I was born and brought up in Chandannagar , a small town 40 kms from Bengal's capital Kolkata, known for its rich history as a former French colony. Growing up, weekdays were spent between school hours and all the other "arts" classes we Bengalis are trained in right from junior school. But nothing, not even a convent's strict hours nor long arduous hours of Bharatnatyam mudras, could take away those few hours of every weekend that I would go shopping with my mom at the local market.
Every Saturday and Sunday we would spend two to three hours at the local market which was like our very own Target. Right from vegetables to grocery to sweets and local bakeries, I enjoyed every bit of it. And if you are from a small town as well, you would know how special these outings are generally. We didn't have fancy pizza chains or a MacDonald's growing up so this was our best bet to be honest.
But for me, the local market lost all its charm, when ABG started a chain of More Retail shops in Bengal suburbs. These huge departmental stores had every thing that the local market had, except they were cleaner, brighter, air-conditioned and for 14-year old me, damn fancy.
I remember, way back in 2009, when we stepped into these beauties and were left all starry eyed. It had everything - right from vegetables to fancy shampoos - you name it they got it. I started getting fancy cupcakes with my lunch, so many bread spreads to choose from and free gifts with every month's grocery purchase. The concept of an exclusive membership, with benefits accompanying that - More's card was the first of many that my mother eventually had in her purse for years to come.
And the frequency at which these stores were set - it was amazing. Like I had three stores in and around my house and that was just about 40 sq km. Because of the proximity, we eventually started taking my granny along with us. Shopping at More seemed more like three generations bonding over their collective love for all things "supermarket".
Both my parents are working and I was basically raised by my grand mom. But the biggest emotional challenge I faced as I moved to college was the distance that grew between us. I moved to Kolkata for my engineering and hostel residence was compulsory. I would come back twice a month on weekends. Staying connected over the phone was a much easier task when it came to my parents, but my grand mom didn't use one and as her health deteriorated over the years, our timings hardly matched enough for long phone conversations. My granny and I had a couple of traditions that we have followed as far back as I can remember. Like whenever I'd come back home from school, she would always be there while I had lunch. Till my school days I've always slept with my granny and a glass of warm milk in the morning right after brushing my teeth - was something that would be there come what may. But many traditions like this started to fall apart as I joined college and as her health got tender with age. She could no longer get up too early and neither was I around for those mid-day lunches.
However, one sacred tradition that started way back in 2010, and that me and granny had kept till just two years back, when she passed away was - Durga Puja shopping from Pantaloons.
This awesome apparel retail chain, founded by Future group right in Kolkata way back in 1997, was acquired by the Birlas in 2012. The lovely Camac Street outlet has so many memories of pre-Puja shopping, which really is a big deal in Bengal. We would go there as a family on a weekend leading up to the festival and my granny just spoiled me silly. She would get me at least three sets and that's a lot when you're in school. Earlier we would do this at the local market, but things changed when we got the first taste of this place - like literally there was no going back.
My college life was pretty cool , staying away from home and all for the first time, and curriculum was pretty breezy as well. However, when placement season hit us towards the end of our pre-final year, we really had no idea what was coming our way.
I was a part of my college's placement committee, so between classes, final year projects, mock aptitude tests, mock interviews and all those hours preparing for the placement season, we were pretty damn exhausted. When August came, and companies started visiting campus, we had no time to get formal wear for our interviews. A bunch of people, who've hardly ever seen a blazer, let alone don one, were playing around with words like "business formals", "semi-formals" "business casuals" and so on in our already muddled up heads. And a brand that really really saved my day was Allen Solly. This brand acquired by the Birla Group in 2001, was literally the first Indian Brand to introduce work fashion for women. When I visited their store on Elgin to get my first set of formals, I developed a brand loyalty that hasn't waned till date.
Aditya Birla Group, for me isn't just a global conglomerate, it is a name I grew up with - something that's still a part of me.
#sjmsom #Sjmsomiitbombay #ABGLPWooMe