If you live in India, there’s a high probability that Aditya Birla Group would have directly or indirectly had an impact in your life. Ranging from Cement to Fashion, from Financial to Telecom services, ABG has made sure that they have made their presence felt in every Indian household.
In 2015, I had just entered the 3
rd year of my Engineering course. I had been working on a research paper for 6 months, and I got selected to present the paper at an international conference in Malaysia. I was ecstatic, and possibly spent the next 6 months thinking about it. The dress code for the presentation was formals, so I planned to wear formal pants and shirt like the rest of my team mates. On the other hand, my mother was determined to make me wear business formals, because she thought it would be more apt for the conference. I am from Jamshedpur, a fairly small city with not a lot of branded retail options. I gave my mother the impossible challenge, that if she is able to find good business formals in Jamshedpur, I would take it for the conference. It was obviously a mistake I underestimated my mother, because she happened to find an Allen Solly showroom in the city, took me there and got me my first set of business formals. The suit was jet black and a light blue cotton shirt to go with it. I might have thrown tantrums in the entire process, but once I tried it on and looked at myself in the mirror, I knew it was exactly how I wanted to look presenting my first research paper at an international conference. Fast forward to 8
th December 2015, Malaysia. I had always been a good speaker but had never attempted anything of this size and scale, so naturally I was very nervous. I got ready in my hotel room while on video call with my mother, and she asked me to stop thinking about the presentation for 5 minutes and stand in front of the mirror. Even though it felt stupid, I somehow got myself to do it. I instantly got reminded of the Allen Solly changing room in a small city, 4600 km away. In that moment, it was much more than just a business suit for me. It was a package of confidence and dreams my mother had carefully planned and packed for me to take. And this is exactly what I needed to deliver the winning presentation at the conference.
The most ordinary days might teach you the most important things
For as long as I can remember, I have always enjoyed being a leader. When I was in the 5
th standard, I was elected as the Green house captain for Primary school. I was responsible and made sure I made no mistakes and carried out my duties efficiently. In our school, we had a rule stating that we were supposed to wear our sports uniform every Friday, and not following the rule would have serious repercussions. On 8
th April 2005, I somehow forgot to wear my sports uniform to school. As usual we had our school assembly at 8AM and all the girls who forgot to wear sports uniform were called up on stage. There were 7 of us on stage, but I was the only one wearing a house captain badge and that caught our principal, Sister Mary’s attention. She was furious that a student with a position of responsibility would make such a mistake. She snatched off my badge on the stage in front of the entire primary school. I was in a state of shock, and spent the rest of the day crying and apologizing to Sister Mary and all the other teachers. In that moment, I couldn’t imagine anything worse that could have happened to me. At the end of the day at school, my principal called me and gave me the most important lesson of my life. She said she knew I was the most deserving student to be the captain of my house, but won’t give me back my badge because she wanted me to learn a lesson. I learnt that at no point in life, can you take things for granted and assume that everything will always go your way. Even after you achieve your goals, you have to work hard every single day to prove your worth to your own achievements. Later in 2012, when I entered the 12
th grade, I was elected the Green House captain of the entire school, and I believe I could do it only because I forgot to wear sports uniform on a random Friday in 2005.
#ABGLP #ABGWOOME #XIMB