Part A
It is hard to believe if an Individual comes up to me and says ABG hasn't influenced his life. ABG is everywhere - my house in my hometown, the abutting apartment, my car, my phone, the fertilizer in friend’s field, the lunch box my mother packs for me, the clothes I wear, the roads I travel on, the trains I board and what not. It indeed has made it big for millions--the rich and the underprivileged--through its gamut of products and services, and CSR activities. To me, ABG is the life I live.
It was June 2014. A small town guy graduated from the city of destiny and took up his first job in the city of dreams. The location was the heart of Mumbai, hundred metres from the 'Yash Raj Studio'. The first day at the office, the Mumbai rain, seeing a celebrity face to face for the first time, my first branded apparel; all coincided with my first shopping at the Pantaloons. So, Pantaloons is not just an experience but an emotion and beyond. Needless to say, it became an automatic choice to me for buying clothes and, Peter England my favourite brand. Five years since then and my shopping bag from Pantaloons has only diversified: my ‘VanHeusen’ interview suit, my mother's favourite ‘Liva’ Kurtis and more. It’s not just for the nostalgia, but the quality, the feel, the affordability and the service. Not a surprise, I ended up shopping ‘buy 3 get 3’ Peter England apparels from Pantaloons before embarking the MBA journey from IIM Kashipur. I was all set to face the upcoming challenges.
Part B
Challenge is a part of life. No matter what, we need to own it and face it head on. 13
th Feb 2012, the day I want to forget but never can. I was in my second year of Engineering. I got a phone call from my brother. All he said was that we had grown up now and were big enough to face anything in life, and I gush of bad thoughts shook me. I had lost my father due to a sudden cardiac arrest. Ever since then, life has been nothing but challenging. Before I could handle myself, the thought of my mother, my sister started troubling me. I immediately asked for money from my friends, booked a flight to my home, wrote a mail to my warden and the Director and headed to my home.
Handling things at home was tough, and then there were my mid semester exams lingering only two and a half weeks away. I did the best I could at the home, stayed there for 13 days and ran to my college for the exams. That is what my father would have wanted me to do. I spent sleepless nights to pass the exams and surprisingly performed decently well. I then struggled but somehow managed to get another 25 day off from college and was back to home again or rather back to the real work. I was badly needed there. Only after I had made the necessary arrangements for my mother, completed the document formalities and much more, I went back to my college again. At the end, I had made it to the top 5 in that semester exam. Ever since then, I have been facing challenges and overcoming it. I sincerely believe that is what life is.