A common trait I share with Aditya Birla Group - Never Give Up- Md Nashat Takmil, VGSoM, IIT Kharagpur

Part -A

Aditya Birla Group has been a part of our Indian economy for past 100 years as it started its journey in India’s second largest sector i.e Textile industry as a Jute manufacturing industry. Being a USD 44.3 billion mammoth having its foothold in over 34 countries dealing in over 14 sectors like metals, textiles, carbon black, telecom, cement and many more.

But only few are aware that the clothing brands which are lavished greatly all over the world like Louis Philippe, Peter England, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and many more are all but part of a single corporation. Its Skult brand by Shahid Kapoor has been my personal favorite for years because of its casual wear collection. It was 2014 and I had taken a great liking to shirts and sweatshirts having thumbhole as one of its unique features. And I still remember frantically seeking out all options, stores and online portals alike, for these clothing collections. But to my dismay, I could not find any to my liking at an affordable price. And then I was given a new ray of hope by my friends as I got news through word of mouth of some new emerging brands. And there it was, I finally got my hands on some of the good looking collection of thumbhole casuals by Skult and it has been my favourite ever since. My liking to clothing lines provided by Aditya Birla Group has not been just restricted to Skult but I am a loyal customer of Louis Philippe and Van Heusen as well. I don’t know about being influenced greatly by other sectors that Aditya Birla Group deals in but my wardrobe is definitely dictated by them. 

Part-B

It was 2008 and I was a student of eighth standard completely oblivious of what would be a turning point in my life. It was then I for the first had heard of IITs and IIMs as my uncles were doing their graduations from these esteemed universities. And like any other normal Indian family, I was urged to pursue for IITs by my parents and relatives. Back then I had no idea what these three letters “ IIT” meant or how much it is coveted by the young minds all across India. And so my journey to have that tag added to my collection began. And then after 3 years of preparation the Judgement day arrived. I still remember my grandmother’s words on the night before the exam. She said as I quote “Guddu, I know you will get into IIT kharagpur so that I will get to see you every now and then as it is very close to home”. Those words rung through my ears all night and I didn’t get a single wink of sleep that dreadfully silent night and even had panic vomiting in the morning before starting over to the examination centre. And I flunked my test and it was devastating. But life carried on and I completed my under graduation in mechanical degree with flying colours in a local university and went on to be an engine design r&d engineer at TVS Motor Company Limited, a leader in automobile sector.

Fate has its own mysterious ways of leading things around. When I was in pieces after flunking my entrance exams in 2012, little I had known then that I would be standing in front of my dream once again but in a completely different battleground. It was Common Admission Test(CAT), the new warzone for me.  This time I had my eyes set on only IIMs and IITs. This time around things were bit different, I was preparing for the entrance while being a Senior design engineer at TVS Motor. With the immense pressure from my workplace commitments and late night overtimes considering BS VI norms were adjust around the corner for Indian roads, I still made time for my own preparation, after all it was about my dream. And after being in this frenzied schedule for over half a year, it was the day of my reckoning. My heartbeat spiking and throat all dry, It felt like Déjà vu and a feeling, I thought to have forgotten over these years, took over me yet again. But I was determined to not give in and gave my best while still having cold feet and sweaty hands. But when the results came in, I was hit hard as the result was below my expectation and almost had lost all hope of cracking into any of the great IIMs and IITs. I was all dejected and down and then my mom uttered these words “ Nashat, the battle is not over. Don’t Give up”. These few words, which sound like lines taken straight out of a movie, gave me the will to go for it till the end. Then I applied for all the IITs and finally got an interview opportunity in the oldest IIT, the prestigious IIT Kharagpur and a little over a month to make the best of this opportunity given to me. And this time I finally cracked the interview and was pleased with myself after the seeing the satisfied faces of my panel. 

It was 13th May,2019 and finally I achieved a dream to be called as an IITian. Some words found at the end of every inspirational book  might sound clichy but hold profound truth in them like one among my many favorites said by Nelson Mandela as I quote “ The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but rising every time we fall. ” 

#VGSoM  #IIT Kharagpur #ABGLPWooMe