A. Why Aditya Birla Group is big in my life?
With its roots laid by Shiv Narin Birla in 1857 when he started cotton trading in Pilnai, Rajasthan; the Aditya Birla group is an important part of India's economic journey. Their flagship company Grasim Industries was incorporated just 10 days after India got independence in 1947. Post that, over 19 companies were set up outside India by the group to give it a truly global presence. Now with its involvement in truly cried sectors, it definitely is the quintessential Indian Conglomerate.
Aditya Birla group has subsidiaries in the non ferrous, carbon black and cement sectors, which fell pretty far away from the life of a common man. However, right from aluminium foils that we use in the kitchen, to the cement used in building our houses, Hindalco and UltraTech are brands that have definitely impacted us.
With brands like Grasim, Allen Solly, Peter England, Van Heusen, Forever 21, Pantaloons retail chain and many others, Birla has been involved in clothing the average Indian since its inception. As the largest producer of viscose, it's not only India that the AB group clothes, but in some way or the other, it clothes the whole world.
With Indo Gulf, AB group is involved in making fertilizers and insecticides essential to keep the crop safe and healthy. It's brand Birla Shaktiman is one of the most preferred by the farmers.
It's not just the "roti, kapda aur mean" that Aditya Birla Group has been actively involved in providing. It has also permeated our communication systems with Idea. As one of the largest telecom networks, it has definitely impacted the life of an average Indian.
After all of this, it is also involved in protecting the wealth for us, with its wealth management vertical. Making financial advice available for the "regular joes" has been one of its most important endeavours.
Therefore, it can be said that the more we notice the more we realise that Aditya Birla has truly permeated our lives in every way, becoming an inseparable part of it.
B. How have I overcome challenges to achieve my ambitions in life so far?
One of the major hurdles in my life has been that at 16. Soon after choosing the science stream with Maths, which is what is expected of an academically inclined individual, I realised that it was not for me. For the first time in my life I wasn't very happy with what I was doing, and it reflected in my marks. But with the support of my parents, who have always been there for me, I stopped just in time to have an almost permanent impact in my life.
At this point of time my father, who is a small business owner, was also facing major financial difficulties. I chose to pursue an education that would make me employable immediately and one which I also enjoyed immensely. I decided to pursue hospitality. After a major move to Mumbai from small town Baroda to pursue the undergrad course in the oldest hotel management college in India, IHM Mumbai; and three years of rigorous training, which was a challenge of its own, I landed a well paying management trainee position with one of the world's largest hotel chains.
Sometimes being a new kid on the block is difficult as people feel you lack the experience to do
your job. So, as a new manager with minimal experience, the problem I faced was attitudinal more than anything else. The only way I could overcome it and be accepted as a part of the team was to keep showing up, trying and giving credence to their experience while at the same time ensuring they saw my point of view as well. This was one of the most important periods of my life that shaped me as an individual. I was independent and even managed to pay back the student loan I had taken for my undergrad.
Even today, I am self funding my education in one of the country's premier B schools and am proud to do so. My parents have always been my support system, but I have never used their resources to further my ambitions. As long as you keep at it, plan and put in immense hard work with a dash of hope, you will always achieve what you were meant to achieve.
Life has always been a challenge as there was always the resources to pursue my dreams every time. But I have learnt one thing for sure. Grit and tenacity go a long way.