The vast range of Aditya Birla Group products across areas makes it very tough to grow up with no/little exposure to them. Starting from the basic need of Roti (Birla Balwaan Fertiliser for better quality of wheat), Kapda (Louis Phillipe, Van Heusen, Pantaloons, Peter England etc..), Makaan (Ultra Tech Cement for better and good quality foundation of a house) to various complex areas like Chemicals (Chlor- Alkali, Epoxy Resins), Telecommunications (Vodafone-Idea), Trading and Logistics (Swiss Singapore Overseas Enterprises Pte Ltd.),etc..
The first time I encountered an ABG product was when I started going to school and my mother used to wrap my lunch in Freshwrapp aluminum foil. It always used to keep the food fresh and healthy and along with that it also served as a GREAT cricket ball by casting foils from me and my friends in the way of a ball. I used to regularly get thrashings from my mom like every other day I used to bring a broken tiffin due to the hardness of the foil ball. And after coming to the higher standards, 10th & 12th, I got introduced to the Aditya Birla Fashion area with successful brands like Louis Phillipe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, and Peter England. I still remember the time when I was in college (NIT Agartala) and we had to wear Formals during our 1st year and there were no good shops in Agartala city except for the Allen Solly showroom providing good quality shirts and trousers. It was a life saver not just for me but for my whole batch because we were saved from the consequences of not wearing them. And since then I have been a regular customer to Allen Solly for the past 5-6 years and have some amazing memories including the Allen Solly Suit, I had worn to my college farewell and also the first football studs I was gifted from Pantaloons. Also while making good memories I encountered some which were not that good including when while giving trials of Inter NIT Football I twisted my knee and suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury which would not only sideline me for a year or more but also make it very difficult to take the courage to go through rigorous physiotherapy to be able to walk and do my day to day activities normally. But my passion for football and the fire to continue playing, to get back to the field did not die. And this motivation and zeal helped me endure the pain through the whole process and slowly after around a year I was able to make it back to the field. I was even selected to represent my branch, year and college in various Football competitions where I many cases I led my team to victory. Also, after getting into the job in Infosys during my training phase in Mysore, I was the only trainee selected to represent the Infosys Mysore Football team to various corporate competitions and also to Intra Infosys Football Competitions which we won. These experiences made me understand that no matter what if we put in our hard work and have the dedication and a never give up attitude, we can achieve anything. This attitude has not only helped me on the football field but also during my working days with Infosys, where I was able to perform even under immense pressure of serving Japanese clients, deliver my work beforehand, proactively ask for work in areas new to me, put in the extra efforts/hours to complete and still making time for my family, friends and football thus leading a balanced life.
Until last year I was unaware of the fact that all the above mentioned major brands were products of the Aditya Birla Group, and was shocked to the core when I got to know it while preparing for my GK and Interviews of MBA Schools and started wondering how oblivious of such a fact which had been affecting/ had a direct involvement with me from the start.