Part A: How is ABG Big in my life?
Every Indian, everywhere, has a basic idea about what ABG is all about. ABG has become so colloquially involved in all our lives that it almost forms part of the framework over which modern day India is built. From
UltraTech to
Planet Fashion, ABG has a hold over anything that you can imagine.
My interest in the intricacies of ABG grew the day I had the honour and fortune of standing beside
Kumar Mangalam Birla himself. He was in my alma mater NIT Rourkela, as the Chief Guest for the Convocation of Batch of 2019, and I was among those who would hold the tray that held the prizes and certificates. That was the one time I heard Mr. Birla live and conversed a few syllables as we were on stage waiting for the next student to come. And that was also when his story inspired me so much that I went back and put a good deal of my time researching about what this Big that all ABGians talked about, actually meant. It was the day I realized how Big a role ABG actually had, in my life.
The first area that drew my attention was something that we use extensively at our home. My Mom would make these amazing parathas for my school tiffin and wrap them with
Freshwrapp (Aluminium foil), so they stay fresh and warm. While I was going through ABG in detail that day, I saw the word
‘Hindalco’ written in tiny letters over the packet of Freshwrapp. As I now know, Hindalco is a brand owned by ABG itself. And it is Big in my life because to this day, when I cry over hostel food, my Mom still brings parathas for me, still wrapped with Freshwrapp.
The next thing that comes to my head when I say ABG, is its fashion line. What I didn’t know however was, along with its own brand name, ABG’s brands also included some of my other favourite brands like
Pantaloons, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Forever 21 and even
Ted Baker, London. I have been a constant visitor to these stores never realizing that they came under the ambit of ABG.
Also, apart from the obvious other products that ABG has had an impact on, in my life like, the first home my Dad built for us; the exteriors and interior decorations were done with
UltraTech Cement – ABG helped turn a house into a home; and
Vodafone, that connects me to one of my best friends, living in the 8000 ft. high altitude of Ravangla, Sikkim – ABG helps me keep my relationship alive, ABG has also started impacting everyday kids around me.
Right next to Xavier University Bhubaneswar, ABG has very recently built the
Aditya Birla Public School, Bhubaneswar, which aims to provide a world class education to the students here, which I’m sure will bring the quality level of my city, up a significant notch. ABG, with its hold over every sphere of life in India and abroad as well, continues to leave its mark in everybody it touches, and has been crucial and definitely Big in my life as well.
Part B: My Tryst with My Destiny
I used to be so torn between choosing to study the Sciences versus studying the Media or something related to English. I however had to choose Science and Engineering because it was what was expected of me, and it was the right path to choose if I wanted a stable job. Many wouldn’t call it a challenge, but my immature mind was conflicted enough to make it look like one.
Between the complaining and whining about being forced into studying a subject I did not want to, I started exploring ways where I could exercise my knack for Language. I became the Literary Secretary at my school and dealt with all the competitions and events related to Language and Literature, participating and winning laurels as well as mentoring juniors on how to ace them too. In college, I became a part of Monday Morning, the Official Media Body and functioned as a Journalist for a whole year. Interviewing authorities, digging deep into happenings around the campus and having the full-blown authority of doing that, gave me an experience of how a Media Body functions, like no other role had, and it was what I had wanted to experience for the longest time.
Apart from that, I took to Instagram and started writing captions and poems for captions, as meaningfully as I could, and it also gave me a platform wherein I could display my photography and editing skills. When one of my pieces was published by Terribly Tiny Tales, it was a huge token of validation that I felt for myself. So what if I couldn’t take up Media or English as a subject? I still had so many ways I could showcase what I was remotely good at. Meanwhile, I also came to liking Instrumentation, which was the subject I had taken up for my B. Tech. It was a win-win for all the parties concerned. What my mind initially thought was an obstacle for me, I turned it around in my favour and excelled at. Who knows, if I had actually taken up English as a subject, its intricacies and its beauty might have ceased to exist because then I’d be forced to focus on one single aspect of it.
This way, I get to explore deeper into the language and play around with it, to my fullest expectations.
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