It was a sultry summer afternoon. Four of us were sitting dumbfounded and dejected. What could we do? Should we back away? Or should we fight till the end? We were only four young and hopeful individuals. We never thought anything like this would ever happen. And none of us were (we felt) adept at tackling such a situation. Long story short-let us get to the point. We were in the final year of our undergraduate. A bunch of optimists, who wanted to end their college life on a high. Our agenda was to organize a cultural fest. But there was one big problem. Our last fest took place in 2015, our sophomore year. Due to some unavoidable reasons, a huge commotion took place (Recall Altamont Free Rock and Roll Festival of 1969, of course, barring the casualty!) University put an embargo on our cultural fest. So, 2018 was the year again when we could get the ball rolling. A group of four students was the most enthusiastic regarding this. This writer was a part of that group. We started the initial formalities of letting the concerned authorities know. There was a green signal from the University. We were almost on the verge of making it happen. We started contacting the artists. We got unofficial confirmations as well. With just one month to go, we were thunderstruck. Our dean was not fully convinced. He had enough reasons to be apprehensive. He remembered what a fiasco the 2015 event turned out to be.
This is where we started our story. Somebody in the group said, “Guys, let’s look at this as an investment. Now that we have invested so much time into this we must make this happen.” The foolish person who uttered these words was your humble writer. But nobody was ready to fight again. The foul smell of pessimism was creating a nauseating effect inside the common room. I was foolish enough to tell them, “Hey, you don’t want to fight? Okay, let it be. I will be the one-man army.” and walked straight out of the room. I fixed meetings with the dean, with the concerned authorities and tried to convince each one of them that nothing unpleasant would take place on the night of the festival. I showed them the itinerary, the security arrangements, etc. It was a matter of four days. Four days in which I hardly slept, hardly ate and was looking like a half-dead person. On the morning of the fifth day, I also started feeling apprehensive and went to sleep. I woke up listening to a loud noise just outside my room. Guess what, the dean has granted us permission to organize the fest. The other members of the organizing team were busy apologizing to me and congratulating me at the same time. I never believed what had happened. Everything was so surreal. The apologies, the congratulations, everything seemed Latin and Greek to my ears. I never believed that being foolish and impractical could inspire so many people, could get the work done.
Cut to the night of 8th April 2018. 2330 hours. The show was just over. All four of us were sitting under the starlit sky. Cool breeze blowing. Finally, we did it. Against all odds!
“No Ullu Banawing”-a catchphrase that encompassed all walks of life. Much before a huge conglomerate came with a telecom company that makes people understand the value the internet on the go offers, Idea cellular, a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group came in with this catchy ad campaign. It emphasized on empowering the consumer with information and data on the go, at an affordable price. That is what Aditya Birla Group does. It has redefined business over the years and has not confined it to a mere
profit-making machine. It is quite evident from their mission statement-"To deliver superior value to our customers, shareholders, employees, and society at large."
A person needs a roof to stay under. That is the most basic need of a person. Then he/she needs clothes to wear and food to eat. After all these needs are realized, he/she needs to communicate with the world. And after that, he/she needs financial services, including wealth management, life insurance, etc. once he/she has fulfilled all the above-mentioned needs and has moved up the social ladder and has achieved considerable financial stability. Aditya Birla Group, through its varied businesses, has delivered value in all the above stages of life. Through its cement and non-ferrous metal business arms (Ultratech & Grasim and Hindalco respectively) it has helped build millions of homes across the world. The gargantuan magnitude of its non-ferrous metal business is evident from the fact that it owns mines in Australia and has acquired Canadian company, Novelis. Its retail and fashion businesses (both high end and affordable) is intricately intertwined with millions of lives. It is hard to find a person who has not visited a "More" or a "Pantaloons" outlet. Its telecom business, Idea cellular has empowered mobile phone users through affordable internet on the go. And finally, ABG Capital has been providing high class financial and insurance services for a very long time.
When it comes to the influence of Aditya Birla Group in my life, I would like to cite a real-life example that has made an everlasting impression on me. I originally belong to a tier-three city in West Bengal. The lack of branded FMCG products and organized retail stores had made life difficult for the consumers over there. Aditya Birla Group first forayed into that city through its retail store, "More". It is imperative that ABG saw an opportunity there, but above that, they have empowered consumers over there as well. They have made hundreds of thousands of lives better and I expect them to keep on doing it forever.