Significance of ABG in my life
The words ‘Aditya Birla Group’ bring back happy memories. It has been a prominent part of my experience of growing up in the small, quiet city of Mysore. Starting from the opening of the city’s first megastore (More) which my family and I gleefully went to every weekend (we love grocery shopping!), to the eagerly-awaited first Pantaloons store in Garuda Mall when I was a teenager, finally ending with me finding my all-time favourite tops at People- ABG has witnessed every change in my fashion sense, possibly with the same mix of pride and exasperation as my own parents.
Who can forget the famous Birla Temple, Planetarium and Science Museum? It has something for everyone. When I was a kid visiting my relatives in Hyderabad, the day we went to this place was always an exciting one- my parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents enjoyed the serene atmosphere of the beautiful temple while my cousins and I loved the science museum, with its impossible-seeming ‘games’ (experiments) keeping us entertained for hours. The planetarium was a nice shared interest between the children and the adults.
We moved from my beloved Mysore to Hyderabad after my 10th board exams. In the midst of the new hustle and bustle, heat, dust, traffic and pollution, and added stress at my new school, there was one standout positive change: my mother discovered her passion for baking. And the next few years were full of delicious smells and baked goodies- cakes, cookies, brownies, you name it. She often stored the cooled brownies in the pan, covered with Freshwrapp foil on the first day. One of my fondest memories is hearing the telltale crinkling sound of the wrap being opened as my little sister sneakily grabbed a brownie. I often rushed to the kitchen to get one too, and then my father would come in to ‘investigate’ the sounds and before we knew it, the pan was empty and our stomachs full.
On a more serious note, ABG has also helped me with my B-School interviews. My percentiles in CAT and XAT ended up being higher than I expected, resulting in calls from B-Schools I thought were beyond my reach. I was ecstatic! But with the rigorous preparation I was putting in for my GD-PI sessions, I couldn’t buy the appropriate clothes for the interviews early. On the very last day I had to rush and buy some salwar sets which were elegant and comfortable, but didn’t quite give me the professional look I wanted. Still, I wore them for the first week of interviews, but due to my extreme nervousness they didn’t go well. I decided to take all possible steps to be more confident, including keeping up with the latest news, participating in more mock-GDs and mock interviews and buying a new suit.
I bought a beautifully fitted suit from Allen Solly and the perfect shoes from Van Heusen. My new professional look gave me such a boost that I aced the next day’s GD and interview (direct convert!), and was clear and confident at my best call’s interview a few weeks later. While I wasn’t offered a seat, it was still a great experience overall, which rid me of my baseless fears and helped me perform much better in the other interviews. In the end I joined one of my dream B-Schools, XAHR, and have been a happy student ever since!
ABG has been a part and parcel of every phase of my life so far, and I’m so grateful that this new phase begins with me giving back, in a way, by telling you these stories and memories. I hope ABG’s presence stays with me in the two most important years of my life.
Challenge I faced and how I overcame it
The most significant challenge I have faced so far was failing twice, despite my best efforts, in my chosen professional course.
Ever since I finished 10th grade, I’ve wanted to do CA. I attempted the entrance exam (CPT) after my 12th board exams and passed it with flying colours. Excited and hopeful, I attempted the intermediate exam (IPCC). I passed in three subjects out of seven, but failed overall.
While preparing for the second attempt, I focused on the things I didn’t understand in the first. Then I revised the familiar topics. After three months of hard work, I attempted the exam again. But even though I found it doable and better than the last attempt, I failed again, passing only in the same three subjects.
Since I expected to pass all four subjects in Group 1, my failure was unexpected and utterly devastating. My first instinct was to register for another attempt. But once I calmed down, I understood that I couldn’t work much harder than I already had. A huge increase in effort between my two attempts yielded only a marginal increase in the final result.
Introspection revealed that lack of interest was the main culprit. I struggled to study and remember almost half the subjects because no matter how much time I spent on them, they didn’t spark my interest. In fact, I dreaded the (frequent) times when I had to open those books. They were like a dead weight- taking up the maximum time, space and effort but not contributing proportionately to my scores. And unfortunately, interest was not something that would grow with each attempt.
I decided to cut my losses and stop pursuing CA.
I wanted to do an MBA after CA, but it happened sooner. I applied for CAT, SNAP, IIFT, NMAT and XAT.
This was three months before the CAT exam. I had no prior preparation and was sorely out of touch with mathematics, being a B.Com student. Still, I was willing to take the risk, because I knew it would be backed by thorough preparation. I attended coaching classes, revised math and brushed up on the other subjects. Studying didn’t feel like a burden this time. I enjoyed solving the various challenging questions. As the exam approached, I took mock exams regularly, scoring in the range of 75 to 85 percentile.
However, I ended up scoring 90.75 percentile in CAT 2018. My other MBA entrance exams also went better than expected, with me scoring 94.8 percentile in SNAP, 92 percentile in NMAT and 96 percentile in XAT!
None of these successes would have been possible without my failure in CA. As it is rightly said, ‘failure is the stepping stone to success’. In my case, I learned that in spite of hard work, success is not possible without passion, or even interest, in whatever I am doing. Interest is the biggest motivator. And interest paired with hard work produces excellent results.
I also learned to let go of my previous plan of doing CA and move on to explore other avenues which would help me fulfill my potential as a successful professional in my chosen field. While it was a dilemma because I had spent so much time, money and effort on CA, I realized I would only be wasting more if I continued. It was difficult because it meant letting go of an idea I’d been chasing for years, which my parents had so many expectations on. But ultimately I was able to move ahead, do something that aligned with my strengths, and succeed.
#ABGLP #ABG WOO ME- SEASON 2 #XIMB-XAHR
