A student at 55! Old by age, young at heart

His little fatigued eyes full of invisible tears, his stooped shoulders tired of carrying burden, wrinkles on his face depicting a 70 year old man, and 365 days of continuous sweating were not enough to make him lose the battle of life. Gautam, a failed businessman was struggling everyday to make both ends meet.

His life had never been easy. As a kid, he wanted to be an IAS officer. At the age of 15, seeing his financial condition, he killed his precious dream. In those days, education was a privilege. Without buying books, it was not possible to study. Unlike today, online classes were not on fingertips. The Internet didn’t even exist.

When he was 21, he graduated from a good college located in his hometown. This time, he showed some courage and took admission to study LLB. Right after six months, his father left this world. His father was the only bread earner of the entire family, that comprised three brothers, three sisters and his Mom. He was the eldest but still young.

Without any second thoughts, he started taking care of his family. He began doing his father’s business so that his younger siblings could study and make their lives. His dream of becoming a lawyer went for a toss. He never looked back after that.

He nurtured and grew the business with all his dedication. He fell and rose several times but didn’t give up. By the time he was 27, he became one of the richest business people in the entire town. He got married and had two children. Everything was going extremely perfect. In the next 7 years, he became one of the richest businessmen in the entire state. He was living the best days of his life.

It was the year 2010. He was all excited for Diwali as it was the peak season for his business. Like all other years, he stocked up a lot of products to avoid end moment shortages. Diwali approached and the sale peaked off but declined just in a matter of a few days. His entire Diwali sale was just 10% of what he expected.

And this one year turned his life upside down!

His entire stock was kept as it is. Most of these products were bought on good-will and the money was yet to be paid. In fear of losing the good-will, he borrowed money from the market and paid for the products. He had expected that once his business profit went up, he would pay back the debt.

But, that day never arrived.

A new competitor entered and captured a major share of the market. Stuck between huge debts and unsold stock of products, he couldn’t even retaliate to the competition.

Seven years more and his business failed miserably. He was still burdened with the loans that he took in 2010. Interests on loans had surpassed the capital.

And in all these years, only one thing was constant. Love of his wife and his zeal to educate his children.

He had a bicycle and he started selling his products on it. It was way beyond his prestige and the lavish life he had lived in the past. But, he wanted to give his children the life of their dream. Extreme sunny and hot days, or chilly winter evenings didn’t make any difference in his daily routine.

He faced abuse. He got alienated by his own family members. He lost the respect he earned by sacrificing crucial years of his life. But he didn’t give up.

His hard work finally paid off. His intelligent son, Vaibhav, got admission in a top MBA college. His daughter, Ishita went on to become an IAS officer.

Even though his children succeeded, he didn’t stop working. In all his years of tough life, he had understood one thing. Now, the world is driven by the internet and computers. Even if he wants to get a respectful job, he’ll have to learn that.

He took admission in computer classes with all 20s kids and studied there for two months. After that, he applied for a job at an insurance company and cleared the online examination and interviews. He was hired.

At the age of 55, he was newly employed. He was extremely happy, and he earned tremendous respect at his workplace. Yes, he was old but never tired!

Wrap: Stop caring about the people and the society. Go unconventional. And be the hero of your own life story. Remember, nobody can fail you unless you decide to fail.