It started when my alarm rang at 5:30 in the morning. My mother was trying to wake me up. Less did she know that I could not get any sleep that night. I was about to attend my first interview, that anxiety was killing me.
Why Aditya Birla Group is big in your eyes and the work done by ABG in India and world?
The first instance was when I was in school just after my class 10th results I took science as my subjects for my high school I was always good with science and maths in my secondary school but the opinion of science and math being an easy subject soon changed as I stared my class few of the students were doing very well with the subjects and I was lagging and I was worried whether I would be able to make it or not I shared this with my friends and my teachers they helped me overcome my fear after motivation from them I was determined to do my best and I was able to overcome my fear that I whether I would be able to make it or not.
Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group’s mantra for success is ‘If your first instinct is to run away from failures, then perhaps you are doing it the wrong way’. I have adopted this mantra in my daily life. In my final year project when I started to implement I was not able to make the project work and started feeling disappointed but I never gave up and started to work on it studying hardware coding languages and finally I was able to complete the project which was awarded as one of the best project in my college.
The Birla Group of Companies was founded in 1857, coincidentally, in the same year when India’s Sepoy mutiny, the first revolt against the British started. It all started with Seth Shiv Narayan Birla’s venture into cotton trading. One can fathom the tumultuous times that shaped the Aditya Birla Group of today, a US $44.3 billion company, with a workforce of 120,000 from around 42 countries. The prestigious Indian conglomerate which had its humble beginnings in 1857, now has business in various sectors such as Finance, Chemicals, Metal, Cement, Textile, Fashion and Telecom. With over 45 brands under its wings, Aditya Birla group has reserved its place in the Fortune 500. The Birla group grew along with the nation, under the leadership of Mr. Ghanshyam Das Birla, Mr. Aditya Bikram Birla and is now headed by Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla. Though its contribution cannot be measured, it goes without saying that Aditya Birla was a boon to the Indian economy, at a time when it needed business leaders to forge the road ahead. Being a part of the young generation, I have connected with Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail. I was awestruck the day, I realised that brands like Allen Solly, Van Heusen, Louis Philippe and Peter England belonged to an Indian company and not to a foreign brand. During my stay in Bengaluru, I used to walk by a Louis Philippe store and was waiting for a reason to buy the suit that was on display. Having converted a place in Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, I proudly wear that suit which reflects my self-esteem. As an Indian, it is a matter of pride to have a company that has stood the test of time and delivered brands and values to challenge competitive markets, all over the world.
As I stand confidently in the auditorium of IIFT Kolkata, crisply dressed in a blazer, all set to embark on a new path, I reflect back on my journey and realize how significant a part Aditya Birla Group has played. From shopping for birthday clothes in Pantaloons as a school going kid, I distinctly remember wanting to take home all the clothes in the store, much to the amazement of my parents. Nothing much has changed over the years as I still get equally enamored when I walk into a Forever 21 store. With time, I was introduced to many other ABG brands that played a part in fulfilling my basic needs, like the More supermarket, which I frequent every Saturday to stock up weekly groceries and essentials or the Freshwrapp without which my office lunch wouldn’t be fresh and complete! I believe in the phrase – Let live so that you can live, and admire ABG for abiding by it as well. Not only do they have initiatives to conserve and save different facets of the environment, they also believe that education should be accessible to all, thus going through with the Aditya Birla Scholarships which provides financial assistance and mentor-ship to deserving candidates. Back to the present and I wonder how subconsciously the brand has helped me build my confidence, today, it’s from the Van Heusen formals that I don.
It was on a hot and humid afternoon that I found myself lost in a huge mall in Chennai, sometime in the month of July. The city was new to me, as was the experience. Before this, I had always lived in small towns and shopping in a mall was a somewhat novel but bewildering experience. I had a clear agenda for the day, to buy something nice for my parents from my very first salary. Amongst the confusing array of brightly lit shops, I finally wandered into a Pantaloons outlet. I chose some ethnic wear for my mom from the wide range of options available and for my dad, I ended up getting some formal wear from Louis Philippe. This was my first major interaction with the Aditya Birla Group, although it was only later that I realized that the brands I related with actually fell under the same umbrella of ABG. Even today, brands like Pantaloons, Van Heusen and Allen Solly are essential for my wardrobe.
