Of all the emotions a human being has, I believe fear is the most addictive one. Fear adds excitement and awe to the dullest of situations. Fear lets us move forward when challenges are being thrown at us, unless we let fear itself engulf us.
Kerala has always been a calm and tropical paradise unscathed by no tragedy, until nature decided to take a toll on Kerala’s residents. Kerala floods 2018 taught us many things. Perspective of Keralites towards the floods was completely different from the rest of the world. The fear of getting washed away, the fear of losing anything and everything you love, brought us closer.
Places in and around my hometown got flooded within the first two days of the floods. We were helpless until the water got receded. The destruction was so large, I felt like donations from my part melted into the void. That is when I decided to get out of the comfort of my room. The CSR team from the company I was working for and my colleagues decided to take matters into our own hands. With a common goal set in mind, we were set out on a mission. Our team visited the most remote areas where no one had reached for help. Children were unable to go to school because of the dirt, snakes and flood water inside the classrooms. A team of 50, cleaned many schools in and around Kochi and another team took care of basic rehabilitation needs of families that got displaced during floods. Ten thousand rehabilitation kits were distributed all over Kerala helping thousands of families have a fresh new start seamlessly. This experience helped me realize how tragedies make societies stronger. How fear and sadness is as important as happiness. “Expect the unexpected” became part of my life.
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” - Nelson Mandela.
Part A
Each Indian should be thankful to Aditya Birla Group, for they have helped our country grow into what it is today. The growth of ABG trickled down to help the underprivileged of India and other countries across the globe. The values ABG share among themselves and the people they are associated with, is what makes them unique compared to their peers.
I have always kept a track of Ultratech Cement, since I used to work with one of the major competitors of Ultratech. One gets to learn a lot by constantly following your competitor’s works. We have noticed how Ultratech is diligent in the matter of following their tagline. That is, “Engineer’s Choice”. It was not just a tagline for them. Their motive was, to make sure that Ultratech was in fact every engineer’s choice. The commitment and mutual respect with which the employees worked was noteworthy even from another cement company’s perspective. Integrity, commitment, speed, passion and seamlessness are clearly visible in the employees of ABG group.
As a civil engineer, it is hard to miss the influence ABG has, on the development of infrastructure in India. I would say the success of ABG is solely on the quality with which they manufacture and deliver their products. I tend to think that in today’s world, success should not be the only motive of a company. The moral obligation towards environment should not be just mere words. ABG upholds its value of “THINK about TOMORROW, TODAY”, which showcases how much ABG is committed towards sustainable business goals. An organization which cares for the nature along with economic development, will thrive. And for me, that is what ABG is all about. Values, commitment and ethics.
