Getting out of your comfort zone is never comfortable. Having led a quiet and peaceful life on the bank of river Brahmaputra, Assam, this journey from Assam to Kolkata and then to Gurgaon has never been a cakewalk for me.
Life was pretty smooth till I passed my graduation from Assam and got placed in campus placements. With a view of becoming someone among everyone, I headed to join the organisation in Kolkata. Little did I know that the view from the ivory tower is always better than the ground reality of life. However, Kolkata being culturally quite similar to Assam, welcomed me with open arms. Once I joined the organisation, time flew until I realised one day that I had not yet fully explored the plethora of opportunities available in a metro city. That is when I decided to keep aside the introvert in me and joined Toastmasters International. People were not very familiar with my Assamese accent and I sensed many eyeballs roaming as I spoke. But eventually, I learnt to use that as my strength. Within a couple of days, I became a true-blue toastmaster and also got elected as the Secretary and Treasurer of my club. With a realisation of my potential, came an urge to stretch myself a bit more. Thereby, I landed in MDI Gurgaon against the odds as not many people from Assam get a chance to be a part of such a prestigious institute. I went through a series of changes again which included a drastic change in the weather and food habits. The hustle and bustle of the place and the institute was not easy to cope with. But when I tried to stretch my limits, I realised that no limit exists. Here I am, originally from a small place but with a big dream.
Aditya Birla Group, which started with a humble beginning, ambition and value – driven has now reached a respectable position in the world. It has proven that growth needs vision, strategies, drives and well directed efforts, the world is there to make it happen. When there was a dearth of shopping malls in Assam and people had a hard time looking for brands, Pantaloons opened its first store in Guwahati 10 years back and became the one-stop solution for the inhabitants of Assam. Be it the casual sportswear of Ajile, the perfect dress of Annabelle, or the elite corporate look of Allen Solly, the reasonable price and durable quality of its brands made it everyone’s treasured store. Aditya Birla Group touched the lives of many people by bringing “IDEA” which ensured connectivity even in the rural nooks and corners of Assam. Idea Payments bank, offering features like mobile number as bank account number became the icing on the cake. The heart resides where the home is, which is sustainable due to UltraTech Cement, an Aditya Birla Group offering which has touched the lives of more than 1.5 million people across India. The exponential growth of Aditya Birla Group over the years, spread over countries and trades in plenty of product lines has indeed the touched the lives of many people.