During my schooldays, I always used to love my History classes. Seems like an odd choice for a person belonging to a generation which grew up on Nintendo joysticks. My history teacher had a penchant for making the classes lively, and when we were living through Mahatma Gandhi's epic struggle for the cause of Bhaarat Maata, we were made to replicate the round table conferences which were held in London. The untapped business enthusiast in me always thought as to who provided the backing and support to the cause for our nation building. While trying to replicate the round table conference, I was fascinated to learn that Mr. Ghanshyam Das Birla represented India at the two conferences. The name Birla stuck a deep resonance in me as it was in the erstwhile Birla House that Baapuji breathed his last.
Therein grew my admiration for the name Birla. Everyone knows about the power of an idea and innovation and its ability to impact the lives of people. Not many corporate houses can boast of ad campaigns which have a lasting impression on the viewers’ minds. When one explores the treasure cove of media ads by Idea Telecom, we find an exemplary messaging tool which conveys a simple but effective voice to the society. Be it "
walk and talk", "
education for all", "
biggest small change", "
no ullu banaoing", or the hilarious "
oongli cricket", every ad campaign can be summarised by saying "
What an Idea, Sirji!"
The omnipresence of the brand Aditya Birla in my life is hard to ignore. UltraTech Cement was the choice of cement for the civil engineers who were contracted by my father to build our lovely abode. Peter England was my first choice of formal when I began to sit for my engineering placements. Pantaloons is the favourite shopping destination for my family during festive seasons. A Louis Philippe shirt was the first purchase that I made for myself with my first salary, and the list goes on. I feel very content in saying that the brands and companies of Aditya Birla Group have fulfilled not only my basic needs but also my aspirational ones.
The Power of Visualization
Not everyone in our country can say that they have been a part of Kaun Banega Crorepati and have won prize money. Well I am among the fortunate ones who can!
The year was 2013 and I had just turned 18. My grandmother casually nudged me to apply for KBC after seeing the lucrative TV ads. After the initial hesitation I decided to apply as all I had to do was send an SMS answering the question which came on the television.
It was a beautiful summer evening in Bangalore, whilst playing gully cricket with my friends, I received a phone call informing me that I was selected for the next rounds of KBC and I had to immediately answer 3 questions to be considered for the auditions. My newspaper reading habit helped to answer those quick-fire out of the blue questions. In the following month I was called for an audition process wherein people from all over my state had gathered. It was a daunting task for me to compete with people from diverse backgrounds and those who have seen much more of life than me. The 45 minute audition tested us on multiple aspects of our personality and it was not the question of who comes up on the top but it was of about who made a lasting impression on the panel. Staying true to myself and being honest helped me throughout this rigorous selection process.
To my endeavour, I was selected for a chance to compete for the coveted hot seat. Here again I had to compete with people who actually deserved to be on the hot seat. The atmosphere in the studio was captivating and at the same time it was intimidating. I failed miserably in the initial fastest finger first rounds. My fingers nervously shook, my brain froze and I was unable to perform to my potential. The sheer gravity of situation weighed me down. But then I found a stroke of inspiration from Rahul Dravid's magical advice wherein he said, that he always prepared by visualizing himself facing the harshest delivery that could bowled and he made up a plan as to how to face it. I kept my nerve and concentrated on doing things right. One breath. 10 seconds and 4 correct choices later, I reached the dream seat and was able to answer 10 amazing questions.