesh, Institute of Engineering and Technology, Lucknow. Deep down, I knew there was a long way to go. In the 3rd year of engineering, I started my preparation for CAT exam and strived hard to have the taste of success. I began to work harder at all ends to handle semester, extracurriculars and the preparation for CAT at the same time.
I cracked CAT in the first go. It felt ecstatic, and a year’s hard work paid off. The challenges that I had faced all the years bolstered my confidence and strength to perform the best that I could. All these situations have taught me a lot and what all I can say is that it is only hard work and determination that can get you out of tough times and help you achieve the goals that you have set for yourself.
#IIM Ranchi #ABGLPWooMe
