3rd March 2017 was the last month of college at Jain CMS Bangalore and as we entered the final moments of our BBA with all the “one last times” and graduation googles we decided that for the send-off party we would go out in style with a classy prom night. Now all through my life I’ve had jeans and loose-fitting shirts as my staple a far cry from following any sort of acceptable fashion norms and getting a suit had never crossed my mind but for prom night apparently you need a Tuxedo. Now with no idea of where to get a Tux I did what any rational adult would do when they want to shop – I went to a mall, well Orion mall at Rajajinagar and on one floor there were a whole line of outlets Luis Philippe, Allen Solly, Peter England, Forever 21 and Pantaloons are occupying a whole level of this enormous mall, conflicted with so many amazing options I finally decide to enter Van Heusen and after 2hrs of going through materials with the shop clerk with him explaining each and every part of a Tux, I got my measurements taken and I was out. Fast forward to 23rd March I walk out of my home looking like the Indian 007 on a secret mission. I had a beautiful date, good music and an Unforgettable night surrounded by friends.
I have been using an Idea sim since high school and even my childhood home is made of UltraTech cement same as a lot of houses in my neighbourhood and probably a whole lot buildings all throughout the city I have lived in and known all my life. So as to the Question of how big of an Influence the Aditya Birla Group has had on my life….. well ill just let you decide.
You must always get back up
When I was in my final year of BBA at Jain CMS I thought I had life all figured out, I’m graduating going to get a job and then an MBA and ill have my own little operation somewhere down the line. I had a whole plan set in place roughly right down to the day I die but as the saying goes – ‘If you want to see God laugh, Tell him your plans”. One day after class I come home and my dad introduces me to an old friend of his who happens to be a Retired IAS officer, we get talking and he tells me stories of his service days and all the things he experienced. As I’m listening to this man tell me about how he was able to make an actual lasting change in society I literally got Goosebumps. After a while we said our goodbyes and he left but the feeling I had then was constantly at the back of my mind. I finally gave into the urge did my research about the Civil services and consulted with my dad’s friend. After all this at the end of my final year I decided not to take up the job I got placed in and devote the next year completely to UPSC preparation. It was a hard year that brought about a drastic change in my life I attended coaching classes in the morning and studied all throughout the rest of the day and on weekend I would take mock tests. After keeping this hectic schedule up for a year and persevering through all the constant criticisms and self-doubts June 3rd arrived the day of the prelims and it was a whole different experience from the Mock exam but somehow (in hind sight through sheer luck) I got through but the Mains Examination was on hurdle I couldn’t get through. After a year of hell all my efforts were for nothing and this fact almost broke me, the judgement of everyone around me and the fact that I abandoned a totally sound and safe plan to try an exam with a pass percentage of less than 1% kept eating at me and to an extent still do. It took a long time but I decide not to wallow in self pity and get up and get myself back on track so I started preparing for CAT with barely 2 months to prepare but I still managed secure 94 percentile and landed a myself at T A Pai Management Institute which brings us to the present day. The UPSC experience was difficult beyond anything I could have ever expected but it was a valuable part of my life and is responsible partly for shaping me into who I am today. Now matter how many times you fall as long as you have the will to get back up and dust yourself off I believe you will do okay.