School days - one of those cherished times which I reminisce now and then. The first thing that strikes my mind when I think of school is lunch breaks - the hustle and bustle, the scraping of chairs, as me and my friends forming groups to relax and enjoy our lunch. Years later, I still can’t stop myself from drooling when I remember the sheer variety of food we used to have among us, fresh and hot, thanks to the silvery Freshwrapp aluminium foils. I admit I didn’t think much of a foil, which to me was simply a shiny substance which was used to wrap my lunch, but what I had not realized that was that this was my first accidental encounter which a conglomerate which had touched millions of lives. The second thing I remember about my childhood was shopping. My weekends were usually spent in the malls, wandering aimlessly from one shop to another. I can still recollect the vivid images of the clothes display on mannequins outside the stores of Allen Solly, Van Heusen and Peter England. Inside the store, one could find an extensive range of clothes, from casuals to formals, available in diverse colors. This was a yet another encounter with the conglomerate, which few years later I would recognize it as Aditya Birla Group. Aditya Birla Group is a 162 year old conglomerate and has an enormous presence in the industry, operating across multiple segments ranging from textiles, telecommunications, financial services, retail etc. I feel immense cheer that ABG group continues to be integral part of not only my life, but also a million others.
It was the summer of 2011. The results for all the major entrance examinations were just out. All around me there were lot of happy faces, elated by the fact they had performed well and would be soon starting a new phase in their life. But for me it was totally opposite. I had performed quite badly and my future didn’t look too bright. I was contemplating to take a year drop, but was feeling a bit apprehensive about it. In the end I went ahead and took a year-long study leave, hoping that I would achieve a much better result this time. Since I had already prepared the subjects once, I was expecting a smooth sailing with limited hassle. Unfortunately, it was not to be. It was quite a depressing year for me, and interestingly the source of this anxiety was not studies, but rather my surroundings. Apart from coaching, I was spending a large portion of my time alone, at my home, and often at times I was questioning myself whether it was the right decision to drop a year, or it would have been better to join any college. The fact that most of my friends were a year ahead of me now didn’t help much. Furthermore, there was immense pressure from my relatives and society, for whom staying at home at such a young age was considered a black stain. I am sure that I would have succumbed under the pressure, if not for the valuable support of my family, who were always with me at every step and my own determination to succeed. Finally after a year-long struggle my perseverance paid off and I was able to clear the examinations with flying colors.
