How will you define a surreal experience? Imagine you are driving on a bridge constructed in open seas, the cool breeze splattering in your face with a breath-taking view of high-rises on one side and sea on the other, portraying as if it’s a heinous crime committed if you take your eyes off it. While you are driving mesmerized by the scenic beauty, you could hear the waves below splashing on to the gigantic pillars that have been constructed in the sea with perfection, without damaging the network cables below, the lifeline of Mumbai city. Yes, I am talking about the Bandra-Worli sea link. The Bandra-Worli sea link, a bridge, which apart from providing us such an exhilarating experience, also aids to reach Worli from Bandra, reducing travel time from 30 minutes (in peak hours) to approximately 10 minutes. Such an experience would not have been possible without UltraTech Cement of Aditya Birla Group, providing as much as 0.1 million mt of cement into the construction of Bandra-Worli sea link. Such is the influence of Aditya Birla Group on a whole, touching our lives at every instant. Having a firm vision of becoming the world’s premium conglomerate, ABG has never deviated from its mission of delivering superior value to its customers and shareholders, staying true to its tagline, “Big in your life.” Now the question may arise, “What is big?” ABG answers this beautifully. If you visit their website, they state “Big is Massive. Big is Microscopic. Big is indispensable, it is the lifeline, the style and also it makes distance disappear.” What it does is, it introduces its premium companies, all of which are truly indispensable and impacts mine, yours and everyone’s life at a grand level. Big is Massive- ABG talks about UltraTech Cement over here. With 100+ Ready Mix Concrete plants in 35 cities, it is the largest manufacturer of concrete in India. With its avid variety of cement, ranging from Ordinary Portland to Portland Pozzolona cement and also its varied services from building products to building solutions, it acts as the ultimate 360-degree building material destination. I cannot think about building a house without using UltraTech cement. Big is microscopic- Birla Carbon with its nanoparticle technology is the world leader in manufacturing and supply of carbon black additives. Birla Carbon has its footprint across 12 countries on five continents with 16 manufacturing facilities for combined annual production of over 2 million tonnes. It was also awarded the “Golden Peacock Global Award for Sustainability” for its plethora of efforts in the sustainability field involving employee safety, environmental stewardship, efficiently using carbon black and having a key focus on conducting operations in a socially and ethically responsible manner. Thus, when I see black tires on cars, Birla Carbon is the first name that strikes my mind. Big is indispensable- Grasim Industries Limited the flagship company of ABG, started as a textile manufacturer in India in 1947. Today, it is a leading global player in VSF and the largest chemicals (Chlor-Alkali-s) player in India. Grasim Industries is the holding company of Jaya Shree Textiles (India’s top linen brand manufacturing company). Big is the lifeline- Hindalco Industries Ltd is the metals flagship company of ABG. It is the world’s largest aluminium rolling company and is also a leading producer of copper. It owns mines in the Great Sandy Desert, Australia near the Nifty Airport which is also called “Birla Nifty Copper Operation (Nifty Copper Mine).” Along with its global subsidiary Novelis Inc. it also has a global presence in 12 countries. A large share of copper requirement of Indian Railways is fulfilled by Birla Copper Limited- the copper division of Hindalco. Also, Hindalco Aluminium is used to make cover glass for smartphones which endorse their tagline, “Big is in your palm.” Big is about great style- Keeping in mind with the general trend and what we want to wear, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited has never failed to amaze me. With revenue of Rs. 7,181 crores and a retail space of 7 million sq. ft. it is India’s first billion-dollar pure-play fashion powerhouse with an elegant bouquet of fashion brands and retail formats. I cannot imagine going for shopping and not getting into Pantaloons, Planet Fashion or Ralph Lauren. With brands like People, Pantaloons, Skult, Van Heusen, Louis Phillipe, Allen Solly ABG almost is running a monopoly in the retail industry catering to every customer’s day to day needs. Big makes distance disappear- All of us are familiar with the Airtel lady saying, “Sab try karo, then sahi chuno”. I, on the other hand, associate that with Vodafone. ABG’s Vodafone-Idea Limited is the leading telecom service provider in India and second largest globally. With 1850 MHz of total spectrum holding, over 200,000 unique GSM sites and over 235,000 km of fiber, the company offers superior voice and broadband connectivity in India, covering 92 percent of the population and reaching nearly 500,000 towns and villages. Thus, for me, internet connection or network preference, Vodafone is the answer. Thus, everywhere I go, whatever I do, ABG has always left a resounding impact on my life. With its core customer-centric approach and its “power of 5” (integrity, commitment, passion, seamlessness, speed) values, ABG has never failed to amaze me and touch me immensely. While resonating with ABG’s moto, I can say, “ABG is big in my life” and I am sure this is true for everyone else as well.

‘How you overcame challenges to achieve your ambitions in life so far’

Failure will always be called a failure until he succeeds. Studying in a not so well renowned college in my undergrad had instilled a desire in me to do my postgraduate from one of the top colleges in the country. MBA or MTech, that’s something which will be decided later on in life, but my first priority was to pursue whatever it might be from a well-revered institute. After graduation, worked in an IT firm for a year and by then I had made up my mind, MBA it is going to be. IT, despite being a promising platform isn’t something that’s as attractive and lucrative as it was four years earlier. But things weren’t easy. Even though "cat" is just an aptitude exam, if you are an engineer and if you don’t belong to the top 1 percent of the herd, you don’t belong anywhere. Also, with erratic office hours, I knew things won’t be as smooth as I wish it to be. It was July already and I knew going would get tough if I delay any further. Thus, without further procrastination, I plunged into the preparation, made a routine and allotted two hours per day keeping the maximum hours of preparation for the weekends. But life turned out to be what it is supposed to be, tough. My team took out a new project and the deadline was August. My office timings went from bad to worse, stuck in office till 2-3 am working on my code and ever-changing requirements. Two weeks passed by and I saw my dreams slowly fading away, stranded in office without spending even a second behind my ambition. “But this isn’t how it should be!” I said. “This is my only chance to get what I want so badly, what I desire.” I started taking my books to the office and prepared a routine, this time not hour-wise but goal-wise. I chalked out a goal for every day. A preparation planner of sorts. No matter what happens, I won’t deviate from my objectives of the day. I was aware of the fact that my grasp over the English language is weaker than most, thus I need to prepare harder than the most. I had previously planned to wake up around 8 am in the morning, and read the newspaper thoroughly. If there’s a word I am not aware of, I will note it down in my copy. Thus it will help in increasing my vocabulary as well as hone my understanding of the English language. With the erratic nature of office timings, I started waking up at 6 am in the morning even if I had returned at 4 the previous day. Reached office by 8:30, with shimmering hopes of returning back by 5 as according to the office policy we need to work for at least 9 hours per day. More often than not didn’t happen, but as little free time I used to get in my office, I devoted it towards completing my work. Be it my lunch break, or the time waiting for deliverables from my Manager, I tried to complete my routine as much as possible. If not, then after returning home, no matter what time I used to return. Finally, as my life was on track and I had found a rhythm, maintaining both my office life and my studies, I was instructed to go to Delhi for two months, as our project was about to go live. My routine came crashing down with the sudden change of place as client offices, also Government clients had a much worse working environment with the worst working hours. They might leave by 5 pm but expect us to be answerable to them 24*7. Things weren’t easy as they changed their requirements even at the last moment, shifting the entire blame to my company, who in retort shifted everything on me and my team’s shoulders. Also, the office is at Connaught Place and my Guest House located in Noida Sector 50, didn’t make my commute easier or faster by any means. Also, the fact that in Delhi I had 6 days working also hampered my preparation as Saturday was the day when I gave mocks. Thus, I had to change my routine again. Long hours in the office, sleepless nights and the motivation to study from a good college kept me going. There were times when I had decided, its time to give up, enough is enough. All dreams don’t materialize. But the longing to study from a good college superseded all other negativities surrounding me. Social life slowly turned into a myth; relaxation shaped itself into the Arab Tales which our grandmother used to narrate to us when we were young. By the time I returned from Delhi, I was immune to everything, ready for any challenge for life to throw at me. Finally, the D-Day came, November 25^th my cat examination, with my center located 25 km away from Chennai in a village where I had to book Ola rentals to give my exam. With intense pressure and over-complicated quants section, I came out dissatisfied, thinking I could have done better. During my NMAT and XAT examination, I faced another problem. Intense talks of transferring me to Mumbai was being discussed, somehow, I had upheld their decision till my exams were over, as all of them were scheduled in Chennai. The results came out, I had achieved 98.87 percentile in CAT, 98.168 in XAT and 99 percentile in NMAT exam. I finally took admission in the reputed Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai over several new IIMs. My dream to study in India’s best university has now come to a close.  The first day at NMIMS we were involved in a guest session by Venkatesh Maheshwari, Vice President of Aditya Birla Fashions. In a rejuvenated manner, he shared with us his experience of conquering Mt. Everest. No matter how inspiring it was, the talk got me thinking that my journey is far from over. I have conquered my first Everest, but the journey is still on with a new dream, a new ambition taking its course. A new Everest it’s taking its shape with its fresh share of challenges, waiting for me to climb.   #NMIMSMumbai #ABGLPWooMe