Here is a quora answer which personally moved me,
"I grew up in a lower middle class South Indian family. A well educated mom and a not so well educated but hard working dad. And there is my little sister who is 6 years younger to me.
While growing up in Hyderabad I have seen my mom working her guts off to make both ends meet. I particularly remember this because whenever the Principal of our school walked in to take names of students who are yet to pay the fees, my name was there by default. The memory is so stark that I clearly remember the only time my name wasn’t called out. That day, I had a grin on my face. It felt as if I was set free after being caged for years.
Then came a high. My mom, while working as an Accountant started an HR consultancy firm which flourished and she made good money. But since she had an eternal spender as a life partner, she couldn’t save much. Instead, the money made the wine sellers rich (If you know what I mean).
Let me give you an example of how much she made during that period – She gifted me a TVS Scooty when I made it out of school. Mind you, this is year 2001.
During this period nobody would have foreseen a low. But it was around the corner. Year 2003, a tsunami in the disguise of my mom’s deteriorating Health hit our family and what followed were the darkest days of our lives.
My dad took a decision. He decided to send us to our home town(while he stayed back), where he expected to receive financial and moral support from our relatives for my ailing mother. I had just finished my 12th and my sister had finished 6th grade. In a matter of few days, our lives had taken a U-turn. Palakkad, Kerala. That’s our home town. My sister joined school and I couldn’t continue my studies. It came as a rude shock to me. Within no time I went from an effervescent kid to a silent gape addict. Looking at the financial and our mental situation my mother went in to depression. She also had lost 20 kgs by then. Day in and day out we were praying for her recovery. Before the situation could sink in, life took another blow at us. A massive one at that.
My dad could not manage his finances and became more aggressive than usual. He took decisions in a jiffy, one after another. Slowly there came a time where he could not send us a single rupee for our survival. In a short while we were asked to vacate our two room(one room and a kitchen) rented house because we couldn’t pay the rent for 3 months straight.
We then moved in to a small hut.
It could not hold the rain. Sitting inside this house during the rains was like sitting under a tree. You don’t get drenched but you are also not sitting inside closed doors and enjoying the rain.
The house didn’t have electricity, no water connection, no well, no compound wall (as you can see in the pic) and no proper BATHROOM. With two women in the house, not having a proper bathroom was horrible. We stayed in this house for close to 4 months. These four months taught me the value of every single breath of life.
We ran out of money and food. One morning we woke up at about 5am and made black coffee for us, that’s when my mom looked at my sis and me and said, “We don’t have anything to eat for today”. After a few minutes of pin-drop silence we looked at each other and burst out crying. We got in to a group hug and cried for almost an hour. Then, I went in to the room and picked up the Dish Drops (Utensil cleaner), Car Wash and Shampoo sachets that we had purchased as Amway Distributors few months ago. I had 20 of these sachets, each costing Rs.5/-. I saw an opportunity, I waited for the sun to rise.
As soon as it was early enough to go door to door, I started my journey. I went door to door selling these sachets. Where ever I saw a car I got in and spoke about the Car Wash. Where I saw women, I spoke to them about Dish Drops and Shampoos. I turned in to a determined 17yr old who wanted to feed his mom and sis. I was asked to leave at most places as they were not used to door to door salesmen. One man hurled a shoe at me for entering his gate. The shoe whistled past my ear. I think it must have kissed me on the way because I still remember how the shoe felt. It looked like a journey that would not end. I wiped many a tear off my face during this journey. But I did manage to sell a few sachets by noon, by which time I was so hungry that I felt I would faint.
I stopped at a road side hotel which looked affordable to me. I sat there among masons & Carpenters who were working nearby, to eat. I had never been with such people. This was my first, tears started flowing and I ate my food with tears in my eyes. My first meal of the day was awesome. Its the best meal I have ever had. After that day who am sitting with never bothered me. My meal cost me Rs.12/-.
I continued my walk until 4:30pm before I felt I had earned enough to buy rice. I took a bus back home and purchased 2kgs rice on the way. I paid Rs.10 per kg. While I was walking back home I held the rice close to my chest as if hugging a little baby. It was dear to me. My mom and my sis were waiting. When I reached home my mom and sis were elated. We burst in to tears again, which lasted a while.
After some time, I asked my mom, “What did you both eat?”. Mom didn’t respond. My cute little sister told me, “We went to our neighbour’s and asked for some Papayas from their papaya tree, mom told aunty that I like Papayas. I dont like them but I ate it because I was hungry.”
Hearing this I just couldn’t control myself. I cried and my sis said, “Don’t worry brother, I won’t ask for chocolates”. The group hug was back again. We cried inconsolably for a very long time.
After this day, we never looked back. We somehow made it out of that hut. I found a job as a door to door salesman. My first pay cheque was for Rs.500/-. I remember packing it neatly in an envelope and handing it over to my mom.
I joined another company as salesman and one of my prospective clients made me realize that my english is good and I should be doing something else. I asked him to suggest. He said, “Call Centers”.
I have written about how I met him in the below answer.
Subhash Kumar’s answer to Was there a stranger who you met once, and will likely never meet again, who profoundly affected you?
We are now in 2005, two tough years had passed. We decided to move back to hyderabad.
After coming back I found my first job in a BPO after failing close to 30 interviews. How I made it is a story in itself. It took me 4 months. I joined HSBC’s Data processing unit as a CSR.
My second innings had began. Cut to 2014 and I am an HR Business partner with an IT firm. I finished my Graduation and MBA through distance and have been working since 2003 at a stretch. No breaks taken.
I had my head in the right place, still have. So never ever got carried away. I have a calm demeanour and the confidence of a shooter who doesn’t make too much noise while playing his sport. Just makes his gun do the talking. I respect everything I have in life and value every rupee. I show how much I love people around me without a bit of hesitation. I talk very less and do more. I don’t think judging people is my business, so I dont do it. I keep an open mind. In the meantime I have also tried business and failed. So I have massive respect for people who create their own lives. Most importantly I have retained the effervescence.
So to answer the question, “It sucks to be poor, but that’s what made ME. So if I had the power to change my past, I would rather let go of the power”. :)
Life is about moving forward. Let’s go together..!! "
"I grew up in a lower middle class South Indian family. A well educated mom and a not so well educated but hard working dad. And there is my little sister who is 6 years younger to me.
While growing up in Hyderabad I have seen my mom working her guts off to make both ends meet. I particularly remember this because whenever the Principal of our school walked in to take names of students who are yet to pay the fees, my name was there by default. The memory is so stark that I clearly remember the only time my name wasn’t called out. That day, I had a grin on my face. It felt as if I was set free after being caged for years.
Then came a high. My mom, while working as an Accountant started an HR consultancy firm which flourished and she made good money. But since she had an eternal spender as a life partner, she couldn’t save much. Instead, the money made the wine sellers rich (If you know what I mean).
Let me give you an example of how much she made during that period – She gifted me a TVS Scooty when I made it out of school. Mind you, this is year 2001.
During this period nobody would have foreseen a low. But it was around the corner. Year 2003, a tsunami in the disguise of my mom’s deteriorating Health hit our family and what followed were the darkest days of our lives.
My dad took a decision. He decided to send us to our home town(while he stayed back), where he expected to receive financial and moral support from our relatives for my ailing mother. I had just finished my 12th and my sister had finished 6th grade. In a matter of few days, our lives had taken a U-turn. Palakkad, Kerala. That’s our home town. My sister joined school and I couldn’t continue my studies. It came as a rude shock to me. Within no time I went from an effervescent kid to a silent gape addict. Looking at the financial and our mental situation my mother went in to depression. She also had lost 20 kgs by then. Day in and day out we were praying for her recovery. Before the situation could sink in, life took another blow at us. A massive one at that.
My dad could not manage his finances and became more aggressive than usual. He took decisions in a jiffy, one after another. Slowly there came a time where he could not send us a single rupee for our survival. In a short while we were asked to vacate our two room(one room and a kitchen) rented house because we couldn’t pay the rent for 3 months straight.
We then moved in to a small hut.
It could not hold the rain. Sitting inside this house during the rains was like sitting under a tree. You don’t get drenched but you are also not sitting inside closed doors and enjoying the rain.
The house didn’t have electricity, no water connection, no well, no compound wall (as you can see in the pic) and no proper BATHROOM. With two women in the house, not having a proper bathroom was horrible. We stayed in this house for close to 4 months. These four months taught me the value of every single breath of life.
We ran out of money and food. One morning we woke up at about 5am and made black coffee for us, that’s when my mom looked at my sis and me and said, “We don’t have anything to eat for today”. After a few minutes of pin-drop silence we looked at each other and burst out crying. We got in to a group hug and cried for almost an hour. Then, I went in to the room and picked up the Dish Drops (Utensil cleaner), Car Wash and Shampoo sachets that we had purchased as Amway Distributors few months ago. I had 20 of these sachets, each costing Rs.5/-. I saw an opportunity, I waited for the sun to rise.
As soon as it was early enough to go door to door, I started my journey. I went door to door selling these sachets. Where ever I saw a car I got in and spoke about the Car Wash. Where I saw women, I spoke to them about Dish Drops and Shampoos. I turned in to a determined 17yr old who wanted to feed his mom and sis. I was asked to leave at most places as they were not used to door to door salesmen. One man hurled a shoe at me for entering his gate. The shoe whistled past my ear. I think it must have kissed me on the way because I still remember how the shoe felt. It looked like a journey that would not end. I wiped many a tear off my face during this journey. But I did manage to sell a few sachets by noon, by which time I was so hungry that I felt I would faint.
I stopped at a road side hotel which looked affordable to me. I sat there among masons & Carpenters who were working nearby, to eat. I had never been with such people. This was my first, tears started flowing and I ate my food with tears in my eyes. My first meal of the day was awesome. Its the best meal I have ever had. After that day who am sitting with never bothered me. My meal cost me Rs.12/-.
I continued my walk until 4:30pm before I felt I had earned enough to buy rice. I took a bus back home and purchased 2kgs rice on the way. I paid Rs.10 per kg. While I was walking back home I held the rice close to my chest as if hugging a little baby. It was dear to me. My mom and my sis were waiting. When I reached home my mom and sis were elated. We burst in to tears again, which lasted a while.
After some time, I asked my mom, “What did you both eat?”. Mom didn’t respond. My cute little sister told me, “We went to our neighbour’s and asked for some Papayas from their papaya tree, mom told aunty that I like Papayas. I dont like them but I ate it because I was hungry.”
Hearing this I just couldn’t control myself. I cried and my sis said, “Don’t worry brother, I won’t ask for chocolates”. The group hug was back again. We cried inconsolably for a very long time.
After this day, we never looked back. We somehow made it out of that hut. I found a job as a door to door salesman. My first pay cheque was for Rs.500/-. I remember packing it neatly in an envelope and handing it over to my mom.
I joined another company as salesman and one of my prospective clients made me realize that my english is good and I should be doing something else. I asked him to suggest. He said, “Call Centers”.
I have written about how I met him in the below answer.
Subhash Kumar’s answer to Was there a stranger who you met once, and will likely never meet again, who profoundly affected you?
We are now in 2005, two tough years had passed. We decided to move back to hyderabad.
After coming back I found my first job in a BPO after failing close to 30 interviews. How I made it is a story in itself. It took me 4 months. I joined HSBC’s Data processing unit as a CSR.
My second innings had began. Cut to 2014 and I am an HR Business partner with an IT firm. I finished my Graduation and MBA through distance and have been working since 2003 at a stretch. No breaks taken.
I had my head in the right place, still have. So never ever got carried away. I have a calm demeanour and the confidence of a shooter who doesn’t make too much noise while playing his sport. Just makes his gun do the talking. I respect everything I have in life and value every rupee. I show how much I love people around me without a bit of hesitation. I talk very less and do more. I don’t think judging people is my business, so I dont do it. I keep an open mind. In the meantime I have also tried business and failed. So I have massive respect for people who create their own lives. Most importantly I have retained the effervescence.
So to answer the question, “It sucks to be poor, but that’s what made ME. So if I had the power to change my past, I would rather let go of the power”. :)
Life is about moving forward. Let’s go together..!! "
0 comments:
Post a Comment