Success Story #11

(Success story #11)

It was an alumni gathering organized by my College. I was being felicitated with Shawl-Shreefal and Promising-Entrepreneur award. Entire audience present in the auditorium including students, my teachers, my batch mates and all present were giving me standing ovation but I was in dilemma how to wipe the involuntary tears rolling down my eyes due to strong emotion of joy.

I turned my back towards the audience, slowly pulled out handkerchief and secretly wiped my tears. For me, it was an unfathomable feeling as it was the same College where from I did graduation a quarter century ago and immediately thereafter joined as a teacher. 

It was also the same College which had asked me to leave  due to some misapprehension, after serving for about three odd years.

I descended the dais, sat silently on my allocated chair and closed my eyes. Although the audience was cheering to other awardees, inside me I felt total silence as if I was no more seating in the hall and my journey of past three decades started unfolding in front of me.

I was born in a middle class family and no one in my family, till then, had courage to opt for engineering studies. When I was in basic school, I had the hobby to play with a button cell and a LED. The on-off of LED would give me immense pleasure of creativity and was my first hand introduction to Electronics. In school, I had in my hobby trunk screw drivers, batteries, soldering iron, diodes, transistors, PCB, miniature dc motors etc. I would peddle my cycle, go to Patel Electronics bring components, PCB and assemble clapping switch, bird singing bell, decorative light series, rotating wheel behind Ganesha etc. When I was in 12th I took Electronics as optional subject, took LDR based light switch as project and later had it installed in verandah. I would see the tube light turning ‘ON’ automatically everyday at dusk and smile. After passing my 12th, On my own I filled the form and took admission to one of the newly established self financed Engineering College located close to my home.

I was good in Maths and science, never had any subject backlog and cleared each semester examination in single attempt.

There was a dearth of engineering faculty that time even though entry level qualification was only graduation. I was offered the teaching post in the same college and gladly accepted the same. 

The life was very smooth for about three years and then I had to abruptly leave the job.

In my childhood I was taught by elders that real fighters neither cry in public nor in private but bravely fight with all odds and turn the challenges into opportunities. For a few days I was totally blank and perplexed about the future but very soon accepted this challenge, promised myself and took an oath that I would make myself so strong that on some day in future I would return to my College as a successful alumnus.

As first, I decided to add MTech to my qualifications and jump into totally new waters. For next six months I buried myself in GATE and other technical books and got admitted to prestigious COEP in Digital Electronics course.

 Soon after my PG I applied and got selected in SAMEER, an autonomous R&D laboratory under the then Department of Electronics GOI, as Scientist. Working in SAMEER was a wonderful experience. Soon, I started feeling boredom due the typical red tapism present in any Govt. organization that was not allowing me to vent out my capabilities. After working there for about five years I left that lucrative Govt. job and joined a midcap located in Mumbai dealing in healthcare projects. I got much freedom to work and was instrumental in designing many healthcare systems. I then switched to GE Banglore and led a big healthcare project team before moving to US for another two years on-site.

The projects undergoing in IGATE (former Patni) engrossed me to join this company after returning from US. In IGATE I got an opportunity to work on-site for two years in Japan and for another two years at Singapore.

The efforts I put in at various places I worked, returned me a good fortune and gave me the necessary financial stability. 

It was time to move on to a new venture but by now I did not want to serve under anyone but wanted to be my own boss. I thus acquired my own spacious office in central Mumbai for my new start-up and put in highest possible efforts to grow.

At present my company takes up projects in core electronics. Presently I have a strong team of engineers handpicked through campus recruitment to cater the need of domestic as well as overseas clients. My book on Electrical Engineering, published when I was working in the college, is still a most preferred book among students. I represent in academic bodies of three universities as Industry expert. I have given numerous expert lectures in my college as well as other reputed colleges. Many of my expert lectures organized by IIT, Bombay were widely acclaimed by faculty and students. I am also contributing to the feasibility study of hyper loop project in the capacity of member, technical committee.

(Success Story #11)

Success is subjective.

But why not to walk an extra mile?

Q to readers: which incidence of my life led me to walk an extra mile?