“I think that the power is the principle. The principle of moving forward, as though you have the confidence to move forward, eventually gives you confidence when you look back and see what you've done.”
Growing up as the only child has its benefits. But it can also be lonely sometimes, especially when both your parents have their respective day jobs. So, like any other child, you grow up by being hooked to the only thing that gives him the experience of a virtual reality – a television. From cartoons, to serials, to sports and lots of Animal Planet, it was quite easy to get attached to several genres as a child. By being in front of the television for long hours, you also came across several advertisements, some of which get ingrained in your memory. Some of those advertisements were of famous and upcoming brands like Peter England, Planet Fashion, UltraTech cement and Idea. These were a few of many ads which will always be a part of my childhood. I can never forget about the countless number of times I watched them during an over break in a cricket match or during a cartoon break.
Fast forward 15 years, I see myself staring at my placement schedule during my BTech. We had up to 3 companies visiting our campus in a day and we had to strictly wear formals. It came daunting to me that my wardrobe filled with Roadster, Nike, Puma and Wrogn T-shirts and shirts were redundant, for perhaps the most important month of my life. Then, like any other uninformed person, I took the help of google to find out some formal clothing brands. And there it was – the first result which popped up was Peter England. It rekindled my childhood memories of watching countless advertisements of that brand. They offered a variety of styles – checked, striped, solids with a variety of colours as well. I decided to go on Myntra to get a detailed description of the products. While browsing the app, I came across other brands like Louis Phillippe, Allen Solly and Van Heusen. The shirts and trousers they offered were of equally good quality along with affordable prices. I was honestly spoiled for choices. But that made my life a lot easier and I ended up purchasing 5 shirts and 3 trousers, enough to last a week.
As the placements week commenced, I saw myself wearing business formals for the first time in my life. I was surrounded by people wearing business attire. But I felt extremely confident in how I presented myself. The confidence and class were oozing from within me when I had to face the interview panel. The entire week passed by. Probably the most hectic 7 days of my life at that time. The results were announced soon and I bagged myself an offer from a top IT company. After all the hullaballoo, I went on to do some research about these brands. It was at that time I came to know that all these brands were owned by the company Aditya Birla Group. Since then, for me, this name became synonymous with class and hard work. I wasted no time in buying a Peter England suit for my farewell…
Fast forward a couple of years in time, after spending time in the service sector, I decided to try and become a better version of myself and pursue an MBA. I was fortunate to have bagged a seat at SIBM-Pune. On my first day, while I was on the uphill journey to this lovely hilltop campus, I reminisced about my past college memories and wondered how the second part of my college life would shape up. My time during the placements and the beginning of my love affair with Aditya Birla Group flashed in my mind. Sitting in my taxi, I heard the Idea ringtone being played on the driver’s phone, while bags of UltraTech cement were seen beside a new hostel under construction. It seems like my love affair with Aditya Birla Group still has a few miles left…