Aditya Birla Group- the one famous inseparable part of every household has played a major role in influencing the lives of people since the first war of independence i.e. 1857, its year of commencement. I personally don't think there is even a single aspect of life where an ABG product has not stepped in. Aditya Birla Group is a multinational conglomerate that operates in about 35 countries. "All growth depends upon activity"- says a quote by Calvin Coolidge. This saying is just so apt for ABG which has grown all the way along not just in years but also in strengths achieved through diversity, thoughts and experiences of people.
ABG - A name that adds meaning to my life
I am a 21 year old Odia girl who is currently pursuing MBA in IIM Visakhapatnam. I completed 10th from a very small place called Sonepur in Odisha. I still remember those days when I used to visit my grandparents in Bhubaneswar in my summer vacations. Bhubaneswar in those days did not have these fancy stores that sold so many brands under one roof. Pantaloons was the first to do so there. And that store was like the new big thing in the town. It was literally my happy place. Basically it was that one place where all my new dresses and shoes were bought. By the time I grew up and shifted to Bhubaneswar, Pantaloons had literally become the one permanent shopping place for not just me but for my entire family and we are such regular buyers that we even own a 7 star Pantaloons greencard at present.
The next brand that takes me back to my happy memories is Ultratech Cement. It dates back to those times when our house was under construction. There were these big bags of Ultratech cement ready to be used and what attracted me so much to them is the beautiful smell and texture of the cement and water mixture. I loved it so much that I played with it and came back home with cement all over me.
The ABG's logo till date makes me nostalgic and I suddenly realize how much important it has been to me.
Struggles - The strength driving factor
3 years back if someone would have said me that I would be here in IIM Visakhapatnam writing this article, I would have clearly termed him/her to be crazy. Coming from a small school with a batch strength of 32, I never had the kind of exposure that all the other big city people had. But I still thing the kind of opportunities that I had in a small school made me really confident. 12 years in one school was a lot and bidding the school and the place a goodbye was really tough.
My new phase in a new school and that too in a new environment was not easy. Since the day one, I found it very difficult to cope up with difficult situations and an entire set of new people there. Things got too bad that I forgot the one sole reason that I was there for i.e. academics. Marks were low, subjects seemed like torture and above all school administration threw on me all these rules that got me nowhere. All the confidence that I gained in the amazing 12 years of my life were all lost in the 2 years or atleast that is what I felt.
With all these past baggage, I moved to an engineering college. Though, this career and the college I was studying in wasn't something that my family approved of, I thought of making these 4 years the most of it. But it wasn't easy. For the 1st time, I moved from the comfortable space of my home to the compact room of my college hostel. Friends were made, secrets were shared, food was cooked and that is when I realized the importance of collective effort, adjustments and small compromises. College life just showed me a new aspect of the world where we need to judge less, think well, work together, go with the flow and strive harder.
Management was always at the back of my head but it just took a new form where it was just not an option any more that I might choose in some part of my life; it had become an ambition. That is when I thought of appearing for CAT. Quite unexpectedly, I got three calls: XIMB, IIM Sambalpur and IIM Visakhapatnam. And what surprised me more was that I converted them all. Well, this was the time for one of those life changing decisions. I had already decided to take up XIMB when I converted IIM Sambalpur. I changed my decision keeping in view of the IIM tag and I spent about a month getting myself ready to be in Sambalpur. The actual plight of taking a decision came up when I converted IIM V in spite of having a bad interview. It would not have been that difficult if Sambalpur was not in Odisha or IIM V was not the best of all the baby IIMs. For a person like me who had never been out of her state, it was like a war between the heart and the mind. But then, it is impossible to learn something till you aren’t out of your comfort zone. So, keeping every positive in mind like good placements, better facilities and great connectivity to all the major cities of India, I finally decided to choose IIM Visakhapatnam. I believe in going with the flow and for now the only thing I can hope for is IIM V helps me bring the best out of me.