Aditya Birla Group, the name needs no introduction. It has penetrated every inch of India residing in the minds and hearts of people alike. From being a naive kid watching ‘Taking India to the World’ advertisement and being fascinated by it to aspiring to be a part of the ABG family, I now realize how far I have come. My first recollection of ABG was as a child when I opened my lunch box in school and was surprised to find the food wrapped in some kind of aluminium sheet. Much to my surprise, the food was hot. I came home and asked my mother about it. I came to know of Freshwrapp and my tryst with ABG started. I clearly remember the day when I first stepped into a Van Heusen showroom. I always wanted a good suit for myself and this too was in a way given to me by ABG. I can proudly say that it was the suit that I interviewed in for IIFT, and behold, I am here now. The Forever 21 jeans that I gifted my sister from my first salary, the Louis-Phillipe shirt I bought for my father, the Ultratech cement holding the foundations of my home, ABG has been an indispensable part of my life. When you come to think of it, the number of lives that ABG has touched in India and the world has been commendable. Few go beyond duty and uphold the responsibility that come with power and privilege and ABG without and ounce of doubt is one of them.
Shy, reticent, timid, such adjectives had been associated with me all throughout my school life. Why, one may ask. The answer, I was. A young kid who liked his own company the most. Someone who would rather eat a bag of chili than stand up and answer a question put up in class, two + two was perhaps difficult for a ten-year-old, or so the teachers thought. I believed nothing that I would say would add any value to anything so, I stayed quiet, throughout my school life. End of school and waiting for college to start was perhaps the lowest point in my life. Struggling with family issues, my own confidence and self-esteem, I closed off myself from the world even more. A couple of days before I left for college, the ball dropped on me rather it was thrown at me by my mother. She said, “There is only one challenge in life that you need to overcome, repeatedly. Everything that bogs you down and has affected you so much in life was always only just this one thing.” I was perplexed and asked her what was she even saying. She made me sit beside her, stroked my head and said, “It has always been you. You are your own biggest obstacle. There is nothing in life that you need to fight other than yourself.” This stuck a chord with me and I took it with myself as I went to college. The first few days were the same, a quiet blur. But I could sense something building up inside me. This was a class of soft-skills training (yes, engineering colleges have such classes) and my mother’s words were resonating in my ears. I knew that this was the time that I need to fight myself. Overcome my very own self to be better than what I have always been. And, I did. I was hesitant, embarrassed and flushed but, I continued. That was the day I decided to take on the biggest challenge in my life and I am more relieved than glad that I did. Since that day, I have never looked back. I started public speaking, sort of and conducted quizzes for people as the quiz-master starting in a room of ten. Two years went by in a jiffy at college and the last that I spoke on stage there was in front of close to a thousand people. I wondered; did I make it? Had I overcome myself? Yes, and no. I did something at that point, something to be proud of and cherish. The next day presented new horizons with the realization of how far I have come and even farther that I need to go. I have achieved a lot since then through some little but, brave steps. Excelling at college, work, getting into one of the top B-schools in the country, supporting my family and just being better at life. There is a lot more that I need to achieve but, all this for starters, I will definitely take it.