Why is Aditya Birla Group big in my life?
Aditya Birla Group (ABG) is well known for its various brands and products. Whether it be UltraTech Cement or Hindalco or Vodafone Idea or Aditya Birla Capital, the products and services offered by ABG have always been trusted by the consumers and has been significant in the consumers' life. The same applies to me.
When I was in class 12, my school organised a farewell function for all the students who were going to leave the school post the board exams. The dress code for the event was business formals. I had never needed a business suit before so, I had to shop for one. My father for his business apparel needs had always depended on brands like Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England and Louis Philipp. So, when I had to find a business suit for me, he took me to a shop called Planet Fashion. Planet Fashion is an initiative of Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, a division of Aditya Birla Fashion and Lifestyle. As we entered the store, I came across a varied collection of shirts, trousers and jackets catering to different needs - whether it is business or casual, belonging to the brands that I had seen my father wearing since I was a young child. The style of the suits, quality of the fabric and the exquisite fitting mesmerised me, and later that day, I bought my first business suit.
Since then, whatever be the occasion – be it purchasing a jacket for my college farewell and job interview, buying shirts and trousers for my job, or buying a business suit for my B-School interview I have always relied on the brands offered by Aditya Birla Fashion and Lifestyle.
When I was working as a project engineer, I oversaw the equipment and pipelines erection for a new product stream. Part of the work was to monitor and supervise the masonry work involving white cement that was being conducted. And as is clear from the tagline, UltraTech Cement (Birla White) was the engineer's choice.
Aditya Birla Group has been an essential part of my life and with the plethora of products and services that they offer, I believe, they will continue to be an essential part of my life.
The biggest challenge I have faced in life
Everybody in life must face trials and tribulations to achieve their dream. As the saying goes – “There are no free meals”. I have also faced many challenges on my way to achieving my ambition and making an impact. I believe that the challenges we face and how we handle them define us more than any other aspect of our life can.
I had a stammering problem since a very early age. This problem had hampered with every aspect of my life and personality. It had made me introverted and sometimes even afraid of speaking in front of my friends and batch mates fearing that I would be made fun off. It had reached a point where I was devoid of any confidence or belief in the fluency of my speech. I was adamant about facing this challenge and overcoming my speech disorder, so I underwent rigorous speech therapy. Even after the therapy, there were occasions where my speech was still not very fluent, and my confidence in my speech was still low.
After I left my first job, I was very clear in my mind that I wanted to pursue a management education and become a leader in the corporate world. But I was also very aware of the fact that to achieve my dreams, I must work on my communication skills - especially on the fluency of my speech. I realised that the only way I would be able to do that was to build my confidence and belief in my speaking ability and actively sought job opportunity that would provide me with that opportunity.
Last year I gave the various management entrance examinations and got good enough marks to get an interview call from a few of the best B-Schools in the country. I was aware that because of my history of lack of fluency in my speech, the GD-PI processes conducted by these institutes could be the biggest impediment in my journey of getting into a top B-School. But after two years of building my confidence in my speech ability, I welcomed this opportunity to test the fluency of my speech in the stressful environment of an interview room.
I cleared nine out of the twelve interviews that I gave, and even in the three interviews that I was not able to clear, I spoke fluently and did not stammer even once. Today, I am studying management at one of the top B-Schools in the country and am preparing myself to achieve my dream of becoming a leader in the corporate world. There are still some occasions when my speech is not very fluent, but now I have developed the resilience and the confidence in myself and my abilities that I do not let it affect me.
