Imagine this.
It is at the end of May. You recently graduated from high school and are waiting to enter college. A phone call from your mother reminds you to buy some items from the nearby grocery store. After shopping, you decide to buy some formal shirts and pants for college use. On your way back, you witness some farmers happily plowing the field and applying fertilizers. A school nearby is undergoing renovation before it opens again. You visit the temple to offer your prayers. Minutes later, when you reach back home, you feel elated to be selected to pursue engineering at a reputed college.
Don’t get it?
I just took you into the real world of the Aditya Birla group.
The high school that you graduated from? – Aditya Birla Public School
The phone call you received from your mother? – from the Idea Vodafone network, the most trusted telecom service provider in India
The grocery store that you visited? – MORE retail stores, from Aditya Birla group
The formal clothing you buy? – any of Van Heusen, Allen Solly or Peter England
The farmers applying fertilizers? – a product of Aditya Birla Chemicals bought with easy loans provided by the ABFL.
The renovation? - using Ultratech cement
The temple? – Birla temples, the intricately carved structures erected by the group wherever they establish a business concern
The college? – BITS Pilani, which was established by the Birla family
And the best part? Most of it pertains to me in real life.
With a rich heritage of 162 years as one of the leading business houses of India, the Aditya Birla group has significant mindshare among generations young and old. With every step of their journey, they have provided for the needs of every Indian: starting from basic amenities like textiles and agro-chemicals to moving towards schools and telecom. As with most Indians, I feel proud to have been related to this group and its activities and will continue to do so.
Overcoming Challenges:
My biggest challenge to date has been recovering from the ligament tear injury I suffered while in college. I underwent surgery for the same in December 2016. After the operation, my movement was restricted, and I was confined to the chair. While it gave me time to think about my priorities and life choices, I was losing out on a lot. I got accustomed to a lethargic lifestyle and gained over 10 kgs in the next six months. Due to my recuperation being incomplete, I took a break year after graduation to continue with the physiotherapy exercises. And it was painful.
Daily the exercises went on for approximately three hours. And the daily improvements were too slight to notice. But I didn’t want the year to go to waste. So, with tears and self-loathing, I would do it over again. Around this time, the form for CAT was released. To ensure that my employment opportunities are not hindered for two years in a row, I filled the form and started preparing on my own.
The exercises would drain most of my energy, but still, I would try to study whatever little I could in the best way possible. Since the exam was due in four months, I could devote only a limited number of hours for each section. I started with the section easiest to me, and slowly progressed towards the difficult ones. To be better prepared for the test environment, I used to attempt all questions in a time-bound manner. Even though I missed deadlines, I had kept an ample amount of buffers to finish the syllabus within the stipulated time.
Seven months later, I am where I dreamed of – Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi. The hard work I put in, the pain I went through is now just a memory.