‘Why Aditya Birla Group is big in your life? ‘
The presence of some people in your life is inevitable. One such presence in the life of most Indians is Aditya Birla Group (ABG) products and services. And I am no different. My ancestral house is in the city of Kochi in the state of Kerala which is commonly described as ‘God’s Own Country ‘. I grew up there till the age of ten before moving to an Apartment in a nearby street, and this is where my first association with the Birla group begins, which I obviously didn’t recognise back then. I was going with my grandfather to the construction site for a routine visit to check how the work was progressing. As my grandfather was talking with the contractor, I was busy playing on the pile of cement (which I called as sand, back then), the usual game of running up the hill and sliding down. It was during one of my downhill journeys that I noticed an empty sack spread at the base of the hill. The curious mind in me rose and I slowly started reading the words on the sack which read ‘UltraTech’. I might have left that word there , but I am happy that this association of mine with ABG continues till date, even after 13 long years and that is the place where I still long to go and that is where my family belongs and I am sure they are secure within the ‘walls’ of the apartment which is built not only with cement but also the ingredient of trust that I have for the group like millions of others.
The cell phone boom that took over India in the late 90s impacted me when I was given a mobile phone as a gift, after a lot of pestering and negotiating with my mother when I completed my Xth standard. In this part of my life too, ABG played its role. The first ever call I made to my friend from ‘my’ phone would have been impossible without the service of Idea Cellular Limited (Now Vodafone Idea Limited). Talking about Idea, I must mention the ‘What an Idea Sirji’ ads which had a great reach and impact on people and the tagline still continues to be popular among my friends where we compliment someone for an out-of-the-box idea.
My latest association with ABG is from the fashion industry where, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) has created a space for itself. I had to get some formal dressing for myself and visited a textile shop near my house. The handful of shirts I picked had Peter England, Louis Philippe and Allen Solly. The confidence that I get when I am in formals is immense and is helping in my MBA journey and in that sense, ABG is more than just a fashion brand for me. But I must confess here that, I did not realize that these brands where a part of the ABG until I did the background research for this article.
During the research for this article , I came across several of social initiatives carried out by ABG like supporting women self-help groups to set-up solar urja light assembly units, which provides solar lamps to children , the association of ABG with government initiatives like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan , Swachh Bharat Abhiyan ,the mid-day meal schemes and skill development programmes which had increased my regard and respect for the conglomerate manifold times. This might not be having a direct impact on my life but all these initiatives are influencing me in one way or the other.
I look forward in continuing my association with Aditya Birla Group and also to expand the relationship to other sectors and domains where the group has already made its presence felt or is aspiring to enter in the future.
Thanks, ABG, for being ‘big’ in my life!
‘How you overcame challenges to achieve your ambitions in life?’.
I was born into a middle-class family hailing from Kerala and this modest background had taught me that working hard is the key to success. I used to be an above average student in my entire student life till date. After my engineering, I joined an organisation which was a great learning experience for me. I was put into a project with another fresher who had joined with me. The domain and the entire working atmosphere were new to me. I used to work day in and day out for hours. The project had critical deadlines and I used to work a lot and at times lost the most essential work-life balance. I called off vacations to complete the project. That imbalance started to take a toll on my overall well-being. My friendships got strained and that was when I realized how important it is to maintain a good balance in life. I made conscious effort to enjoy the little things in life and soon I overcame this challenge of maintaining a good work-life balance. It was during one of the reviews that my manager told me something that I will never forget in my life and is one of the greatest learning. He told me “Smart work is important and not hard work”. It broke my till then notions of how to work. On being retrospective, I recognized that was a challenge that I had been facing all my life without realizing that was a challenge at the first place. Slowly I started investing time and effort for the right things and in the right way. The direction in which I was investing my efforts changed and soon I started getting results without feeling stressed out. I started to prioritize things and was able to do multiple things in a structured and productive manner. Thus, I overcame my fear that, if I start doing multiple things I would fumble. Today if I am able to handle multiple things effectively, it is because of these experiences at work place. Overcoming these challenges has been one of my biggest achievements in life and that has led to even greater achievements and hopefully will continue to do so.
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