ABG - The Hyper Realist,

It wouldn’t be unfair to say Mr. Ghanshyam Das Birla, the founding father of the group never saw the group reach to such heights. The group which was started in the 19^th century and has over 150 years of heritage continues to be a household name. With their involvement in 14 industry sectors, the group is catering to consumers on every level. The Birla group has been a part of life since childhood and same would be the case for majority of the Indians. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited has been a big part of my life, be it buying clothes from Pantaloons while taking care of the budget or splurging some luxury money on Van Heusen. I have always been a fashion junkie and try to keep up with the latest trends while trying out different combinations on my own. Because of the variety of brands and products offered under this one umbrella my decision making process was made simpler because I knew the quality level offered by the group and the only choice I had to actually make was which brand to go for. My first ever internship was also under the group, I interned at Birla Sun Life Insurance during my undergraduate summers and being from a non-finance background I learned a lot with the help of real-life examples. Aditya Birla Group has been part of my life in many other ways but I have picked these two as an example to show how big Aditya Birla group is in my life and hopefully I get to be part of this giant and amazing family in the near future.

Emotions are temporary, Percentile is forever #IIMTrichy

Doing my MBA from an IIM is the single biggest dream I have had till date. The brand had such an influence on me that I did not apply even for any other colleges in India or abroad because I had decided that if I want to do my MBA, I will do it from an IIM. While everyone goes through setbacks during their preparation, the setback I faced was on 23^rd Oct 2019 when early morning we got the news that my grandmother had passed away. That day was supposed to be a special day because I was supposed to go to my undergraduate college for placements and I couldn’t stop thinking how happy and surprised my professors would be on seeing me there, how I would be able to brag on social media about that day but life had completely different plans. As soon as we heard the news we took the next flight from Mumbai and reached my hometown in Haryana and while I was trying to be strong on the outside but I had gone numb entirely I did not know how to react, what was going on and what can I do about the situation. I went through a roller coaster of emotions in the coming days and had lost all motivation to do anything, continuing preparation for CAT was not even in question at that time but my grandmother was always behind me questioning why I am wasting my time working while I should be focusing completely on clearing CAT. She knew how important this was to me and I knew how much she wanted me to succeed. I told myself that seeing me clear CAT and get into an IIM would be her last wish and this thought motivated me every single day so I gave everything I had to make her last wish come true.  We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.