I used to be a topper of my class. Right from class 5. I was not so good with my 2nd language Hindi. When I was in grade 4, my brother and I were put in a tuition. Everyday after school, we used to go for tuition. One such day, I realized the fact that we don’t have to recite everything as it is from a book. For instance, that day, I was asked to read a story and explain in English. I could remember the first few lines as is. However, the remaining lines I forgot the sequence and verbatim but understood the essence. When I got stuck, my teacher asked me try and explain what happened after that. She insisted so I made up my own words to explain the story. She applauded me and encouraged me. I understood then. From that day on, my grades began to improve. But still my 2nd language was still a problem.

My parents understood this and they quickly put me in a tuition for Hindi. And since my Hindi teacher happened to be my class teacher also, she used to help us out in other subjects also. Voila, I cracked Hindi and kept topping that subject from then on. And you know what, I instantly climbed up to top 3 ranks in my class and I stayed there. By class 9, I tasted the Rank #1 in my class too. My grades in 10th class were very good too. I was on a path to making some major academic achievements maybe. But then the 3 year rough patches never left us alone. They used to comeback like clockwork and as explained in the previous chapter, it used to have a major impact on us.

This meant that once I finished my class 12th with above 80% marks, I had no college to apply for. My Father could not afford my college education, even a merit seat. So, I kept preparing for MBBS entrance for 2 more years. During these 2 years, I also helped my Father out with his newspaper and magazines circulation business. We used to walk and approach all our neighbors and others living in the close by areas if they are interested in a circulating library concept. So one pays a sum of 100 rupees for a month and they get to read a few magazines in different languages. As a concept this was fresh and many were interested. But point is that all of us had to be involved in delivering those new magazines and collecting previous magazines and circulating them to others. This needed a lot of planning and my Father was good with that.

A few months into this, we were able to get enough money to buy groceries on a daily basis and eat steady meals. Someone in my Father’s network had an un-used cycle so they gave it to us. We used to deliver our magazines using that cycle. It so happened that a few months later we found a little parking garage in a big house that was not being used, so we used that as a book/ magazine shop. This also meant that we were buying newspapers and magazines and selling them too apart from the circulating library. This meant that one of us had to wake up at 4 am, get to the main center where newspapers and magazines were delivered every day around 4.30 am, collect them and deliver them to those who had subscribed to this service from us. And that’s how I became a newspaper delivery boy myself and understood the value of hardwork. All this while I still could not go to college in those 2 years.

As fate would have it, one day I happened to read a magazine called ‘India Today’ which ranked the colleges in India for all streams. In 2003, the magazine ranked ‘Madras Christian College’, Tamabaram, Chennai as the # 1 college for Sciences and it was just a few kilometers from where I lived.

I go to this college with no money but only hope. I meet a Professor there who happens to be a member of our circulating library. He looks at my 12th Marksheet and says I would easily get a Merit Seat but the applications were all sold out for that year! So, I get back to my house dejected. This is when my Mother springs into action. She knew that my neighbor was applying to colleges that year. She just went there and asked my neighbor’s mother if they had an unfilled application form for that particular college and voila, they did! Ha! We felt so happy as if we won the lottery. Indeed. Later it turned out that this particular action of my Mother put me where I am today.

I take the form back to the Professor and he did get me through. I signed up for BSc. Zoology course. Since I was already preparing for my MBBS entrance, I was on top of Zoology the most. I topped my class in the first semester. I got a scholarship for topping my class. It helped me repay my first semester fees. I don’t remember what we did that the money but I remember giving it to my father for home expenses. There was an active rough patch still going on. This is when I decided that I had to start working to put some bread on the table.

One random afternoon, I was in my college, the class had just got over. I saw one of my classmate walking in a hurry to reach somewhere after college. I just happened to ask him where he was going. He said he was going to attend a walk-in interview in a movie multiplex chain called ‘Sathyam Cinemas’. He in fact even asked me if I wanted to join him. I just went. I had no intention or no idea of how I can pull off working and studying. I still went with him nevertheless.

I attended the interview and they had a customer care executive role in mind for me. Not the call center type of customer care executive but a real offline one. They mentioned that the pay would be 3,000 rupees per month and that it was a 8 hours shift. My college timings were from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm. That meant I can only work from 3 pm to 11 pm. I came back from those interviews and thought about it for a few days. I convinced my parents that I could somehow pull this off.

I went back to Sathyam Cinemas with the 3 pm to 11 pm proposal and the HR agreed instantly. They also set up my interview with one of the founders. The founder asked me a question that day. It was like a scenario. He asked me that “when an angry customer comes to you, shouts at you for bad service and asks for a solution what will you do”? I told him that first of all I would smile and apologize for the inconvenience caused to him. If there was something that I could help him with, I would instantly do that, else I would ask the concerned staff/ Managers and help him out. It seemed to convince the founder, he instantly asked me to join the firm. There I was, 19 year old (2003), with my first job as a customer care executive.

Coming up, after a few months, the founder helps me with something unique . I continue to work for Sathyam Cinemas despite all the commuting and personal hardships I face. 2.5 years later, I clear the 2nd most important interview of my life!