"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value." -Thomas Paine
My association with the Aditya Birla Group began in the year 2006 when I first visited the Rave 3 Mall. Rave 3, Kanpur was the first mall to open in the city in 2002. My joy knew no bounds when Dad took us for Diwali shopping there. I was in Class 8th and the entire mall experience was new to me. The entire infrastructure was lit up in blue and red lights. Walking into the mall made me feel like a little prince. While entering, the big green board caught my eyes. ‘Pantaloons', it read. I insisted on shopping from there, looking at all the extravagant collection. "Namaste", said the doorkeeper, I smiled and waved back. My sister and I were the first ones to roam around the entire premise while mother came running after us. In no time, we were in the kids' section, captivated by all the apparel. Soon greeted by the Customer Executive, we started trying out and selecting the ones we liked. Dad stood there, smiling. Once done, with our clothes and mom's, we proceeded towards the Men's section. I could see how impressed dad was with the shirts in the Van Heusen collection. Even after suggesting many colours and varieties, dad insisted on not buying anything for himself. It was beyond my understanding as to why he did not buy anything. We came back after having a happy shopping experience. The festival went in a breeze, and dad wore one of his old shirts on Diwali. A couple of days later, I asked mom what was the reason, to which she said that Dad had a limited amount of money which he spent on making us buy everything we wanted. I was sad on hearing that, but I could not forget the gleam in his eyes.
10 Years later, I graduated from college. I joined Infosys in 2016. I saved a part of my salary every month for Diwali. I wanted to give it back to my family who supported me through my thick and thins. These values were inscribed in me by my father. It is then, that I decided to make Diwali grand for my family. Hence, I took everyone out for shopping. Dad hesitated at first but agreed later. I took him to the same Mall,10 years later. Nothing had changed. The same board read ‘Pantaloons-An Aditya Birla Group Enterprise'. This time, however, we went to the Men's section first. Arriving at the Van Heusen section, my Father somewhat got an idea of what was to come. Helped by the customer executive, I sorted some shirts and trousers for him. I could see the pride on his face. He happily tried them all, and we ended up buying a couple of shirts and trousers for him and Kurtis for mom. This was my first gift to them, from my hard-earned money. It instilled a sense of happiness in me. I could see the pride on my father's face. That moment was one of the most precious things I have to date. I would forever cherish it.
This is the importance Aditya Birla Group holds in my life more than just a brand, a feeling of pride and accomplishment.
One of the challenging situations faced by me in my professional life was while I was working for my previous company. Infosys has an extensive training program after which the recruits are to be allocated to projects based on requirements. After the successful completion of my training, there was a paucity of projects, which for me resulted in a period of being on the bench with no significant work. This was a challenging period for us new employees who were raring to go. Instead of waiting to get allocated to a project, I took the initiative of getting myself enrolled for something called ‘Accelerate Projects' which are short term internal projects. I took up two such projects and made major contribution and enhancement to them which was much appreciated by my seniors. This helped me land a mainstream project soon after, based on my superior's recommendation. From this, I learn that it is imperative to take initiatives and think out of the box to turn the tide in our favour. On a personal front, while in college, I decided to relieve my parents of their financial contribution towards my personal expenses. I started giving private tuition to some children from the neighbourhood. I extended this to teach basic Science and Math to underprivileged children during my graduation. This helped me in realizing the value of work and hard-earned money very early in life.