The year was 1999.I was 4 years old. Odisha was hit with
Super-Cyclone. Devastation and catastrophe stipulated chaos and havoc. My father used to work in a place hundred odd kilometres away from where my grandparents lived. So we commuted a lot in the ‘re-formative’ days. During those trips back and forth I saw tonnes of sacks of something that was being used to slap over bricks. The sacks read ‘Grasim Cement’. My father explained ‘’GRASIM’ is the company which is producing cement. I was excited when he further explained to me what Aditya Birla Group does. He went on to give more examples from what ABG did. The ‘PETER ENGLAND’ & ‘ALLEN SOLLY’ shirts that I saw in my father’s wardrobe was actually ABG. I was awestruck. It’s a
big moment when a child decides that he will be
passionately working in that company.
A
big challenge for me was in 9
th grade in my school science presentation when I was presenting about different chemicals and reactions required to produce fertilizers. The challenging part was when evaluators asked for 3 other company (apart from father’s) that manufactured fertilizers. The answer that sealed my winning position included-'INDOGULF'. Thinking on my feet and
speed helped me.
Another challenge was when I signed up for mono-acting skit for which I was awarded the runner’s up position. It was during the same time, that with the advent of internet penetrating Tier 4 cities and small towns, I was watching a series of ads on the internet on repeat. I particularly remember the ad campaign “What an idea sirji!”. It was by the telecom industry which broke all barriers to become one of the leading companies in its sector. The
big seamless influence all these advertisements had on me helped me seal my win.
One of the
big stimulation I have had was when I came across a news piece on ABG working with
Swabhiman to fund education and skill development program of 400 underprivileged kids from urban slum areas. The
integrity with which the value of the company spoke prompted me to invest my time in volunteer work for the needy.
The
biggest challenge of all was in 2018, when I was introspecting my life for a better career path. I was hovering around and confused. Kumar Mangalam Birla came to Odisha for the MAKE IN ODISHA conclave, declaring to invest 2 billion dollars over the next 2 years. It was that the passion and commitment that Mr. K.M Birla put out in that conclave was immense and helped me decide to made sure that to pursue a management education and upgrade my skills to be a better fir for the society.
Like many others, life threw many challenges at me. But the key to resolve most of them gyrated around the
POWEROF5- Integrity, Commitment, Passion, Speed and eventually Seamlessness. Commitment also involves resilience and perspiration. Passion and Speed helps seamlessness. These small things add up to what makes it BIG and help us overcome our challenges.