this story was realy nice and has boosted my confidence in achiving my goals On Wed, Dec 23, 2015 at 2:47 PM, [email protected] < [email protected]> wrote:
> Hi Aravind > > Can you help me with Srikanth Bolla contact numbers. > > Thanks in advance. > > Best Regards, > Sushmeetha B. Bubna │ Founder Director > > Voice Vision > 103, Synthofine Estate,’ A’- Wing, Off Aarey Road, Goregaon (E), Mumbai – > 400 063. > Work Phone: +91 22 40400000 │ Fax: +91 22 40400123 │ Hand Phone: +91 > 9820566010 > Email: [email protected] │ Web: www.voicevision.in > Basudeo Bubna Memorial Trust │ Web: www.bubna.com > Facebook www.facebook.com/voicevisionfans > -----Original Message----- > From: AccessIndia [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Aravind R > Sent: 23 December 2015 10:45 > To: AccessIndia: a list for discussing accessibility and issues concerning > the disabled. <[email protected]> > Subject: [AI] The blind CEO who built a 50 crore company > > > http://www.rediff.com/getahead/report/achiever-the-blind-ceo-who-built-a-50-crore-company/20151222.htm?pos=1&src=NL20151223&trackid=REtjS/3WWwpotkJ8n9G/t3Ylc3f1/DrlxAUgzDpNJgo=&isnlp=0&isnlsp=0 > > Srikanth Bolla (pictured below) is standing tall living by his conviction > that if the "world looks at me and says, 'Srikanth, you can do nothing,' I > look back at the world and say 'I can do anything'." > Srikanth Bolla > When he was born, neighbours in the village suggested that his parents > smother him. > It was better than the pain they would have to go through their lifetime, > some said. > He is a "useless" baby without eyes… being born blind is a sin, others > added. > Twenty-three years later, Srikanth Bolla is standing tall living by his > conviction that if the "world looks at me and says, 'Srikanth, you can do > nothing,' I look back at the world and say 'I can do anything'." > Srikanth is the CEO of Hyderabad-based Bollant Industries, an organisation > that employs uneducated disabled employees to manufacture eco-friendly, > disposable consumer packaging solutions, which is worth Rs 50 crores. > He considers himself the luckiest man alive, not because he is now a > millionaire, but because his uneducated parents, who earned Rs 20,000 a > year, did not heed any of the 'advice' they received and raised him with > love and affection. > "They are the richest people I know," says Srikanth. > Underdog success story > What is it about stories like Srikanth's that so inspire and fill one with > hope? > Could it be the multiple zeroes after a dollar sign or the belief that you > and I can achieve similar success if we set our minds and hearts to it? > Underdog success stories touch a raw nerve. After all, everyone faces > adversity, they dream, and they work hard. > It is another matter that only a few cross the threshold of limits set by > society. > In Srikanth's case, it is his sheer tenacity that shines through the dark > clouds of his misfortune. > Being born blind was just one part of the story. He was also born poor. > And you know what that means in a society like ours. > In school, he was pushed to the back bench and not allowed to play. > The little village school had no way of knowing what inclusion meant. > When he wanted to take up science after his class X, he was denied the > option because of his disability. > All of 18, Srikanth not only fought the system but went on to become the > first international blind student to be admitted to the prestigious > Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. > As author Paulo Coelho says, "We warriors of light must be prepared to > have patience in difficult times and to know the Universe is conspiring in > our favour, even though we may not understand how." > Today, Srikanth has four production plants, one each in Hubli > (Karnataka) and Nizamabad (Telangana), and two in Hyderabad (Telangana). > Another plant, which will be one hundred percent solar operated, is coming > up in Sri City, an integrated business city in Andhra Pradesh, 55 kms from > Chennai. > Angel investor Ravi Mantha, who met Srikanth about two years ago, was so > impressed with his business acumen and vision for his company that he not > only decided to mentor him but also invested in Srikanth's company. > "It was a small, tin-roof shack in an industrial area near Hyderabad. > There were eight employees and three machines under the shed. I expected > him to talk about how he wanted to make a social impact, but was surprised > by the business clarity and technical knowhow in someone so young," Ravi > says. > They are raising $2-million (around Rs 13 crores) in funding and have > already raised Rs 9 crores. > According to Ravi, his personal goal is to "take the company to IPO." > A vision to build a sustainable company with a workforce comprising 70 > percent people with disability is no mean task. > "Srikanth's vision is inbuilt in the company. It is not just a lip service > to CSR," adds Ravi. > Isolation a big curse > "The isolation of differently-abled people starts at birth," Srikanth said > in his first public speech on the INKTalks stage in Mumbai last month. > According to him, "Compassion is a way of showing someone to live; to give > someone an opportunity to thrive and make them rich. > Richness does not come from money, it comes from happiness." > When Srikanth was growing up, his father, a farmer, would take him to the > fields but the little boy couldn't be of any help. > His father then decided that he might as well study. > "In my parent's entrepreneurship model, I was a failure. In > entrepreneurship, we have a lean business model where we evaluate an > enterprise and say how quickly it fails." > > Since the nearest school in his village was five kilometres away, he had > to make his way there mostly on foot. He did this for two years. > "No one acknowledged my presence. I was put in the last bench. I could not > participate in the PT class. > That was the time in my life I thought I was the poorest child in the > world. It was not because of lack of money but because of loneliness." > When his father realised that the child was not learning anything, he > admitted Srikanth to a special needs school in Hyderabad. > The boy thrived in the compassion he was shown there. He not only learnt > to play chess and cricket but excelled in them. He topped his class, even > embracing an opportunity to work with late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in > the Lead India project. > But none of this mattered much because Srikanth was denied admission to > the science stream in class XI. > He cleared the Andhra Pradesh class X state board exams with over 90 > percent marks, but the board said he could only take Arts subjects after > that. > "Was it because I was born blind? No. I was made blind by the perceptions > of the people." > Having been denied the opportunity, Srikanth decided to fight for it. > "I sued the government and fought for six months. In the end, I got a > government order that said I could take the science subjects but at my 'own > risk'. " > Thus not 'risking' anything to chance, Srikanth did whatever he could to > prove them wrong. > He got all the textbooks converted to audio books, worked day and night to > complete the course and managed to secure 98 percent in the XII board exams. > Fortune favours the brave > Sometimes, life mimics a steeplechase. Especially when it comes to those > it has big plans for. > It did not give Srikanth enough time to bask in his victory when it threw > another spanner in the works. He applied for IIT, BITSPilani, and other top > engineering colleges, but did not get a hall ticket. > Instead, "I got a letter saying 'you are blind, hence you are not allowed > to apply for competitive exams.' If IIT did not want me, I did not want IIT > either. How long can you fight?" > He chose his battles carefully and did his homework searching the Internet > to find the best engineering programme for someone like himself. He applied > to schools in the US and got into the top four -- MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, > and Carnegie Mellon. > He went to MIT (with a scholarship) as the first international blind > student in the school's history. > It wasn't easy adjusting to life there, but by and by he started to do > well. > Towards the end of his bachelor's course when the 'what next' question > came up, it brought him back to where he had started. > "Many questions bothered me. Why should a disabled child be pushed to the > back row in the class? Why should the 10 percent of the disabled population > of India be left out of the Indian economy? > Why can't they make a living like everyone else with dignity?" > He decided to give up the 'golden' opportunity in corporate America and > came back to India in search of answers to his questions. He set up a > support service platform to rehabilitate, nurture and integrate > differently-abled people in society. > "We helped about 3000 students in acquiring an education and vocational > rehabilitation. But then I thought what about their employment? So I built > this company and now employ 150 differently-abled people." > Good always rebounds > Entrepreneur bravehearts like the warriors of Paulo Coelho always find one > unflinching support, an anchor to keep them afloat. In Srikanth's case, it > is his co-founder Swarnalatha. > "She was his special needs teacher in school. She has been his mentor and > guide through all these years. She trains all the employees with > disabilities at Bollant thereby creating a strong community where they feel > valued," says Ravi, adding, "Srikanth is a true source of my inspiration. > He is not only my young friend and protégé but is also my mentor who > teaches me daily that anything is possible if you set your mind to it." > The boy who was born blind is today showing many the path to real > happiness. > He says his three most important life lessons are: "Show compassion and > make people rich. Include people in your life and remove loneliness, and > lastly, do something good; it will come back to you." > Lead image: Kind courtesy INKTalks > www.yourstory.com > Dipti Nair > > -- > nothing is difficult unless you make it appear so. > > r. aravind, > > Assistant manager > Department of sales > bank of baroda retail loan factory, Chennai. > mobile no: +91 9940369593, 9710945613. > email id : [email protected], [email protected]. > > > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of > mobile phones / Tabs on: > > http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of > the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of > mobile phones / Tabs on: > > http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of > the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
