Aditya Birla Group is undoubtedly one of the biggest Indian business conglomerates to come out of India. It is also one of the oldest, founded by Shri Shiv Narayan Birla in 1857.
Here is how the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) creates a big impact in my life. Let’s go back in history. Most big companies, especially in India, specialised in textiles in the 19th century. Trade of cotton was one of the biggest reasons why colonisers were attracted to India. India is still one of the highest producers of cotton. The Birla family also started with cotton trade and was one of the early Indian traders to do so. Most old textile brands are now defunct or have used the capital to diversify into other industries.
ABG has done the same, but the dominance in textiles in the 19th and 20th century has remained with a dominance in apparel brands like Pantaloons, Louis Philippe, Allen Solly, Van Heusen and Peter England. Among these, Allen Solly and Peter England are my definite go-to brands when it comes to shopping for casual/formal attire. Pantaloons is also one of the most trusted one-stop shop for a multi-brand retail.
There is a certain distinction that these brands have created for themselves, especially due to the quality of fabric which is synonymous with these brands. The quality of fabric doesn’t take a dent- even in the aggressively priced Peter England apparel. The other competitors to these brands cut corners here and there in terms of quality and thus, haven’t won the hearts of customers in the way ABG has.
Another area where ABG is big in my life is their aluminium food wrap brand- Freshwrapp. The brand is synonymous with the tiffin that my mother used to cook for me in my schooldays. The hot parathas and fresh food reminds of the wraps. The aluminium wraps also remind me of my long journeys to Delhi, where I studied in my graduation days. The long train journeys were complemented with the food that my mother prepared and packed in aluminium wraps from Freshwrapp.
Freshwrapp is part of Hindustan Aluminum Corporation Limited, or Hindalco’s many product offerings. Hindalco, a part of ABG, is one of the world's largest aluminium rolling companies.
The biggest way in which these ABG brands in apparel and aluminium wraps connect with me is their quality. The quality of fabric in the Peter England shirt that I wear, the Allen Solly Polo T-shirts, to the fresh home-made food that remains hot in the Freshwrapp aluminium foil, what runs through these brands consistently is the quality that the ABG group maintains.
How I crossed the language barrier!
Blowing one’s own trumpet is a phrase that means praising oneself. Being from a middle class background with no problems of hand-to-mouth existence like house, food and clothing, it seems far-fetched to talk about challenges in my life. My life’s small problems don’t qualify as ‘challenges’ and are nowhere compared to the many in India, and specifically in Bihar, my native stave, where people have been suffering from malnutrition and poverty for a long period of time.
However, I would like to throw some light on some of the problems that I faced in my life and how I overcame them. The first problem that I faced was that of language. My parents were taught in Hindi-medium schools and talk to each other in the vernacular language- Maithili.
Shifting to an English-medium school was one of my first hurdles as we were fined for talking in Hindi. The culture shock was more profound, as there were many students who had already read a lot of English literature. I started reading English newspapers regularly and got access to a local library, where I started with English novels by writers like Enid Blyton and Ruskin Bond. I then generated a great liking for the Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling. There were other writers like William Dalrymple who made me enjoy history through his exploration of India and Central Asia through his many books. I steadily became more confident in English and was confident in penning my own thoughts on paper.
The first part of the problem was solved. But the other part was left- which was communication. I was well-read and aware, but lacked communication skills to convey my thoughts properly. I used to fumble during my schooldays and had stage fright. When I joined Ramjas College in Delhi for my graduation, I chanced upon the selection process of the college’s English Debating Society. I got through and was one of the few to make it. It is there that I understood from my peers in debating, that matter was the most important aspect of debating and communication was secondary. I was confident with my matter, and so eventually gained confidence in public speaking skills and was able to compete with teams from colleges like St. Stephen’s, SRCC, NLUs, etc. This was a great learning experience and has helped me overcome my fear of English and communication over a period of time.
This has also helped me grow professionally and helped me ace the Group Discussion and interviews of all the B-schools that I applied for.
