Would it have been possible to successfully trade in cotton and jute from India during the 1850s? The time when British rule was at its extreme and the East India company wanted to create monopoly in every sector, was it easy to establish any business? But there was a family who accepted this challenge and Seth Shiv Narayan Birla started this empire much before the independence of India. Challenges are something that are very important in our lives and as said by George Patton, “
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory”. And talking about victory, there is no need to write the about the victorious journey of ABG from 1857 to 2019 and continuing.
Looking back into the childhood I remember the time when my family was going through a very tight financial condition while me and my younger brother had no idea about it. Whenever we asked our father to buy the expensive toys or something, he used to say “
I am not Birla, please stop asking for any such thing”. That time we had no idea who or what does Birla means! Due to the economic crisis, we didn’t even had television that time to look at an Ultra tech cement advertisement and hear about ABG. We as a family were fighting with this challenge together while my father was struggling to establish a business in the city. There were times we were not even allowed in school due to late or no payment of fees.
But then time passed and coin flipped, my father’s business became successful and the condition started to get much better. This was the time mobile services were expanding in India and first connection in my home came which was of Idea cellular, the first product I used of ABG which I knew to be of Birla. Because I used railways many times before but never knew that coaches and tracks were built by Hindalco. I also travelled a lot on roads and bridges but never knew that it was built by the ultra tech cement from ABG. Hence using idea’s network gave me a sort of pride during those days, that I am finally using a product of the company my father used to refer I childhood. I was planning to give engineering entrance exam in the near future and got to know about this excellent college ‘BITS’. The respect for this big B brand increased a lot after knowing more about the legacy of the college.
Coming out of home and getting into an engineering college with awesome peers to live with, the change in personality and lifestyle is evident. The first change that took place was buying clothes from a branded outlet present in college’s vicinity “Pantaloons”. A small-town guy habitual of shopping from small shops was so excited to shop from such a huge outlet with such great brands under a single roof. I believe ABG has played a big role in changing the fashion trend in India with getting in brands Peter England, Van Heusen, Louis Philippe and Allen Solly (my favourite one).
Thanks a lot ABG for contributing towards the making of India in one or the other way!!