Keeping Score - Aryaman Birla

He could have done a MBA in a hotshot u.S institution and returned to rule over some aspect of the Birla corporate conglomerate. Instead, he kept his cricket bat firmly in hand, sweated it out and, at 20, has already made his debut with a Ranjit trophy in first-class cricket for under 23-year-olds. Hello! Meets a scion building his own bat-and-bowl legacy…

- Sangeeta Wadhwani

He looks like any young cricketer on the make – save the fact that his wardrobe may be more extensive and his fondness for creating upbeat and fun images reveals a fashion-forward outlook. When Aryaman Birla chooses to pose keeping his impeccably polished leather shoes on, lounging across the living room couch for a slightly edgy portrait, his mother, the graceful Neerja Birla, disapproves, reminding him that “This is not you! When were you encouraged to put your feet up on the sofa with your shoes on?” Light-heartedly, he tells her it’s just a picture and a fun one at that, and very reluctantly, she relents. But this little exchange tells us much about the earthy, almost middle-class respect for all things precious, in the Birla bloodline. Their elegant Birla mansion has a rich repertoire of art, bespoke upholstery, arresting displays from European china figurines to furniture that could belong to Buckingam Palace. Yet, the spaces have soul, not just a patina of opulence.

One recalls the gracious Neerja Birla sharing with HELLO! many moons ago, that one of the luxuries of living at the Birla mansion on the verdant Carmichael Road, was simply the sounds of birds twittering at dawn. She was least obsessed with all the other paraphernalia around in those refreshing early hours, and that revealed to us a lady rich in spiritual sensibility.