Part A
“Sometimes you got to accept the fact that certain things will never go back to how they use to be “ – Ghanshyam Das Birla
This has been the story of Aditya Birla group since the day it was founded in 1857. Since then ABG never looked back and climbed up the ladder in diverse sectors worldwide justifying its tagline – Taking India to the world.
Long before this generation was even born, ABG had started to make impact on millions of lives every day. ABG has its presence from micro to macro level - from SIM cards in our mobile phone to our own dream house, from car tire to an aircraft, from a can of our favorite drink to the support in financial crisis.
ABG has been a part of my life since my childhood. From infancy to this day, it is the part of my mother’s love for me. The utensils she uses to cook a delicious meal for me to show her affection and care probably has aluminium from Hindalco Industries Limited. For adventurous me, during the trekking in remote hilly areas of Darjeeling and stay at Sandakphu - the highest peak at an elevation of 3,636 meter in West Bengal, Vodafone Idea Limited India’s largest telecom operator brought me closer to the loved ones and the world by providing seamless connectivity.
During college years with limited amount of money ABG provided me inexpensive yet quality clothing for every occasion. For day to day and fashionable clothing - People and Pantaloons came to the rescue, for gate-crashing the parties - premium clothing brands like Louis Philippe, Allen Solly and Peter England were there to deliver. MBA interviews, the very important juncture of my career, I ended up selecting a suit from Van Heusen for my interviews. The premium fabric, the tailor-made fitting helped an average looking person to build his personality and look smart and get into one of the best B-school in country.
As I look towards the future, it is inevitable that Ultratech Cement one of the leading cement manufacturer in India is going to be one of the building block of my dream house and Birla Sun Life Insurance will insure my family’s health, children’s future and retirement benefits.
As, Stephen R. Covey said – “Strength lies in differences, not in similarities”, ABG has excelled in diverse fields and has built a multinational conglomerate, impacting the whole population of this diverse country, helping and strengthening the people of India towards the new challenges and they will rise and shine in the world just like the – Rising Sun.
Part B: How you overcame challenges to achieve your ambitions in life so far?
Life is journey filled with ups and downs. Without challenges, a person cannot feel exhilaration of victory. The victory is yours when you conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. It cannot be taken from you by anyone, not by angels and by demons, heaven or hell. Key to conquer the challenges in life is to remain calm, optimistic and determined when you face challenges in life.
I am bit on the side of introvert. I had few friends. I didn’t have confidence to perform in front of audience, I was afraid to speak in public. I decided not to surrender to my fear and anxiety and to overcome them and to gain confidence, I decided to indulge in extra-curricular activities. Extra-curricular activities help to develop communication skills, build confidence and gives the opportunity to interact with more and more people.
After my school where I haven’t participated in a single extra-curricular activity, I got into engineering but with different attitude. I was determined not to repeat my mistake. I made my mind to participate in all the activities that are going to be organised in college. I decided to interact with more and more people and make new friends.
I came out of my comfort zone and participated in the inter-section dance competition in 1st year. That was the 1st time I danced in my life. During the practice I got to interact with other participants, some of them became my friends and few of them became best friends for life. Before the performance I was too afraid to perform in front of approximately 700 people. Every time I see myself in difficult situations just like this and every time I feel anxious, I just take a deep breath, which helps me to keep calm in such situations and believe me, it works. I took a deep breath, decided to just express myself and do whatever I learned during the practice. It gave me the much needed boost to my confidence. Then came the moment. I was on the stage in front of the audience. We came into the formation. Then I heard the countdown and then the beats of the song and we started dancing. After 3-4 minutes, performance was over, so as my fear to perform in front of the audience.
Then, I got the opportunity to overcome my fear of public speaking. By that time, I was the member of my college’s robotics club. We organised a workshop. I participated in that workshop also. Before my turn, my heart was pounding furiously and I got anxious. I took a deep breath and calmed myself. I got up on the stage and delivered my short speech. It was not smooth but It worked for me as it gave the birth to the belief that, yes, I can speak in public.
The me who got into the college in 2013 and the me who got out of the college in 2017 was two different personalities, one with lack of confidence and anxiety, the latter with the feeling of certainty, firm trust and faith in himself. This was only possible because of my will and determination.
As we say “Winner’s never quit, quitter’s never win”, just like that I never gave up, I remained calm and determined with positive attitude to achieve my goal to defeat myself.
#VGSOM#IITKharagpur#ABGLPWooMe
