The influence of ABG on me and the world!

Aditya Birla Group is one of India’s biggest conglomerate providing jobs to roughly 1.2 lakh people and services to people with or without them knowing it. Ever since the Birla group started its operations in the 1800s, the conglomerate has sought out to reach excellence in whatever it plans to do and continues to do so. The Birla group currently operates in over 35 countries and has an annual revenue of close to USD 44 billion only behind the Tata group and the Reliance India Limited conglomerates. The group owns some of the largest textile, carbon black, aluminium, cement in countries worldwide including the United States, Canada, Brazil, Philippines, India, Spain and many more. In India, the conglomerate apart from owning some of the largest industries like the Ultratech Cement industry, Vodafone Idea Limited, etc., it also has built many famous educational institutions like the BITS Pilani for technical education, The Aditya Birla Public School, M P Birla Library for avid readers and researchers, M P Birla Planetarium, M P Birla Institute of Fundamental Research for R&D, M P Birla Heart Research Centre, Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital, CK Birla Hospitals and many Medical Camps for health and medicine, and also has built many spiritual centres and religious centres.

The Aditya Birla Group has influenced me many ways knowingly or unknowingly. Maybe Ultratech cement was used to build the house I stay at, or the clothing I wear, or the vehicle I drive, or some of the aluminium products I use, but the most noticeable impact the group has had on me is by the Vodafone Idea Limited. The telecom service they provide is one of the best in the country with very good connectivity across the country and provides a tough competition to its competitors to stay at the top in the market. Back when I opted for the telecom subscription, the company was called the Idea Cellular Limited and the primary reason for me opting for the service was because of the connectivity it was provided at an affordable cost when none of its competitors had yet arrived at. Either the cost of subscription was affordable at the cost of connectivity or vice versa. The company came up with a solution to this matter which concerned the general public and marketed the idea in one most creative way with its catchphrase “What an Idea Sirji!!!”. I have using the service ever since and it has been nearly 8 years of me using the service and there has not been a single day where I experienced data or connectivity issues and also the customer service is one of the best with them listening to and dealing with the customer’s problem in a very professional way and ensuring they have solved it even though it might take some time. Opting for the Idea service has been one of the best decisions I have taken when it comes to telecom subscription with no major problem ever faced by me.

My journey!

Life, for all, even though they may agree to or not is always a path of stones with some smooth curves here and there. But even with such hardships, people have overcome them to achieve their goals in the past, are still able to and will still be able to in the future. My ambition in life is to become a good manager in an MNC who can handle any situation that he is presented with and help the company to reach high standards. As of now, I am on the path that will lead me to my ambition but the path that has led me to where I am now was not an easy one.

One of the most difficult hardships that I faced was during my preparation for the CAT exam during my undergraduate program. It was during the pre-final year of my undergraduate program, at the time when my CAT preparation was going well was when I reached my lowest point. Both my grandparents were diagnosed with cancer of different types in succession and, I was studying away from home. This hit me so hard then that I didn’t know what to do and I almost slipped into depression as I looked up to them and they were the victim of the worst possible ailment mankind has ever faced. I also faced pressure from the college side regarding assignments, quizzes and exams that I had left preparing for CAT as it felt like life had reached a dead end and taking a reverse or an alternate route seemed nearly impossible. This went on for a couple of months and I had lost weight and was anaemic since I ate only to stay alive. The grief had accumulated so much to a point that I wanted to quit everything, go back home and see my grandparents walking happily again. I could not express my grief to anyone as my parents with whom I usually share my pain were already in pain and were working hard in getting best of the treatment available to my grandparents. This went on for a few months and finally, I got a chance to visit my home due to a series of long holidays. I visited my grandparents and had an exchange of talks and I was surprised to see them more confident than I was. They were undergoing treatment and showed signs of improvement and assured me that they would come out victorious and that I should focus on my career and not anything else as that was not my cup of tea to worry about.

During my return journey, I thought and thought about it and realized that my parents are trying their best to provide my grandparents with the best treatment available and they would continue to do that, but with me being depressed and not focusing on my career would put an additional burden on them and also I would be ruining my career which neither my grandparents nor my parents wanted. That was the point where I came to a decision that I would stop worrying as my grandparents had given me their word that they would come out victorious and focus on my goal of cracking the CAT exam and joining one of the most coveted B-schools in the country which is what my parents, grandparents and most importantly me wanted at the end of the day. Days passed and soon months passed too, and my preparation and focus on studies at the same time was back on track and my grandparents were showing signs of improvement too. That gave me a lot of confidence and strength to keep my focus strong though there were some days where I would sink into the dark world but that promise made by my grandparents was the light that used to guide me back to my focus and keep the preparation going.

Today, my grandparents though not declared cancer-free officially are on the verge of being declared cancer-free thanks to the treatment they are receiving and that amazing will power they have and here I am in one of the most coveted B-school of the country, the IIM and my journey towards my goal continues.

Karthik Prasad K

My journey to an IIM with “IDEA” – Karthik Prasad K, IIM Visakhapatnam

My journey to an IIM with "IDEA" - Karthik Prasad K, IIM Visakhapatnam