ABGLP, IIM Raipur

Part A

Aditya Birla Group is a big part of my life, in more ways than one. Having grown up in a house which was built using UltraTech cement, the memories are too strong to ignore. In fact, I cannot name a friend whose house was made using any other cement; that is how strong the brand was during my childhood and now too! Apart from UltraTech, Pantaloons and Idea have been a big part of my life. Going to Pantaloons with family and friends used to be fun and still continues to be. The affordable pricing and the variety offered is a big pull for people like me. Gifting loved ones, the clothes of their choice from Pantaloons is a trend which continues till date. Being from Mumbai, access to Pantaloons has always there and the staff are always so helpful. Similarly, when I talk about Idea, the advertisements featuring Abhishek Bacchchan have been etched in our memories. It is one of the first sim cards I have used and even after the introduction of rival aggregators, I still continue using idea sim. The rates and signal strength are the main reasons which have always attracted me. In fact, I have introduced Idea to most of my extended family too and now a lot of my family members are subscribers. Hindalco and Hirakud in Odisha have a strong connection. Being an Odia from Mumbai, I have never forgotten my roots. There is a strong sense of connection of Hindalco with my family since my uncle works there. Being a mineral rich state, the percolation of ABG is deep rooted in this state. Having said all this, ABG does not need much introduction as it is a brand which every Indian has been a part of it sometime or the other. There is nothing more Indian than Aditya Birla Group. Jai Hind!

Part B

Life is full of ups and downs. I have encountered my fair share of challenges. But I always try to look at things with a balanced perspective and not get bogged down. One incident that has been a learning lesson for me, took place as recently as, in December 2016. The weather in Ahmedabad was very cold and we realized that a lot of people did not have enough clothes to cover themselves. We (Robinhood Army, the voluntary organization I work in) decided to keep a blanket distribution drive in Ahmedabad. A lot of people had donated new blankets for the underprivileged people and we had managed to collect about 1200 of these. We had earmarked certain places where these blankets could be distributed. Once our drive started, we went around these places to distribute. During one of our visits, we came across a family of 12, who looked extremely poor and impoverished. They hardly had any material possessions with them. It was a pitiable sight and we thought we should do more for them. We arranged for their dinner at a restaurant, gave them new clothes and blankets, played with their kids and left with a promise to come back again. It felt amazing! After a week or so, along with a few friends I was passing by that same area. I thought of going back to these people and enquire about their well-being. Imagine my shock when I saw that they again had no possessions with them – not even the blankets and clothes that we had given them. It was confusing at first and we spoke to them. After receiving vague answers, I went ahead and asked some local residents about these people. There I learnt that these people had sold the blankets to a local vendor. Not only that, those people did not live there and it was only during their ‘begging hours’ that they operated from that place. In fact, we were also told that this family had a small shop running in the neighbourhood. I was aghast! The people who we thought were impoverished, were actually quite able to take care of themselves. We went and confronted those people about this and instead of being ashamed, they chose to ignore us and asked us to leave. Not wanting to create a scene, we just told them that they had taken away blankets which could have been used by some needy person. Realizing that we might call the cops, they left. Since that family had 6 kids, we decided not to complain to the authorities. After this episode, I had a lot of thoughts and questions running through my mind. There was the main question of whether we were actually doing something good or was it all in vain. After a lot of soul-searching, I realized that not every good deed begets a good return. Sometimes, we may come across people who dupe other people. That does not mean that everyone is that way. On the other hand, I have become more cautious about the people whom we serve. That episode taught me an important lesson about not trusting people blindly. It is always wise to weigh your options before taking a step or trusting someone. In life too, we may come across situations where we have to take a step back and wait and watch before committing. Everything should not be done at face value. It is also important to not let such incidents come in the way of your work. Such incidents have helped me in getting to know people better. Self-belief, self-motivation and having a positive attitude towards life are the other key takeaways. Management, after all, involves all of these and much more. #IIMRaipur #ABGLPWooMe