Notice The Small Things, And The Rewards Are Inversely Proportional - Suraj Shridhar, NMIMS Mumbai

I was a bright student in school. My family is full of engineers and doctors who have graduated from the premium institutes of our country. Having a family background of academically brilliant people always has a down side, you feel you too need to be at some position academically, in your life. My family never pressurised me, nor was there ever any comparison between me and my siblings, but I myself used to feel that I need to a make a mark through my work. When I was in class 12 I faced a huge challenge, I gave lesser importance to studies and I spent more time with friends and wasted a lot of time. I got average marks in the entrance exam for engineering, as the overall results were a bit low I got into a good engineering college with the marks I had secured. I had no priorities set on how I am going to shape my career. The first two semesters in engineering saw my grades drop badly, and I had to really work hard if I had to bring back my grades so that I could get into a good company during placements. That is when I started setting priorities for myself. I started monitoring my daily activities and started keeping a check on the time I spent in activities which did not have any tangible benefits towards my career. I worked very hard, put in additional efforts through internships and projects to make a strong profile. My grades improved drastically. I started realising my priorities and my judgements/decisions were turning out to be fruitful in shaping up a good career for myself. I prepared vigorously for my placements. After 2 years of hard work I had made a profile which gave me a chance to compete for the big brands that would come for hiring. I faced difficulties in the initial phases as I was not able to make the cut in the companies that came in the beginning of the placement process. But, in the end my hard work paid off, as I got placed in one of the best companies on campus, an MNC, and I was sure that I had laid a great foundation for building my career.

Why Aditya Birla Group is big in my life

There are some brands you use only when you are a child, others when you grow old, but there a few which play a role in every phase of your life.

School: I remember when I used to be in school, we had snack breaks of 20 minutes as your school timings were from 7 AM to 1 AM. We used to get the break at around 10 30 AM and everyone used to assemble on the ground, eating their dabbas and playing games. As my mom used to pack the snacks early in the morning, she used to wrap the sandwiches or any other eatables in a silver wrap foil. I used to wonder why she used to do that initially, because none of the other kids in my group used it. But I used to always notice that my food was fresher and used to taste better than the food my friends brought. Soon, my friends used to wait for me to open my snack box so that they could have a bite. As the snack breaks were instrumental in bonding with friends, the food I used to bring became a medium of making new friends. Even today I have a very thick group of friends from my school, I still believe the fresh food in my dabba and the bonding over the food, helped me make a good set of friends. The silver foil my mom wrapped my food in, was the difference. That’s how Freshwrapp and Aditya Birla group helped me have a great school life. College and Corporate life: During school and in the initial college days I used to wear clothes bought from the local shops in my area. As my parents knew them, we used to get a reasonable discount and good variety. I never thought of buying branded clothes and thought they were expensive. But, in college one of my friends used to wear shirts by Peter England, he said they made great shirts and the quality, colour, fabric were amazing. He suggested that I should try the brand. So, the next time I went shopping for clothes I visited a Peter England store. I was impressed by the designs and the quality of the shirts. But, I was even more impressed by how reasonable they were with their in pricing. I bought a couple of shirts. From that day I have been a loyal customer of Peter England. I used to feel that premium brands were worn only by the rich upper class, but by wearing Peter England I had a feeling that I belonged to an elite section of the society and that gave me confidence. Later after a year I came to know that Peter England isn’t a foreign brand but was a brand under the Aditya Birla Group. That’s when I was shocked that the international quality was by a company from your own country. With Peter England, Aditya Birla group gave the youth access to premium quality clothing and helped them feel good about themselves.