My first brush with fashion, per se, was when I went into a Pantaloons store. It was an enormous building with multiple floors having loads and loads of products. It was an exhilarating experience to see so many brands, styles and designs at a single place. I bought a Peter England shirt and ever since, I have returned time and again to the brand for its comfortable fit and styling. This might not have a huge impact on others but, it certainly did have a great impact on me, helping me get a good dressing sense and acquire a sense of personal style.
Similarly, I have seen several products of the company acquire a significant position in the lives of many people. A case in point would be Ultratech cement. I have heard countless people talk about the brand as the only cement they trusted. Trust like that is difficult to establish and shows the impact that the company has had on their users' minds and actions. Moving away the focus from the products to the philanthropic activities done by the company, it has made a significant contribution to the nation-building process. They have established reputed educational institutions throughout the country, including institutes like BITS at its different campuses, the serveral Birla schools at various cities across India. These institutions have produced enlightened students who have helped build the nation brick by brick. They have empowered students with the fortitude to fight for their views and opinions. The Aditya Birla scholarships helps meritorious students get access to education which would normally not have been available to them.
Starting with G.D. Birla who participated in the Freedom movement and was a prominent Gandhian, the group has always espoused the principles of community work, leadership and collaborative growth.
On a personal front, I have faced some challenges in my personal and educational life. The challenges have stemmed from a seemingly innocuous problem. I have a stammer. Usually, it's minimal but when I do some public speaking or I have to give an interview, the stress makes the stammer really bad. This also extends sometimes on to the telephone where it becomes difficult to communicate. Initially, as a young kid, I was ridiculed by fellow students and suffered a huge dent to my self-esteem. It was the only chink in my armour that I felt they could exploit. But, thankfully I had my parents and some good friends to support me as well. They never let me feel that I lagged behind in any aspect. I also developed a hurried form of speech, that made me really difficult for many people to understand. I was also not interested in speaking in front of others or socialising or spending my time networking. I faced a lot of trouble due to this during my MBA interviews as well. I was just too nervous, too fast while speaking and stammered a lot. But, I decided to do something about it and with encouragement from my family, I have tried to work towards countering this.
I am trying to speak slower and be more confident in my approach towards public speaking or other similar stressful situations. It's a work in progress, for sure but slowly and steadily I am making some progress. I am a quizzer, an activity which requires you to be the fastest to buzz and give out the answer. And, I hope that as I improve my speaking, I will also be able to give out answers more confidently instead of having the self-conscious attitude that I have carried for a large part of my life. And, I am confident that i will be able to do so, by taking inspiration from all the brilliant and helpful people around me.
#mba #abg #adityabirla