It's been almost two weeks since I arrived in Kolkata to pursue my MBA in International Business from IIFT. This historical city, which is known for its deep roots in culture and literature, is fast developing. One of the many peculiar sights that I observed while commuting on the roads of Kolkata was the undergoing construction of the city's new Metro network. Kolkata metro, one of the oldest in the country, was established using a very renowned and familiar brand, Ultratech Cement, famous for its usage in the construction of the Wankhede Stadium, the Commonwealth Games stadium and many more in the country. This is the very brand used during the construction of my house and the very connection gives me a warm feeling of assurance and trust, knowing that my home shares the same foundation with these mighty structures.
I never really realised how deeply the Aditya Birla Group is involved in my daily life until recently, when I was buying products in preparation of my MBA life. Brands like Allen Solly, Peter England have been essential part of my wardrobe and Pantlaoons is somewhere I would regularly visit to shop for quality products providing good value for money.
I also realised I am closer to ABG now more than ever when I contact my parents through Idea-Vodafone numbers and listen to their caring advice and parental love.The network also helps me keep an update on my friends without any network problems and hence, it makes me realise, the sim network is more of a friend to me and an integral part of my life now.
Although it is very difficult to comprehend the various influencing interactions, providing value products, health, safety, connectivity are some of the many additions ABG contribute to make our life more enigmatic.
"It's not whether you get knocked down. It's whether you get up again."
These are words that I have tried to abide by my entire life. Being a mechanical engineer, it was always tough to manage my schedule with a lot of core and elective courses, assignments, deadlines, projects, extracurriculars and positions of responsibility. And yet, I chose to do a minors in management because when I was exposed to managerial courses offered as optionals, I had a realisation that it was something that I liked and was good at it. Despite having knowledge of the fact that opting for a minors may make things more difficult to manage and also have adverse effects on my GPA, I did not get deterred and took it up as a challenge to pursue in my area of interest.
An interesting fact about challenges are that they keep presenting themselves to you unannounced which was something I learned in my final year when I was preparing for my MBA examinations. During that time, I was diagnosed with 'Pilonidal Sinus' and due to unbearable pain had to undergo immediate surgery followed by treatment. Because of the sensitive condition which allowed little to no movement, I was bed ridden for quite some time and this affected my preparations very adversely. But as we know, challenges are an integral part of life which are not to reveal your weaknesses but your strengths. Keeping this in mind, instead of gloating and cursing my luck, I felt I should use the time I have to prepare for the upcoming exams while managing my final semester internship on the sidelines.
Despite a major setback, I did not want to give up because I knew my potential and had faith in my capabilities. I felt I needed another opportunity to make my mark and seeing, I, as of today being in IIFT, am glad to have held my nerves in such testing times.