Perseverance

It was 7:20pm today evening, and I was on my way to Media Resource Centre, IIT Madras, to attend a lecture specially organized by Vivekananda Study Circle, a group of IITM students.

The speaker was Sarath Babu. A person from poor background, brought up in slums of Chennai, making it to BITS Pilani and IIM Ahmedabad; and a successful CEO, heading foodking, successfully at 29 years of age.

The above statement is more than capable to awe you about the greatness of this person, I'd rather use the word fighter.

It was 7:25, I reached the venue, and saw the man himself getting down from his car, very simple, noble; and above all punctual. Unlike many so called celebrated speakers preferring to make a pseudo style statement by arriving 20 to 25 minutes late, this man was ready on the venue, five minutes early. Seeing the lecture hall empty, he was made to wait for 15 minutes; something really shameful on the organizers' part.

Here starts the wonderful tale.

He shared his life story, the struggles, the hurdles in his path, but he had his mind focused.

Despite living in a hut, in the lack of basic amenities, he was always the ranker.

He earned money by book binding, so that he could pay his fees for 11th standard.

He joined BITS Pilani, did BTech in Chemical Engg, worked in Polaris for three years, cracked the toughest cookie in the country, IIM-A. This really is inspiring, but not rib-tickling.

The rib-tickling part comes now.

It's needless to say that IIM-A graduate will be welcome by any firm in the world, so was the case with Mr Sarath Babu; but he preferred going the less traveled way.

He turned entrepreneur, in hunt of his dream, with a meagre 2,000Rs capital, (I didn't miss any zero, it really was two thousand), not more than three years ago from now; and today he is heading a firm of more than 7Cr Rs turnover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Being an entrepreneur must be the dream of so many, but the reason I am writing about Mr Sarath Babu, is that he chose this with a view to creating employment opportunities, and not wealth.

His statement keeps taking round in my mind.

"Through a job offered to me by IIM-A placements, my family could have been well-off, but by being an entrepreneur, and by employing 250 people, today 250 families are earning their livelihood through me."

Surprises are yet to end. He contested in 2009 Parliamentary election as an independent candidate from South Chennai.

Aspiring to be education minister one day, he has a long way to go, but looking at his perseverance, it will not surprise me, if I see him in the cabinet in a decade.

Look at the Sarath Babu now, and look at the Sarath Babu two decades back.

A transformation from a son of an Idli seller living in slums to a potential minister and a successful CEO.

If this tansformation is possible, perseverance can do anything and everything, all you need to have is a dream, and never say die spirit.

His life story looks like a fairy tale, could really be a role model for the current generation, and at least for me.

Hats off to you Sarath Babu...