Aditya Birla Group Woven in Lives - IIM Sirmaur

When someone utters Aditya Birla group, the rising star logo is instantly refreshed in our minds. This is the brand recognition earned through years of spotless performance. With a large enough market presence and a good marketing campaign, many companies achieve this. But the positive brand image is a centennial fruit harvested after years of spotless performance and giving back to the community, which the Aditya Birla group exclusively enjoys.

Spinning a yarn of success, on a road paved with integrity, the Aditya Birla group is present in over 34 countries. Leading in telecom, the Vodafone Idea Ltd. has been connecting me with my family since I first left my home in 2007 for higher education. I navigated the seas of opportunities and tasted freedom donning garments from Pantaloons in Lucknow. Strolling further down the memory lane, I remember my father accompanying me to the local market near our village to buy DAP and NPK from IFFCO. When these items were in short supply at IFFCO, trusty Birla Balwan PP woven sacks was quickly procured and loaded in our vehicle.

How big is the group, is a question best tackled by bean counters and pencil pushers.  How much it encompasses our lives, is a question easily answered. The Aditya Birla group is ubiquitous in India since its conglomeration during the final blows of Quit India movement. It is the group that lead India into an era of MNCs and glocalization, quickly after the formation of independent and republic India, and is likely to be encompassing the life of the farthest individual in the remotest location.

Improvise, Adapt and Overcome

When thrown into the wild urban jungle known as a metropolitan city, I quickly found myself behaving like slime. Free from the mould that was my parents and home, I treaded into uncharted waters of decision making and responsibility. After choosing a career path in engineering, I quickly found out I was interested enough in technology, just not enough to brave the turbulent waters that is the engineering curriculum.

Lacking in grades and morale, I realized I was the go-to person when anyone had problems. Ranging from life advice to trifling dilemmas, my acquaintances opened up to me about whatever was troubling them. With a blurry vision of my immediate future, I decided to change career paths, while realizing the irony of the dialogue from 3 idiots – “What else if not a fool. First, he did engineering, then an MBA, and now he is working in a bank in the US”. But I was a determined fool, working as a content writer in an e-commerce company, following it with a job in corporate (B2B) sales. Luckily enough, the position gave me the relevant experience to gain maximum out of a program in management. Fueled with newfound confidence and after scoring a decent score in Common Admission Test, the first hurdle in front of every elite B-school gate and me was my erratic career path, low scores instilled very little confidence in those who were to offer me a chance. I know this is not a tear-jerking account of a struggle rode life, but I had my downs. With underpaid jobs, growling stomach days and empty wallet days, saving two ten rupees notes out of three for bus fare to office, was not a once in a lifetime episode. I got offered the chance I desired, and with my priorities in order, I feel I have crossed the milestone the past me set out for the present me. Humbling might not be what my story is, but ask me about it, I have several funny and interesting anecdotes of this journey.