When Fashion meets Telecommunication and Perfumery
As a 12 year old, I was always curious about the world around me. My eyes and my mind would always be on the lookout for something extraordinary. And when something caught my fancy, I wanted it at any cost. I remember watching television once and there used to be a quiz hosted by The Voice of Cricket- Harsha Bhogle. Now, sports quizzes weren’t my cup of tea. But it so happened that while flipping through channels, I had landed on this quiz and Mr. Bhogle was announcing, “The winner will get goodies from Louis Philippe!” Being naïve, I would always pronounce the brand as ‘loo-is phili-p’. I would often see the stores of Louis Philippe on the busy roads of my city and would admire the logo and ‘The Upper Crest’ that was written underneath it.
Some years later, I found myself at my paternal uncle’s place and happened to find a Louis Philippe shirt proudly hanging in his wardrobe. It was the first time that I got to touch and feel the quality of that shirt and even got to try it on. I don’t belong to any royal family but I still felt like an uncrowned prince! It was at that very moment that I decided that the day I start earning, I would buy this quality product for myself. And I did keep that promise. The day my first salary got credited in my first job, I went ahead and bought for myself, a couple of ‘Permawhite’ shirts and a trouser and matching socks. I felt proud for having kept my promise to myself. From that day onwards, Madura Garments has been my go-to place for buying clothes for any occasion. As I went through the clothes in my cupboard, I realised that each brand of the shirts, trousers and casual clothes that I have belongs to one of the brands of Aditya Birla Group.
I am also connected to the group through telecommunication. And this has a story from my childhood as well. One of my maternal uncles, who is also someone whom I admire a lot, has been an old user of Idea sim card. He has been using an Idea number since the time when by hearting numbers was normal and doable as well. Being a successful businessman, communicating with his customers was important. And most of his communication happened via calls. If a successful businessman like him used Idea, I thought it best for me to use it as well. And it hasn’t disappointed me one bit.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Ralph Lauren also belongs to the Aditya Birla Group. Ever since I was gifted The Big Pony Collection range of perfumes by Ralph Lauren, I have been in love with the product. It is difficult to think of any other perfume brand and especially when going for special occasions. It’s like second nature to me. Wallet, check. Cellphone, check. Ralph Lauren, check!
So, it is quite evident that Aditya Birla Group has been my companion since my childhood and I am sure the journey will continue till my old age and beyond as well. I have continued to enjoy the wonderful comfort that Madura Garments products provide, continued to maintain and grow relationships thanks to the great network coverage that Idea has, and continued to smell great and therefore exude greater confidence because of the heavenly smell that Ralph Lauren perfumes have.
Circumstantial Maturity
In the city of oranges, Nagpur lived a family of three. It was like any other normal family with its fair share of ups and downs. Mother and father were both government servants and the boy was an only child- pampered and smothered with love. All was going well till the winter of ’97 when all hell broke loose. Diwali was soon approaching and the lighting needed to be brought down from the attic. It was an annual event. So, Sanjay Shelke climbed on the stool and was rummaging through the stuff when he came down with a loud thud. Soon, his face was covered in foam and he had to be taken to the hospital.
As luck would have it, he was diagnosed with stage two brain tumour. And thus began a journey of endless trips to the hospital, surgeries and chemotherapies, and physiotherapies. And a fine swimmer, great table tennis player and a wonderful human being was turned into a person whose left side got paralysed and yet he carried on with his life just as normally as any other person would.
But tumours, just like villains in the movies, have an ugly way of coming back to life and to haunt you. That is what happened again in 2003 and the little happiness that we had accumulated till then also vanished. It was back to square one and the climb to normalcy was tumultuous. However, God had other plans for us and my father was reduced to a vegetative state post which, he had to voluntarily retire from government service and soon enough, in November 2006, he left this world.
Our world came crashing down and we were reduced from a family of three to two now. Luckily for me, my mother was in a stable job. But having gone through all of this at such an early phase of my life changed me as a person. I became more responsible and started caring more about my dreams, ambitions and about my mother as well. Now was the time for me to prove my worth in the world and to be a self-made man. The extended family had been quite helpful during this turmoil and I will be forever grateful to them. But there is a limit to the kind of help that can be provided by family as well. Ultimately, you have to face your realities.
Suddenly, priorities in life had changed and academics became something that I needed and wanted to excel at. An above average performance in tenth standard boards was followed by an equally good performance in twelfth standard board exams and engineering entrance test as well. I had got myself admitted to the best government engineering college in Maharashtra (COEP) and that was the least I could do to lessen the burden of my dear mother. Four years of engineering were spent trying to absorb a lot of things around me, learning a lot and exposing myself to different experiences. This was followed by a great two year employment at a France-based MNC and then the gruelling preparation for MBA entrance exams. Currently, I am studying in one of the best MBA colleges in the country and when I see my journey till now, I realize that I have come a long way.
But I also know that I have miles to go before I sleep. What I have experienced and learnt till now has been invaluable. I have met some really kind people and have learnt the unfailing quality of forgiveness from them. I also know that when I set my sights on something, I am unstoppable. I hope I can make my mother proud of me. That would probably be the best gift I could ever give her. And Lord knows that my father, who must be observing me from Heaven, would want the same.