Part A
I come from the suburbs of Mumbai, and growing up we did not have malls around our place. However, we did have a Pantaloons outlet. The first time we went there was for my sister’s college shopping and we were so excited. Ever since, Pantaloons has been one of the stores that’s in my list whenever I decide to go shopping. I do not have the loyalty cards of any other stores, but I have a Pantaloons green card. Because I am sure Pantaloons is going to be my to-go destination whenever I need to shop.
In my formative years, I was introduced to one of my mom’s friends who is a really inspiring women. She was amongst the senior management in her company. I loved her dressing sense and the way she carried herself. On asking her I found out, she always wears Allen Solly.
From my first salary, I gifted my dad a shirt from Peter England. And when I realized I needed suits for my MBA, the place I went to was Van Heusen.
Aditya Birla group and Sun Life financials are one of the leading financial services organizations. Aditya Birla Sun Life mutual funds is one of the largest fund houses in the country providing exemplary asset management, differentiated products, investor awareness program and consistent risk- adjusted performance. When I started working and wanted to invest in SIP, one the funds I went for was ABSL mutual fund because it is one of the most trusted brand in the country.
The house that I live in ( and my home for the past 18 years) has been built using Ultratech cement. That is how big of a role Aditya Birla has played in my life.
Part B
During my school days, I was a shy kid. I had stage fright and I wasn't good with public speaking. During my secondary section, I was missing out on a lot of extracurricular activities because of this. I knew I had to push myself and get over this challenge. So I started with reading news during the attendance. I practiced at home. I started doing readings at the church. Finally, I volunteered to give a speech at one of the school functions. Yes, I was scared, but I realized, that I have come so far and this was just another step I had to take. I stumbled during the first few lines, but as I went on, I knew what I had to say and ended the speech well. This was a huge thing for me, someone who couldn't even think of speaking in front of the class was speaking in front of the entire school. It took a lot of hard work, perseverance and confidence to get there.
After my 12th, I took up BSc in microbiology. It was a good subject but halfway through the first semester I released that it was not my calling. I still continued to do well in my academics but I didn't wish to continue with the same. I decided to switch my subject, which meant starting all over again. When I first told my parents about it, they were certainly not thrilled. However, after convincing them they agreed and I took up Stats as my majors. The biggest challenge here was taking a new path when I was still quite comfortable with what I was doing. However, I decided to listen to my instinct, got into a good college for statistics and put all my effort into the same. I graduated with flying colors with Statistics as my majors.
My major take away has always been to be hardworking and humble, and the rest will always fall into place, no matter how big the challenge is in front of me.