“Education is a system of imposed ignorance.”
-Noam Chomsky
From my first day at kindergarten where most of my children around me were crying seeing their parents go, I was probably the only one happy to embark on a new journey. However, kindergarten was the only year I was happy in school, as there was no competition to be the topper of the class. This is for the fact that, nor anybody understood neither were we imposed by the pressure. However, to my surprise things changed and I was a part of the rat race where everyone wants marks but no one wanted to gain knowledge. My life struggled between managing my parent’s expectation of getting best of the grades and actually doing some of the stuff that I really liked. Until ninth standard, everything was smooth but then the devil enters, The 10th Board Examination. The expectation of my family touched the sky. Everybody wanted my photograph in a newspaper but nobody guided me for life after board exam i.e. the career path. Now the devil played its part and the board exam results were out. I performed reasonably well (87%) but my photo was not there in the newspaper, which made my parents cry. For anyone the biggest disappointment in life is when your parents have tears because of you. The silver lining in the cloud was that I scored 96 in Mathematics and 91 in Science, which made my family, decided that I was fit for the Science stream. Having a deep impact about my parent’s tears, I worked 15 hours a day for the next two years. After 700 days of hard work, the results of 12th board came and I topped my school with 93% and a photograph in the local newspaper.
In India, there are only two professions, which the society accepts. You are either an engineer or a doctor. As I majored in Mathematics, the answer for me was clear. The real task unwinds now, Which College. Which Stream what are the future scopes for each of them? IIT's? NIT's? These questions were bombarded to me as if I am in a war. The worst part is people who never paid my fees asked them. To my relief, my parents supported me and made me take an informed decision, which I think is the best decision of my life.
I joined Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya, which was established in 1948 from donations made by the
Birla Education Trust on the behest of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Home Minister of independent India. The college was inaugurated by Lord Mountbatten, the Governor General of India on 14 June 1948, and rose to prominence. This was my first introduction into the world of Birla Family as I was fortunate to study because of the generosity of Shree Ghanshyamdas Birla. My first month in college and I met a person who eventually became my best friend. He suggested me a book he was reading, The India Unbound. Not having read a single book until now in my life, I decided to try it. When I look back into June 2013, I realize that this was the second best decision of my life. After a month of reading this book, as I was a novice, my life changed completely. My entire journey after 2013 was because I read The India Unbound.
“He didn’t know me, but I knew that it was Ghanshyamdas Birla, the Marwari magnate and Gandhi’s confidant. Even though he was one of the richest men in India, he was courteous and he spoke very softly.” Birla and Tata were the two largest business houses of India, and I recall that throughout my childhood, they conjured the same images that Rockefeller and Carnegie might have evoked to a young American of their day. It was commonplace to hear, “What do you think I am—a Birla or Tata?”
The above lines are my second venture and the most informative one into the world of Birla. Gurucharan das perfectly describes the Birla Heritage, which inspires me until date. Not only this, he also mentions about Aditya Birla and his business acumen, which makes me want to be the part of Birla Family. Throughout my life, I have had interactions with the Aditya Birla Group in some or the other manner though articles, products, advertisements. Though they have contributed a lot in my life, I never got a chance to pay it back until I was 23 years of age. Now that I am 23 and I am in my First Job as a Business Analyst in Digital Marketing as one of the leading firms in India. My first month in job and I am assigned a client and guess what it is none other than a company under the umbrella of Aditya Birla Capital. I was selling Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance online and making the company grow. I am lucky to be a part of the extended Birla Family as I was able to pay some of the favors back. Until this date, Aditya Birla Group remains my dream organization and dreams always turn to reality when you strive hard for it. However, the question remain do I strive hard or do I have the mettle to work for the prestigious family? To answer this I would like to tell my personal story.
It was the year 2009; I was in my ninth Standard. I came from the school and I see my mother is crying and there is some tension in the family. I was unaware about the fact that I am going to get the biggest shock of my life in a couple of minutes. My father lost the vision in his left eye and he had to resign. To a 13 year old, it sounded like an alien talking. By the time I could make out some sense, we were under the grip of financial crisis. I could have continued my school or just sat and cried with my mother. However, I chose to stand against all the odds and I asked my mother to make tiffins and would deliver them on cycle. The struggle was real for a 13-year-old boy who had to forget all his wishes for toys, games, movies and work as a salesperson. The above incident made me a mature, contend and hardworking individual. If I could leave you all with one thought for the day.
“When life gives you lemons, make lemon pie and throw at life’s face.”