Why Aditya Birla Group is big in my life
This story goes back to my school days, I was in the 9th standard and my friends and I were enjoying a free period or so it was called when a subject teacher was absent. Suddenly one of my friends initiated a discussion on our shopping experiences, like from where do we purchase our clothes and who assists us in the process. This was the first time I heard about the term ‘Brands’ and it was so fascinating to know about different brands and their uniqueness. Then and there I decided that the next time I go shopping, I would visit branded outlets and would share my experience with friends at school.
This anecdote might look trivial today, but for a 9th standard boy, it played a major role in shaping his fashion and shopping habits. I was eagerly waiting for an occasion and there came a wedding in my family and we planned to go shopping. After inquiring from friends, I decided to visit Pantaloons because it provided an option of multiple brands under one roof and I just loved the ambiance over there. That was the first instance when ABG created an impact in my life and it was so deep that it stayed with me forever. From then on, I made up a point to visit Pantaloons every time I went shopping. Moreover, when the time came for formal wear in my life during college events and placement activities, my father suggested me to go for tailor-stitched clothes just the way he had preferred them in his entire life. But I insisted to explore brands like Allen Solly and Louis Philippe and was amazed by the Custom fits option available at these outlets. The only fitting needed to be done was length alteration for trousers and I was good to go. In fact, after looking at my wardrobe collection, even my father has moved on from tailor-stitched option to branded outlets like Allen Solly and Louis Philippe. And hence as a customer, I value the ABG group so much, because not only had it been able to maintain my loyalty towards the brand for so long but also managed to break generation old traditions.
How I overcame challenges to achieve my ambitions in life
The year was 2011, my family and I were going through one of the worst phases in life. My mother was suffering from Interstitial Lung Disease and her condition was worsening day by day. I had just returned home from Kota after preparing for entrances for 2 years or at least what was expected out of me. After appearing for the engineering entrance exams, I knew I had performed terribly but didn’t expect a six-digit rank, which actually turned out to be more than my first CTC. It was the worst day of my life, with negativity all over the place. My family was definitely not in a proper mental state and on top of that my results only exacerbated the situation. It was probably my lowest point in life, I felt like I have lost it all, I had zero confidence in me.
Like any other aspiring student, I also went to Kota with some ambition but the goal wasn’t clear and defined. The end goal was hazy and that is why I got easily distracted away from it. I started falling behind the crowd and there came a point where even after a serious realization it was practically impossible to bridge the gap. I knew I didn’t do justice to my journey at Kota, but then I did learn life lessons from my experiences there, which have helped me reach where I am today and will stay with me forever and I would like to share about one such learning.
The first lesson and probably the most important one, to have a clearly defined goal. One just can’t realize one’s dreams unless there is a clear picture of it in the mind. The X-factor, this clarity brings along, is the motivation to walk that extra mile which otherwise you won’t and I have experienced it personally.
They say there is always a ray of light at the end of a tunnel and all I needed at that point of my life was that ray, a fresh start. I took a drop, reappeared for my entrances and got an admit from the prestigious VIT University, Vellore to pursue B.tech in Automotive Engineering. I was excited for this new chapter of my life and was equally prepared for it. From the very first semester, I had put in efforts, scored well in exams and consistently secured a rank in Top 3 of the batch. For the very first time in my life, I received scholarship awards for my academic performance. I didn’t restrict myself only to academics, I went on to represent VIT and India in an International competition known as Baja SAE, USA in 2015 as a member of Team Jaabaz. We worked for one and a half years to design and fabricate an All-terrain vehicle and finally competed with it in the US. My VIT experience brought out the second lesson, work hard and believe in yourself.
Finally, I decided to combine both these lessons to realize my dream of pursuing an MBA from a top B-school in India and took up the CAT challenge, one of the most competitive exams in our country. I started preparing for it while I was working in Pune and initially it was going on smoothly unless I started having health issues. Preparing for a competitive exam while doing a full-time job turned out to be very challenging and this is where I learned my third lesson, to never give up. With just 4 months left for CAT, I was struggling with my health but I made sure I gave consistent efforts. The result was not very satisfying, I barely managed to get a call. But I knew, if there was one thing for which I have worked really hard in my life, it was CAT and hence I decided to give it one more shot. I gave another attempt, scored a 98.67 %ile, received some good calls and finally decided to join SJMSOM, IIT Bombay.
#SJMSOM #SJMSOMIITBOMBAY #ABGLP #ABGWOOME