Me and My Big Yellow Umbrella - MDI Gurgaon

But, that’s not exactly why this yellow umbrella is special in my life. Its because of its personality and attitude (yes, I am taking my accounting lessons seriously. An entity is an artificial person :P) The simple fact that an Indian conglomerate is making its presence felt so vividly globally is so inspiring. From owning top brands around the globe and operating in more than 30 countries to religiously raising the bar on all the three bottom lines is genuinely human. From being on top of its game in many industries to venturing into new industries is truly courageous. I respect ABG not only for sustainably being our first choice for all these years, for giving us the best alternatives in different industries but also for taking a step towards making efforts in educating the underprivileged kids. Extending the shade to the underprivileged along with fighting, winning and maintain it is truly patriotic. It’s a huge yellow umbrella extending its shade to everyone.

Perhaps ABG too believes in ‘Yogah karmasu kushalam’.

Impact!

I went to Kochi to pursue my B.Tech. While I was determined to excel academically and make the best of the opportunity of getting into the top college of Kerala, I didn’t realize the kind of hardships it will come with. Hailing from Dehradun, the gray city on the foothills of Himalayas, where blanket and nights complements each other, it was tough to manage in an environment where my body was radiating heat for most of the time of the day. While the body adjusted quite immediately, it was the memory of snow caped mountains, the cool breeze that was becoming a hurdle for my mind to accept and acclimatize with the reality of Kochi. It was here when I learned controlling my thoughts and giving selective permission to them to bother me.

The next challenge was language. My first few months went by playing dumb charades with any and everyone around me. There were times when there was simply a communication deadlock, and it was frustrating. Learning a language at this age is quite difficult and not feasible. I didn’t have enough bandwidth to learn Malayalam and B.Tech together. Often the class lectures would drift into the Malayalam medium (I missed those intricacies), lunch breaks came with jokes in Malayalam that made absolutely no sense when translated in English (There was a feeling of being left out). Enthusiasm and positive attitude helped me here. It is then when I learned a plethora of soft skills including patience, the ability to take a joke on myself and the art of playing the best music with broken strings. I started actively participating in Malayalam discussions, appointed few friends as Malayalam teachers and reflected my intent to adopt the new culture. Made terrible mistakes, took jokes on me and enjoyed the same. And this is how I aced the art being a chameleon. I can fit into any culture now, and yes I can.

I believe in polishing my personality by challenges. Despite all the barriers, my focus on academics was not shaken. With diligent hard work, stout determination and loads of blessings, I was able to bag the best student of the year award by TCS for my academic and all-rounded performance on campus among 540 students. This was a big achievement for me as this was the first time the award was bagged by EEE department and also, the first time someone in my clan got such an honor and because my parents and teachers (my most valued prized possessions) were happy and proud of me.