It was wrapped in newspaper and given to me. I still have it with me since 2013, only to realise that it meant. Being the first one from my local community to have completed my school, and getting admission into IIT Delhi in 2013 was a moment that was much bigger for my family than it was for me. My mother has been teaching in a government school for the past 25 years, and my father is in Canara Bank for the past 28 years. I was born and brought up in Shadipur Slums of Delhi.
Being the first one to take science stream in 11th and 12th standard, then passing my 12th exam, and then securing admission to Indian Institute of Technology Delhi was a victory for my entire community. At the time, I was completely unaware of the fabric of cohesivity, trust and the bond of the community I was born into. 24th June 2019 was the day, I was gifted a packet and it was wrapped with a newspaper that was crumbled. It had a shirt, and 13 Members from my community had contributed money to make that purchase. Today, its been more than 6 years and I still have that shirt packed in the same newspaper. It was only 6 months ago, my mom took out the shirt and I noticed something that I had completed missed earlier. It was a Louis Philippe shirt. What made my community members pick a Louis Philippe shirt out of many other brands, was something beyond than a mere stroke of chance. It symbolized vested trust and believe my potential to pursue and achieve excellence.
When others have faith in you more than you have faith in yourself, it means something. Its a strong impetus to take responsibility of yourself and others, to be accountable and to be relentless in your pursuit to excellence. It sourced me a deeper sense of meaning, purpose and drive. Louis Phillipe and Aditya Birla Group has since been a very integral part of me and my life.
Adtiya Birla Group belongs to the league of Fortune 500. Its a US $44.3 billion corporation but no number can capture the impact and value creation it has been doing over the past few decades. Today, Aditya Birla Group through its leading brands and companies, across different sectors, has truly raised the global standards and has become the pride of India. Now its my turn to be the pride of my community, my country and join the legacy of Aditya Birla group.