MY JOURNEY TO IIM RANCHI
I was born to a middle-class family, and my father worked in a bank. He has a heart defect called ARVD (Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia) which is a sporadic disorder of the heart. To treat it, he was advised to get an ICD( Intra Cardio Defibrillator) implantation back in 1996. An ICD is a costly machine, and the first time when it was prescribed, it was out of our means to afford it. So my father had to ask his friends to donate it if they could. Somehow the amount was managed, and it was done. The ICD needs to be replaced every few years, so since 1996, he has had 3 ICD implantations. Seeing this since birth, I never liked how we couldn't afford something so essential to living. And this has been the impetus behind the principle that guides me at every step in life. Self-sufficiency is the guiding principle of my life.
Coming to my journey to IIM Ranchi, doing an MBA was also a step towards achieving self-sufficiency. Since the time I started college, my father had not been very well. Since the first year of my college, his heart was not functioning very well, and the doctor said that he had got end-stage heart failure. My father has had this heart defect by birth, but this had reached an end-stage since this disorder was degenerative. His heart could not pump blood throughout his body, and it led to fluid build up in some parts, due to which he had to be admitted to a hospital every 5-6 months.
I was usually the one who stayed with him in hospital. Every time the doctor would say that these might be the last few months of his life.
Now when I was in my second year, he was admitted just a week before my college exams would start. One night suddenly the doctor said that there was a heart available for transplant and we had to decide immediately whether we wanted it or not. We had never thought about a heart transplant before. A decision had to be taken overnight, and it was a matter of life and death, because the patient may die immediately after the process if the heart doesn't suit. And the decision was in my hands as I was the only family member with my father then. I took the decision not to go on with it, and thankfully, he is alright now. I also quite performed well in my exams.
Living with this situation, it has been tough. Coping up with studies, going about everyday life, with the constant worry about my father’s life weighing in on my mind, staying with him in the hospital around exams, I have managed it all. I have been in and out of depression multiple times, and getting into IIM Ranchi was one of the high points I had seen in a long time. It made me and my family truly happy.
HOW ADITYA BIRLA GROUP AFFECTED MY LIFE
“Roti, kapda, makaan”, as the saying goes, are the necessities of our lives. Aditya Birla Group has under its aegis a wide variety of products it manufactures, covering everything that falls under food, shelter, and clothing. Being such a huge conglomerate, it has contributed largely in my life, and of most Indians. Unfortunately, as it so often happens, we take most of these things for granted, and don’t notice the contributions of the people behind these things. We only realize how important something is when it leaves us, which is a fundamental flaw in human nature.
I have been born and brought up in Delhi, and have lived there all my life, and I have developed a lot of attachment to the city, in spite of the flaws it may have. I have seen it growing, I have seen it change over the years. It was in 1998 that CNG was made compulsory in Delhi, and the slogan “Clean Delhi, Green Delhi” could be seen all over Delhi on hoardings. Delhi was the first city with mandatory CNG in public transport. It actually has always been a beautiful place, clean as well as green. I think the government was quite pro-active in mandating CNG there.
In spite of that, Delhi has topped the list of the most polluted cities as well as capitals in the world. We residents never realized how necessary and valuable the clean air was, until we got only polluted air to breathe. Delhi now struggles with pollution from the burning of nearby rice paddies, burning municipal waste, and vehicle exhaust emissions from the growing number of vehicles because of the increasing population. We cannot go out of the house without masks, and if we do, we face respiratory problems, coughing, etc. I do my bit to prevent pollution as much as possible, but my contribution is tiny when compared to the magnitude of pollution. I can do little but despair about the situation.
Amongst all this, recently, on World Environment Day, an ad campaign by Aditya Birla Group caught my attention as I related to it on such a personal level, and it brought to the fore a fantastic idea. Keeping up with United Nations theme of ‘Air Pollution’, they have pledged to create artwork out of toxic air and to support the cause they have also planted over 1 million saplings across the group. The campaign focuses on the adverse effects of air pollution and how it affects everything around us - from heritage monuments and wildlife to human health and flora & fauna. Bringing together renowned influencers – heritage enthusiast Akshay Shetty, wildlife photographer Nishank Joshi, fashion designer Jeena Gupta, and environmentalist Sumaira Abdulali, the campaign aims to help consumers identify their fears about the environment and act upon them. They took a step towards cementing their commitment to sustainability by initiating conversations around our biggest fears about the environment
Since I have seen the problem of pollution up-close, I realize how valuable this initiative is. The video stirs up feelings of both marvel and despair. Marvel at how beautiful the artworks are, and despair at what they are made up of. In being so terribly beautiful, it connects to people on a deep level, and makes them uncomfortable, in a very subtle way. ABG not only preaches but also practices, as they have planted many saplings and carried out various activities to improve our environment, in keeping with their objective of sustainable development. In doing so, it has affected my life in a positive way and also that of many people.