1 in 3 cell phone users in India uses Vodafone Idea. Pantaloons is the biggest fashion retail chain in the company with over 300 stores in 80+ cities. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd, India’s first billion-dollar pure fashion powerhouse, has ~22 million loyalty members. Birla Group schools and colleges provide education to over 50,000 students every year. Ultratech Concrete, world’s 10
th largest concrete company, has been a part of a several prestigious projects across India like the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, World Trade Center Pune. Aditya Birla CSR activities reach more than 7.5 million people in over 5,000 villages.
The point I am trying to make is that if one has lived in independent India for 25 years, as I have, it is very unlikely that their lives have not been touched by the Aditya Birla Group. The ABG is one of India’s largest conglomerates and have something to offer for all members of the family.
My family and I too have had a very long affiliation with the group and not only as consumers. ABG’s influence on the Singh family can be traced as far back as 1982. This was the year my father got admitted into the Technological Institute of Textile and Sciences, Bhiwani run, then, by the Birla Education Trust. He was trained in the Birla Textile mill next to the institute and after completion of his course he got placed in Grasim Industries, Gwalior (another Birla company). Although he did not work at Grasim for a long time his professional association with ABG did not end there. As a garment manufacturer, he has been in continuous contact and business with Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd, Madura Garments, ABOF and other brands.
My mother and sister’s association with the group has been rather more straightforward. They have been regular customers of the various ABG retail fashion brands. I too have had a long connection with the group. Like all engineering aspirants, I had appeared for BITSAT, in 2012. I performed well too, but did not make the cut. It is the only negative experience I associate with ABG. But the group more than made up for it when Vodafone-Idea free messaging services helped me connect with a girl from school whom I liked.
I could go on and on. But the main takeaway from this is that, Aditya Birla Group has been very big presence in my life and that of my family’s.
Life has is a roller coaster ride in its truest sense.
I feel that the career of a boxer epitomises life better than anything else. There are days when he will go out there and knock the opponent out in the first round. And then there will also be many days where he will have to persevere very hard, get hit, bruised and hurt. The hallmark of a great champion is not how hard he can hit, it’s about how hard he can get hit and keep moving on. Challenges are a part of life.
I, much like everybody else, have had my fair share of challenges. I have mentioned a couple of prominent ones below. The first challenge I remember facing is also the biggest one I’ve ever faced and it still plagues me to this day. This story is from class 5. Like every good student, the class teacher asked me to prepare and read out a news article in the school assembly. But on the day of the assembly I discovered the phenomenon of stage-fright. I went to my teacher and told her I had a bad stomach ache. I was taken to the infirmary and relieved from my news-reading duties.
However, it soon became clear to me that this is something I cannot continue to avoid. So I began participating in debates and MUNs. To overcome the fear, I would try to prepare in great detail. Preparing well gave me a sense of control and confidence which would soothe me and allow me to express myself well.
The second major challenge that I faced is a much recent one. It is from my time working at ZS Associates (before joining IIFT).
When I joined ZS, I became a part of a 3-member team which was responsible for 3 work streams for 2 clients. Within a month of my joining, both my colleagues resigned in quick succession. Despite the company's best efforts, the replacements arrived only in the last week of their notice periods, thus, the incumbents got very limited overlap with the departing folks. It was, therefore, decided that I will learn and document everything there I about the work streams and then transfer it onto the new teammates. Despite having previous work experience, I had never held so much responsibility. But I backed myself, and although we had to spend some late nights at office, I was able to bring the new associate up to speed quite quickly while completing the next quarter's deliverable on time as well.