3 July 2019
I am Tanmay Chandak, a 52-year-old commoner. I only have 8 years of service left and a year ago, I thought it would be the best to own a house. Today is the opening ceremony and never in my life have I felt such happiness, of course, apart from the time when my son was born in 1998. It was also the year when I invested in mutual funds for the first time. I exited ABC Sun Life Income MFs to fund my house. It boosted my confidence that even at my age I am not totally reliant on loans from my friends and relatives. I felt proud on the investments I had done with foresight and planning 20 years ago. It has been difficult to save and invest, but it paid off well for my son’s education too.
Flush with excitement and light, I had met engineer to talk about the design of the house, planning and the expenses. As habitual as a commoner could get, I was keen on cutting costs. “It is expensive”, I thought, “why couldn’t we get a cheaper cement?” He was adamant and I had to submit to The Engineer’s Choice, Ultratech it was. He put my imagination on paper and witnessing its transition into reality has been surreal.
Nagpur, the city I live in, is developing at a rapid pace. I remember when we only had one apparel store to make us feel like city-dwellers. So, it was no surprise that we went there for shopping for today’s occasion. My favorite brands like Allen Solly, Peter England, Luis Philippe, Van Heusen all at one place in Pantaloons. Just being there makes me and my son feel rich. Then we went to our regular local saree shop, the best in the Nagpur, to buy a new silk saree for my wife. She detests leather and silk for the reason that it comes from killing animals. To her greatest relief the shop keeps sarees made of artificial silk made from viscose produced by Birla Cellulose… Happy wife for a happy life.
To be honest, I and my wife would have not looked so spectacular today for this ceremony had it not been for Abhishek Bachchan in an advertisement asking us to “Walk and Talk”. It was just an Idea that turned into a habit for life. It has been 10 years when we first saw that advertisement and never missed a morning walk. It was surprising how influential a small idea could be to make us live a healthier life style. As token of gratitude, I ported my network to Idea when portability became a thing in India in 2011.
Aditya Birla Group has touched my and my family’s life in every walk. While I am writing this in my personal diary I realize that the Carbon Black produced by ABG’s Columbia Chemicals in this black ink has been my partner in catharsis throughout my life.
