“First create jobs, then provide skills to the people” – Kumar Mangalam Birla. A company led by such a visionary must have its principles and ethos in the right place, which is precisely the case with Aditya Birla Group of Companies. A small business of cotton trading started by Shiv Narayan Birla in 1857 in the village of Pilani, Rajasthan has today grown into a massive conglomerate with over 1,20,000 employees from nearly 42 nationalities. An advertisement that has stayed in my mind is the one featuring Ultratech Cement which proclaims “India banayenge” and saw numerous architects laying the foundation stone for many projects that would make India a world leader. It exhibited the vision that ABG had and still does for modern India. Peter England, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Pantaloons are some of its iconic apparel brands that attract people of all ages. Its foray into telecommunication with Idea with its unique tagline “Idea Jo badal de apke duniya” and the subsequent merger with Vodafone displays its versatility across domains. Birla Sun Life Insurance and Aditya Birla Capital have made rapid advancements in the financial services and insurance domains. The corporate logo of ABG showcases a blend of continuity and change. “Like a prism, it refracts the multi-dimensional facets of our Group. A deep sense of simplicity, solidity, permanence. Vim and vigour. Hope. Our timeless values. Our boundless optimism. And all these culminate in the dramatic ascension of our Group, rising in perpetuity, reaching higher peaks.” – Sandeep Gurumurthy, Chief Custodian of ABG logo. Their ‘Make a Difference’ project, which is a noteworthy initiative for enhancing lives of rural households, is being followed religiously in many colleges, including #IIM Trichy. Thus, the significance of ABG in my life as well as the development of post-independence and modern India has been immense and should continue to be so for decades, maybe centuries to come. It would be a great honour to be associated with such a prestigious brand.

THE COMEBACK IS ALWAYS STRONGER THAN THE SETBACK #IIMTRICHY

“Life is not about how hard of a hit you can give…. It’s about how many you can take and still keep moving forward”. This dialogue from the popular ‘Rocky’ movie franchise shows the mentality of a successful boxer who has to overcome great odds to achieve his goals and make his dreams come true. True grit is reflected in the decisions we take when the going gets tough. One challenging incident of my life happened when I was in 8^th standard in school. My father suffered a sudden heart attack and had to be rushed to the hospital. The situation seemed grim and he had to undergo Bypass surgery instantly to survive. Incidentally, my brother and I had our Semester exams within the same week. We had to juggle through studies, our chores and visits to the hospital. My father fortunately made a full recovery and even my scores didn’t suffer. But the image from that time that I can never forget is that of my mother showing immense composure even in such a critical situation. I understood that bravery does not mean external aggression, it can also be the mental fortitude that is exhibited in challenging circumstances. Recently, I had an accident where I injured my shoulder, resulting in a collarbone fracture. This happened just a week before I was supposed to join #IIM Trichy for my MBA course. The orthopedic specialist I consulted had prescribed keeping my arm in a sling and shoulders wrapped tight, which made movement with my left arm virtually impossible. I was slightly worried as I was about to start my life in a new place and a challenging environment. My brother came with me to Tiruchirappalli, carried my bags and helped me settle. Even my new acquaintances were very helpful although we had just met. For nearly three weeks, I have been in this position but I have coped up quite well and learnt to appreciate the importance of a healthy body as well as facing life’s biggest hurdles, albeit with considerable help from people around me.  I believe in the Chinese proverb “A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials”. We learn from adversity and every trying situation has a lesson in the end for what we should do the next time something similar happens.