what is his contact no. On 12/27/16, madhu.singhal59 <[email protected]> wrote: > Can I get Shreekanth email id? > > -----Original Message----- > From: AccessIndia [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf > Of varun mahto > Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2016 12:36 PM > To: accessindia > Subject: [AI] pls read this! > > A warrior’s world > > By Jamuna Rangachari > > *Shrikant Bolla’s grit shows us that nothing can deter us from pursuing > what we truly want, disabilities notwithstanding. And that this strength of > spirit always draws support from the Universe, says Jamuna Rangachari* > > [image: breavheart]Twenty four years ago, when Srikant was born, neighbours > in the village suggested that his parents smother him to death, since he > was blind by birth. They felt he would be a burden on a family of poor > farmers. Fortunately, his parents loved him too much to even consider the > suggestion. Instead, they did all they could to better his lot, such as > enrolling him in a school. Sadly, the nearest school in his village was > five kilometres away, and he had to cover the distance mostly on foot which > he did for two years. At that point, his father realised that the child was > not learning anything since the school was not equipped to handle special > children. He pulled him out of it and got Srikant admitted to a special > needs school in Hyderabad. > > *Struggles galore* > > The young boy thrived in the compassionate environment of his new school. > He learnt to play chess and cricket and excelled in them. He topped his > class, even embracing an opportunity to work with the late President Dr APJ > Abdul Kalam in the Lead India project. President Kalam did not forget him > and mentioned him in one of his speeches: “When I was the President of > India, on Aug 28, 2006, I met many students from Lead India 2020 movement. > I asked all of them one question: “What do you want to become?” Out of many > responses one visually challenged boy, Srikant, studying in IX class, got > up and said, “I will become the first visually challenged President of > India.” > > In spite of his merit and hard work, Srikant’s struggles did not end. He > cleared the Andhra Pradesh Class X state board exams with over 90 per cent > marks, but the Board said he could only take Arts subjects after that. He > sued the government and fought for six months. In the end, he got a > government order that allowed him to study science subjects but at his own > ‘risk’. > > 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 per cent in the XII Board exams. He then > applied for IIT, BITS Pilani, and other top engineering colleges, but did > not get a hall ticket as they did not wish to admit a blind student. He > could have fought this too but decided to go somewhere better. Instead of > fighting the system he thought of proving his merit. > > *Going to the top* > > He searched the Internet to find the best engineering programmes 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. There were some issues there but he > handled all of them pretty well, with the support and encouragement of all > the people around him. > > When he completed his graduation, he could have been employed anywhere but > he wished to make a real difference to his life and that of others. He did > not want others like him in India to suffer like he had. > > He gave up many ‘golden’ opportunities in corporate America and came back > to India with the aim of being the change he wanted to see. Bolla > co-founded the Samanvai center for children with multiple disabilities, a > non-profit organisation dedicated to providing various support services to > disabled students aiming for a professional career. > > He understood that apart from education, employment was something that > would make a huge difference. He founded Bollant Industries, an > organisation that employs uneducated and disabled employees to manufacture > eco-friendly, disposable consumer packaging solutions, which is now worth > Rs 50 crores. His mentor and guide through all these years, Swarna Latha, > trains all the employees, thereby creating a strong community where they > feel valued. > > 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 invest 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. > > Shrikant 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. > > His mantra in life is, “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.” This has indeed been epitomised by him in the > entire journey of his life. Looking at his track record, perhaps we may > even see him achieving the mission of being the first visually impaired > President of India who shows us that vision (perspective) is more important > than eyesight. > > About the author : Jamuna Rangachari writes and manages the websites of > Life Positive. She has authored three books for children, compiled and > interpreted Teaching Stories-I and II for Life Positive. and published a > book through Hay House > > *December 2016* > Source: > www.lifepositive.com > > > 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..
