Hi Access Indians, This is a very inspiring and touching article that I found online. I am furnishing the URL below:
http://www.pagalguy.com/2011/06/success-story-behind-spurthis-100-conversion/ ______________ We usually react in either of the two ways to a physically or mentally challenged person – sympathize or ignore. Prem Kumar Ravi, presently a second year student at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM C) reacted differently. He helped. Even while struggling to get into an IIM himself, Prem decided that helping ‘others’ would probably be as gratifying. And that too not just any ‘others’ but God’s special children – the physically and mentally challenged. It all started with a call from a friend on November 15, 2008 who asked him to talk to a special candidate, Sumanth Iyengar, who was to appear for his CAT paper. Sumanth had *cerebral palsy and had attempted CAT thrice without any success. Prem called him, but could not understand a word of what he said on the phone. “His speech was slurred and difficult to understand. I could not comprehend anything. But yes, between the words, his emotions were obvious. So, in a way, I could understand even the unsaid,” remembers Prem. Sumanth told Prem that he and a few of his friends had been getting together to prepare for their MBA entrance exams. Prem sensed that while the preparations were on, the motivation seemed to be failing. “I pictured them studying and felt sad and tears came to my eyes. I spoke to Sumanth for a while and tried to motivate him but frankly, at the end of the conversation, I was the one motivated by seeing the boy’s determination.” This phone conversation got Prem thinking for hours. “Was talking the only way to help him, I thought. May be I could be of some practical help. As I was preparing for CAT too, why not offer some practical help, I thought.” Prem, who had been involved in training CAT aspirants was the ideal person to whom Sumanth could look up to. Also, the fact that Prem was a four-time CAT taker himself, Sumanth could relate to him. Thus started a long and hard journey for Prem, who was then in Bangalore, his home town. From hunting a place to conduct classes to making media contacts to advertise the cause – Prem traveled the length and breadth of Bangalore. He also approached various student community groups for help with CAT preparatory material. An energetic discussion was thrown open on the PaGaLGuY forums as well. “All of this was happening in November and it was too late to catch that year’s CAT exams for Sumanth or any other student who wanted to join, so I decided that we should focus on the following year,” said Prem. Within a few weeks, Prem’s dreams started unfolding. A coaching institute gave Prem a class room to function from. Also, a radio station helped them advertise it. In some time Sumanth was joined by two visually-challenged students – Vishal Jain and Swati in the classroom. The common thread among these students and the teachers was that all dreamed of getting into an IIM someday. Some of the students had converted calls from other b-schools such as the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) but getting into an IIM was the ultimate dream. Prem extended the concept and helped the economically-weak students too and thus Spurthi was born. At that time, Prem also got his close friend Abhishek Bhatia and some others to help him run Spurthi. By early 2009, a proper classroom was in place and also some serious teaching. The visually-challenged students used a software, which Prem had to learn himself and that helped in smoother functioning. Prem and his friends basically began reading out and explaining the concepts to the three students. Sometimes when Maths had to be taught to the visually challenged students, Prem and his team had to explain with colors and different objects. The classes were held mainly on weekends (few hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). Mid-2010, Prem himself converted his IIM C call and had to leave Bangalore. That was when others in Prem’s network took over. The classes continued and whenever possible Prem helped over the phone or the webcam. Recalls Prem: “It was difficult at first as it took time for them to pick up the concepts but soon we took to different ways of teaching and it helped them grasp things in a quicker manner. Within the next few months, we were all comfortable with each other and that helped considerably.” Classes were strenuous but also fun as both the instructors and the students knew that the goal ahead, though not easy was certainly attainable. Prem adds that in no time, ample study material had come in and there was a buzz around b-school campuses about the work done. A year went by. Vishal had appeared for CAT in 2009 and had converted an IIM Lucknow call. A year later, Sumanth and Swati appeared for CAT 2010 and converted their IIM calls. Sumanth got into IIM Indore, and Swati chose IIM Bangalore after converting Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Kozhikode and Lucknow. For Prem, it was a 100% conversion for Spurthi’s first batch. Not only for the students but for Prem too, it was a huge high – it should be for a person who has a signature line that reads 2007: IIMA reject || 2008: XLRI (GMP) reject|| 2009: IIML reject, XLRI (GMP) convert|| 2010: IIMA reject, IIMC, IIML – Converts. This year, Prem and his team plan to upgrade the mode of instruction to video and PowerPoint presentations and through webcams. For those who want to be part of Spurthi either as a volunteer or student, you can mail on [email protected] ____________ Regards, -Kartik Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. 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