ABG: my 24 years long love story - SIBM Pune

Very rarely does one find a common thread across a lifetime of 24 years, a thread which has such strong memories, connections. The Aditya Birla Group is that common thread in my life, a group that has been in my life at many phases from the sweet childhood memories to the extremely hectic B-School life. 

Chapter I:

My first ever touchpoint of ABG was during the construction of my grandfather's house when I was a 6-year-old, I was running amidst the dirt & chaos of a typical construction site, playing & jumping over the multiple bags of UltraTech cement with my cousins. 

Chapter II:

A more impactful & memorable touchpoint was when I was a bit older during my Kendriya Vidhyalaya days, my classmates waited for me to get sandwiches for lunch. One reason was my mother's amazing cooking skills but the more important reason was they were always wrapped in Freshwrapp, which would later be used as a ball for our shenanigans in the recess. 

Chapter III:

When I entered my teens I just wanted to look like my dad, so I often tried on his clothes to get a sense of awe & got photos clicked. This craze of mine to replicate his look imprinted a sense of admiration towards the two iconic brands VanHeusen & Peter England. They became a tag a coolness for me while growing up.

During this phase of my life, our go-to shopping destination for my clothing & fashion needs was Pantaloons. I exactly knew all the Pantaloons stores in Hyderabad & my favorite outlet was the one in Begumpet. I have quite a few really fond shopping memories from that particular store.

Chapter IV:

I never imagined that this commonality between ABG & my life runs so strong that it would travel through my love life as well. My first girlfriend was a huge fashionista & guess what her preferred brand of jeans was…Forever21. I remember this so particularly because the two of us have had long debates regarding the naming of the brand.

Chapter V:

The year was 2016, in the month of August I received my first ever salary and I had decided to get gifts for all my family members. Parents & siblings were easy, the tough one was when I had to decide what I should get for my grandfather, he doesn’t really need anything & would refuse to accept anything extravagant. That’s when my mom reminded an observation she had made about his love for linen clothing, something he never revealed openly but he really liked. I had found the perfect gift, I ended up getting him two linen shirts from the Linen Club.

Chapter VI:

This journey of ABG in my life has been a roller-coaster, I say that because of all the highs I have mentioned and the low that I will be mentioning. In 2017, I gave CAT and got interview calls from the different IIMs. One such interview of the new IIMs was scheduled in Bengaluru for the next day & I had to catch last night flight from Hyderabad. I was loaded with deliverables & was rushing to leave office as soon as I could to catch the flight. On my way back to my flat from the office on my Activa, I met with an accident. To avoid a head-on collision I swerved a little and my Activa skidded through the sand on the road and I got dragged along with my Activa for a couple of hundred meters. My hands were bruised heavily with blood dripping all over. But I couldn’t stop, I somehow reached the flat, booked a cab and left for the airport. In the cab, I realize that my phone was damaged badly and blood was still dripping from all the bruises. At the Hyderabad airport, post my security check, the guards attended to my bruises & somehow stopped my bleeding. The next day with all the bandages I attended the 6-hour interview process in my favorite (lucky) Allen Solly shirt and converted the new IIMs call that year.

It is truly amazing to realize how my life & ABG are so deeply intertwined, the number of influential touchpoints ABG has in this 24-year long journey.