Aditya Birla Group’s tagline “Taking India to the world” resonates with me at more levels than one. At a very small scale, I have seen it materialize for me. My journey from a small town to Hyderabad, Bangalore and then Delhi has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride, and the role of Birla group in this ordeal has been pivotal.
I consider myself an integral part of Birla family, having graduated from BITS Pilani. There was a transformational change in my personality at BITS and the people involved there have a fair share of contribution in every little success or achievement I have had since.
It’s hard to fathom how Aditya Birla Group has been able to make a significant impact in so many lives. The association with ABG is not something new to me. As a school kid, I remember opening my lunch box to find my favourite food wrapped in Hindalco’s Freshwrap foil. I am just one of the many school kids whose childhood has been made memorable by Aditya Birla Group. And as I look around myself right now, I am surrounded by ABG products. From the aluminium almirah next to me to the clothes I am wearing, the Peter England shirt, the Van Heusen suit and even the phone that keeps me in touch with my near and dear ones running on Idea sim, the impact of Aditya Birla Group is present for everyone to see. The house I stay in made use of Ultratech cement; my financials are taken care of by Aditya Birla Finance. Wherever I look, I can see ABG’s contribution in making my life better.
Most importantly, I am just one of the many out there who have been touched by Aditya Birla Group and will continue to reap the benefits.
Challenges in life and dealing with them
Life is not meant to be easy or happy going all the way. It is the challenges we face daily that shape us, nurture us and bring the best out of us. A common saying goes ‘Darkness is the lack of light’. To appreciate light, we must experience darkness. Similarly, to appreciate success, we must fail. And that makes challenges in life ever so important.
I have had my fair share of challenges in a short career. Right from my school days, the competition has been ruthless. From being a shy backbencher at school to a confident MBA candidate, I have been through the transformation which has groomed me via different challenges posed at different times. Be it the cut throat race to the top engineering colleges or the fight for the best internship and final placements, the college life threw multi-pronged challenges at me. And then the corporate experience, where every day poses a different set of opportunity to test oneself.
If I were to recall something from my corporate experience it has to be the week I had to step in for my colleagues from a parallel team right before an important release. With absolutely zero knowledge of the domain, I not only had to learn and execute something new but also own the responsibility for the team’s performance and the customer interactions, should anything go wrong. The challenge was to deliver in the environment with stringent deadlines and keep my team motivated to perform. The only thing that helped me through this difficult period was the perseverance. I just had a focussed approach to the tasks and refused to quit, come what may. At the end of the week which involved close to 100 hours of individual work, we as a team not only succeeded in pulling off the release but also earned accolades from the customers. The experience taught me the most valuable lesson of my life – ‘Nothing is impossible’. I still believe it was the morale of the team and their persistent effort that kept me going through the entire ordeal.
I see challenges as an opportunity to test and benchmark myself. If someone has done it in the past I can surely do it now. And if someone hasn’t, it is an even bigger opportunity for me, as I can be the one to inspire others. In reaching where I am today, I have been through multiple challenges, some which I conquered and many that I did not. And that is what it comes down to, at the end of the day. The learnings from the failure is what has brought me here. I am sure there is plethora of challenges that awaits me and I see myself all geared up for them. Life at FMS Delhi has been quite a ride till now. I see the next challenge (read, opportunity) waiting for me tomorrow, and I hope to learn something new again. Hope to keep the fire burning…