Middle-Class Dreams — Part 3
The Story of a Child Who Swam Against Tide
As a 20-year-old in 1996, I wasn’t prepared for what was about to come. From the warmth of my home in Dehradun to the nerve-wracking speed of Delhi, it was a big shift for me.
Starting a journey without knowing the destination, can mean different things to different people. Some will call it foolishness, some may call it an adventure. All I knew was “I have to start”.
A severe financial crunch at home had pushed me into work pretty early. My dreams of going abroad for higher studies had shattered. Even completing my regular graduation degree from a subsidised college in a Tier 2 city seemed like a challenge.
All I could see back then was - an increasing burden of loans, legal battles for our rights, two younger siblings, medical bills of an ailing father, and a hardworking helpless mother.
What could I have done?
What were my options? Wait for 2 to 3 years, complete my studies at the best of colleges, and wait to get a decent job? Or handle the immediate mess around me? I chose the latter because the first option was not even an option.
I adapted and learned new ways of Delhi life the hard way. I still remember the first tuition fee of Rs.250 I earned way back in 1996. Yes, that was my first earning of my own.
That was how I started… tutoring students in Economics, Business Studies, and English. Why? Because that is what I was good at then. Because that was the skill I had and nothing else came to mind. Seems unbelievable but I was myself an undergraduate but was slowly getting to teach students of M.Com and MBA.
I risked my studies, kept giving as many tuition classes as I could, earned, and kept sending money back home. There were days when I would just have an “Aaloo Chat” for Rs.10 as my dinner because that was the cheapest option.
I saved money and published my study notes for Economics. Somehow, in a freak incident acid fell on my entire stock of books and I was left crying… I could not have saved years of my savings!!! I lost the money, the years spent, and the opportunity to earn from it.
Day by day, 4 years passed by. I got married and while I thought it was the right thing to do at that time, later I realized I had made a strategic mistake.
Maybe this is what happens when you start on a journey without a goal. That’s the adventure. That’s the thrill. You never know what lies ahead. Which turn, which path, which vehicle, which co-passengers, and what journey???
The marriage was correct but the timing was wrong. It was too early, I wasn’t established. I had taken up a responsibility without the resources to fulfill it. What happened next was a roller-coaster ride. Life was moving ahead at full speed with all the ups and downs. Shifting to a new location had unsettled my coaching classes. I became unstable.
Soon enough I was to become a father of our first child. I was happy and I was stressed. I had no money!!!
Summer of 2001, sitting at home my eyes fell on a bundle of recovered books. I made a decision.
A little trim and dusting was enough to make some of them sellable. On a scooter, I took samples and went from school to school, took appointments, met teachers, and sold some books at a discount. I was able to recover Rs.15,000 from the scrap worth Rs.200. Having collected enough to pay for nursing home charges, I took a sigh of relief. I could not have borrowed money to welcome my baby into this world.
Hereafter for the next 5 years, I worked hard. Explored new ideas (some much ahead of time), tried new businesses, gained new skills, kept trying, kept failing, and kept recovering only to fail again.
The entrepreneur in me wasn’t willing to die a silent death.
The Shift
I did not stop. I did not stop to get up once again. It happened so many times that I had mastered the art of falling and rising back. Almost like a Phoenix!!!
We had our second child and then one fine day, I made another decision.
It was 2006 and I joined a job!!!
Can you imagine a 16-year-old child who wanted to make it big in business, eventually joining a job at 26 years old to make ends meet? But yes, I did that. And I survived. I kept afloat to keep my dreams alive.
I worked all day, studied at night, attended early morning classes, and kept gaining skills. Giving enough time to my small nuclear family of wife and 2 small adorable kids was a challenge but I think I met it rather well. I saw them grow. Their smiles recharged me for the next day and the next and the next….
I realized God had given me so much to be thankful for. A good wife, wonderful kids, a healthy body, a strong mind, and dreams to fulfill. Dreams which kept me alive through the darkest days.
This was the time when my life was about to enter a new phase. A phase that gave me almost everything I had thought of till then.
Follow me to read more… this was “Middle-Class Dreams — Part 3” from a 5-part story of “A Child Who Swam against Tide”.
