It is 1857, and the British rule over undivided India is witnessing the Sepoy Mutiny. The seeds of “The Idea of India” has burgeoned in the people. In a town named Pilani (State of Rajasthan) is a man – Seth Shiv Narayan Birla who sees financial independence as a precedent and prerequisite to national independence. He establishes a cotton trading business to do his bit in contributing to India’s growth and over the last 162 years since its formation, the Birla Group has been Connected with India, reaching lives at the roots, and the group has bolstered its name and fame with its contribution to Connect India with the world. The group is now a US $ 44.3 billion behemoth with operations spread over 34 countries and employees from 42 nationalities.
So what does Aditya Birla Group (ABG) mean in my Life?
As a young teenager, I flaunted my Peter England jeans to my friends. The day I became better informed, it felt my heart with an inexplicable joy and content for the fact that an Indian conglomerate owned this British clothing brand and today the group has a host of international fashion brands operating under it.
After school, I decided to pursue Chartered Accountancy along-with my graduation. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) states that CAs play a crucial in the nation building process, and a strong example of that in my opinion is the contribution of Mr. Kumar Manglam Birla (a CA himself) on raising the standards of Corporate Governance in India at a time when the country was reeling with multiple shocks from the manipulation in the Capital Markets. The ABG stands for transparency in operations and the mention of KM Birla Committee in the Corporate Governance chapter of the CA curriculum inspires me and many more to be a responsible corporate person in life.
I also have had an opportunity to be a part of the statutory audit team for Jayshree Textiles (the largest manufacturer of Linen fibre in India and the owner of the brand Linen Club) during my stint at one of India’s largest CA firms. I can therefore vouch for the strong and committed work culture I have experienced there and their hospitality: Unparalleled. It’s a common phenomenon that clients shy away from sharing data with their auditors, but at this ABG Company, I found the management literally pushing me to check more in details and to come up with insights for improvement. Even though its the dominant player in its segment, it still seeks opportunities for increasing efficiencies. As Individuals, we should be inspired from the company and persistently strive for self-improvement.
Speaking of self-improvement, I recall that I had been unsuccessful in academics in my very first year at school and was promoted on grace. I have memories afresh of a special round of applause in the LKG class for me after the rank holders because the teachers believed it was a remarkable achievement on my part to have successfully passed in all subjects. With this day in mind, I worked harder. From having secured the second position in my school in commerce stream out of 117 students in class 12 to clearing my CA finals in my first attempt of November 2016 (Results : Jan 2017) to joining one of the most prestigious B-Schools in the country in June 2019, I have always successfully defeated the memory of that day in LKG.
Before shooting off for office, while I waited for my lunchbox containing food packed in the Freshwrap foils, I wondered on the similarities in the resilience of my life and ABG’s. The bonds I have cemented with my friends and family are as strong as the ones that Ultratech has built for holding the Mumbai Sea Link in place. And this is just the beginning of the story, for who knows, by God’s grace, I might build a legacy, just like The ABG…..