Role of Aditya Birla Group in my life:
Earlier this year, while applying for various B-Schools, I went shopping for a jet black formal blazer which was actually much harder to find than I thought. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I found one in an Allen Solly store near my place in Kolkata. A couple of years back in Delhi, I had to buy a solid blue formal shirt for an event the next day. I scouted several stores in Connaught Place but none could match my requirements, either they were not solid or they were not the right shade. Finally I found it at a Peter England store, the exact shade that I was looking for and of course they had one for my size.
I seldom shop for clothes but whenever I do, I go to the nearby Pantaloons store where more often than not I find what I require. However in some rare scenarios (as mentioned in the above two cases), if I am forced to move out of my one-store-for-all-needs kind of comfort zone I inadvertently end up in the store of a brand which is under the Aditya Birla Group umbrella. Such is their impact in retail clothing and fashion that almost all major brands are part of the ABG Conglomerate.
In my last company where we supplied power plant equipments, Hindalco and Ultratech were among our main clients. While visiting their plants across India, I could guess the scale of their operations. I never thought of it earlier, but in all probabilities the aluminum utensils we use regularly originate from one of those Hindalco plants.
Even the Vodafone network I use for calling and internet is a part of the ABG Conglomerate. Statistically, the tires of every second car in the world are made from Birla Carbon. Directly or indirectly, everything I consume in my daily life comes from their large basket of products. Sometimes I might not even be aware of them. For example, who knows if the food I eat is grown with the help of Indo Gulf Fertilizers.
Hence, it would be an impossible task to quantify how much Aditya Birla Group is a part of my life, as well as the lives of countless people around the country (and even the world).
Challenges overcame for success in life:
Coming from a middle class family, the onus was always on me to make my own living. From a young age I could figure out that no matter what I did, independence was what I wanted most.
Initially I thought that engineering would be the magic potion, but I couldn’t be more wrong. After a strong start in the first year, my interest fizzled out in the second and my academics dropped alarmingly. The biggest kick-in-the-butt moment came when I failed to secure pass marks in one of the subjects in the fourth semester. I never studied much, but always did enough to understand the basics and could do enough to get decent grades. The “F” in my grade card gave me the jolt that I needed to get back on track. The road to redemption was steep and to get a job (that’s all I cared about back then) my grades needed to be decent again. It was not easy to get back up but the next four semesters were all about a steady ascent from the rock bottom that I had hit. In the end, my overall grades became “semi decent” (the second year took its toll) and I got a job. I was still in Kolkata but I had financial independence. I thought that it was the start of living the independent life I craved for.
I wanted to stay and learn for two years in my first company before making the next move. I thought of doing an MBA after I completed two years as I knew that to finally get the independence that I craved, I must move out. But there was no conviction back then and in no time I became comfortable in my new life. I lived with my family and didn’t have to pay rent or arrange for my own food. Almost all the money I earned was my own pocket money. Granted, I was not much of a spender, but the reassurance of having the money to spend if needed was comforting. The comfort zone is a hard thing to break out of and thus it was not before three years of working that I finally took the decision of appearing for CAT 2018. But the problem was, I couldn’t leave my job to prepare full time as a gap would not look good in my CV. It was tough to get back to the studying grind after three years, the fact that I was still working made it even tougher. I regularly got back from work mentally exhausted and barely able to switch between work mode and study mode. It was tough but I persevered and after months of perseverance, I secured admission in Goa Institute of Management (GIM).
Life in GIM is not easy as there are many who have overcome odds to be here, many with a similar hunger to succeed. But the self-motivation and hard work that carried me here shall drive me onwards and upwards. It’s not about being better than everyone; it’s about carving my own path in life.
