Aditya Birla Group, a name which makes you nostalgic yet motivates you to look forward. A name with which I have associated since early days of my life and continue to do so. A group which inspired the nation’s first five-year plan. A group which gave me and my siblings a place to study at affordable prices without compromising on quality. It’s a group which has its presence in every aspect of my life, be it Food (Balwan fertilizer and Freshwrapp), Housing (UltraTech Cement), Clothing (Pentaloons and Peter England) or Education (BET and BITS Pilani). Louis Philippe has been a go to brand for the formal wear in my family along with Peter England. The scale of impact of ABG can be gauged by the fact that I have worn clothes, used mobile network and studied in the institute setup by the Birlas.
Apart from the tangible entities, owing to the founder Padma Vibhushan Sh. G.D. Birla and his way of working also guides the nation on how to do business and importance of family and community values in our day to day activities. The great visionary has inspired every one of to be a student who knows what has happened in the past should guide on how to take decisions ethically to forge a sustainable business. The brand’s legacy combined with modern values guide us on the path of righteous business and giving back to the society. All these teachings are topped with the best of all: Humility and Integrity.
The very sense of giving back to the society inspired me to develop something for someone who was working at the very beginning of execution chain, a Gardner working on the hedge-bushes around the gardens of our campus in Pilani. My team and I, designed a bush cutter to replace the use of scissors by the Gardeners for the trimming and give them a not-so-complex and intuitive device which they can use without the need of any training. The cutter could be cycle mounted and was detachable so as to not impact the everyday use of a bicycle.
The cooperative spirit which Sh. G.D. Birla talked about in his interview with India Today in 1979 was put to good use in the making of this project where students across 3 academic years collaborated in design, fabrication, testing and presentation of the project. The effort was well rewarded by the judges of the competition; however, this was never the primary target of our group. During the fabrication phase, we faced multiple issues including lack of availability of few essential parts and lack of time but we were all committed to the cause and had the passion of creating something new. The hard work paid off and we were able to deliver on the mission. The values learnt during those days of the project continue to guide me even today, through my course work here at MDI.
Now, when I look back and compare, I realize what my parents have always said that if it’s said by The Birla, it’s always right. That’s the Golden Standard I would to achieve in my life.