Aditya Birla Group through its various businesses has touched the lives of millions across India and world. Be it construction, fashion, telecommunications, steel, chemicals or financial services, it has made a deep impact in day to day life of people across the world including mine. Couple of years back, during my graduation I had no idea how big Aditya Birla Group really is and how most of the apparels in my wardrobe and countless other stuff actually belonged to this giant conglomerate. Louis Philippe, Allen Solly, Peter England are few brands that I have been wearing for years along with one of my favourite economical Pantaloons’ in house brands. And it is not just through apparels that have ABG has been a crucial part of my life. Idea was the first network that I used when I was just in 10
th standard. Since then it has never disappointed me in terms of connectivity, add on services and prices. It has now merged with Vodafone Group and is a leading service provider in India and second largest globally. UltraTech cement was the first and only recommendation given to my father by the local contractor during the renovation of my house. The trust that the contractor showed reflected the true claim made by UltraTech that it is the choice of Engineers. UltraTech has also launched a unique novel concept named UltraTech Building Solutions which is a one-stop shop designed on the plan, build and support philosophy and is extremely helpful for individual home builders. ABG has provided countless jobs opportunities across the world and is fulfilling its responsibilities towards all its stakeholders including the society at large by undertaking CSR activities and partnering with NGOs and firms focused on sustainable development. Realizing how involved ABG groups is with everyone’s life is really astonishing and makes me wonder what next can I expect from this giant conglomerate.
Overcoming My Biggest Challenge – Not Easy But Not Impossible Either
Since my childhood I have been a sports enthusiast. Name any sports - cricket, football, volleyball or even snooker, I have played them all. And not just playing in general. I was playing football ever since I can remember. As I grew up I started playing for local clubs and soon was participating in various inter school tournaments, followed by district leagues and club tournaments. By the time I completed my high school, I had decided to pursue my career in football. All was going good but then something happened which changed my life completely. When I was in the final year my school life, during a football match I suffered an injury in my right foot. Multiple fractures made it impossible for me to play for at least next one year. Even after that, the doctor suggest me not to play since the risk was too high. For couple of months post injury, I was completely lost. I had no idea what I would do if not football. Since I was solely focussing on football for past two years, academics had become my second priority and accordingly I was not doing very good. But I realised that I had to make a decision since it was 12
th standard. I started focusing on academics since I was not playing football anymore. It was really hard in the beginning, the thought of not playing football coupled with the pressure to do well in 12
th standard. But eventually I overcame my personal issues and did better than what anyone expected from me. I scored the highest marks in my school and was able to get into one the top colleges of Delhi University. This was followed by getting into an IIM in my first attempt. The hard work that I had to put into achieving this gave me a lifelong lesson of not stopping if faced by an obstacle of any kind. You need to adopt yourself as per the situation and have to make sacrifices if the need be. In the end everything works out provided you give your best shot at it. And yes I do play football now, just not professionally.
#IIMRaipur #ABGLPWooMe