Learnings and experience of last 25 years, IIM Raipur

Why ABG is Big in My Life

The year was 1994 when I first entered Hindalco Industries (part of Aditya Birla Group) township in Hirakud, Odisha directly from Hospital. Thanks to my father as he is a part of Aditya Birla Group, I am fortunate enough to have my upbringing in the Hindalco township. Since the first education and values a child receives is of utmost importance, I am fortunate enough that at an early age of 3 years my parents enrolled me in a Kindergarten, Jai Hind Montessori school which is established by Hindalco Industries for all employees’ children. The tutors and the infrastructure of the school was best in entire locality and it also engaged the children in various sports activity, instilled good moral character and provided excellent education. As I grew older, I was able to enjoy a good time in the parks and cricket field in the township. Hindalco also conducted summer activities like cricket matches, swimming classes, Karate classes, Art classes to name a few. These activities developed my competence and taught me the importance of working in team. It speaks a lot about the company as apart from creating value for its shareholders it also focused on enhancing employee relationship. As we know our childhood friends have an important role in our life, I am fortunate enough to have built a strong relationship with some and they continue to be a part of my life. The bonding that we have developed was because of the beautiful experience that we had growing up together in the township. Even now when I visit my parents during the holidays, I spend a good amount of time using the facilities like gym, swimming pool and badminton court available in Hindalco club. Late at night after dinner when I take a walk to relax I am mesmerized by the cool breeze and the lush green landscape which is present due to plantation campaign that Hindalco has incorporated over many years. Now when I realize that my father will be retiring in 5 years and we have to part away with the company and the township it inflicts a sharp pain in me but on a closing note, the 25 years that I have spent in the township will be cherished throughout my entire life.

How I overcame challenges to achieve my ambitions in life so Far

Like a sailor’s potential cannot be measured in a calm sea, it can only be measured by a rough sea. Similarly, a life without challenges is not a life lived at all. Speaking about my challenges, in 2010 it was the first time I left my home for my higher studies. Since I had to stay at hostel, mobile phones were not allowed in the hostel and I was not able to speak with my parents and friends. I started feeling homesickness and it was very difficult for me in the initial days to cope up with my studies. The hostel rules were very strict with no flexibility, so I had to find some solution to adapt to that scenario. Since the only form of entertainment for me was to interact with other students, eventually I made new friends and learnt to work with them as a team, I learnt to understand other people’s perspective and in the process, I became a good listener. This experience helped me to develop my interpersonal skills. Second challenge I faced was in 2016 when I got an opportunity to work in an MNC Automotive company, Meritor HVS Ltd. Based in Mysore, Karnataka. I was a fresher with little knowledge about organisation behavior, since I had recently completed under graduation I was in a relaxed mood with little seriousness in life. Since my job description was a production engineer, I had to supervise the workers and employees, but since the people in shop floor spoke only vernacular (Kannada) it was difficult for me to give even basic instructions to them. In the first week I struggled a lot but then I decided to step outside my comfort zone and spend some extra hour at work to learn Kannada language. Since the language is very different it took me a months’ time to understand it, but the employees in the plant were pleased when they saw a young boy coming from an entirely different place and putting a lot of efforts to learn their language. Eventually employees from various departments started approaching me and appreciated my effort which further encouraged me to learn the language. Through this experience I was able to build a strong relationship with the people working in the company and earned their respect. From the above two challenges I learnt that it’s very important to come out of the comfort zone and take initiatives in life. #IIMRaipur #ABGLPWooMe