I WENT THROUGH IT. iN THAT CIRCUMSTANCES, HIS DECISION IS CORRECT TO TAKE CARE; OR HAD IT HAPPENED LATER ALSO, A SIMILAR FUNCTION TO RETURN FROM ABROAD IS RIGHT. bUT FOR THAT IF THIS NARRATION, IT JUSTIFIED, only taking care of parents IS MORE IMPORTANT, I DISAGREE. EVEN A PLANTAIN TREE DIES TO ALLOW SMALL ONES TO GROW. SO ELDERS MAY HAVE THE DESIRE CLOSE TO CHILDREN BUT IT HAPPENED WELL; IF NOT STILL DO THE ASEERVATHAM AND SUFFER AND DIE FOR THE GROWTH OF CHILDREN. DO NOT COMPRESS THEM. K RAJARAM IRS 10526
On Sat, 9 May 2026 at 22:48, Narayanaswamy Sekar <[email protected]> wrote: > > ---------- Forwarded message --------- > From: N Sekar <[email protected]> > Date: Sat, May 9, 2026, 9:17 PM > Subject: Fwd - A story like no other, God Bless him > To: Kerala Iyer <[email protected]>, Narayanaswamy Sekar < > [email protected]>, Chittanandam V. R. <[email protected]>, > Suryanarayana Ambadipudi <[email protected]>, Rangarajan T.N.C. < > [email protected]>, Mani APS <[email protected]>, Mathangi K. Kumar < > [email protected]> > > > *_Rewritten this ...... a forwarded message_* > ⸻ > *_Worth Reading… A Story That Redefines Success_* > > My name is Vivek Sharma. I’m 32 years old. > > Whenever people ask me what I do, I simply say, “I run a grocery store.” > They often smile—sometimes even laugh—because they know something else > about me. > > I was a gold medalist in Computer Science from IIT Bombay. > And yes… I still have an offer letter tucked away in my cupboard— > from a San Francisco-based company offering $240,000 a year. > > I never tore that letter. > But I never used it either. > > ⸻ > > The Beginning > > This story begins in 1998, in Kidwai Nagar, Kanpur. > > We lived in a small two-room house with a tin roof. > My father worked as a railway clerk, earning ₹8,000 a month. > My mother gave tuitions, adding another ₹2,000. > > We weren’t even middle class—we were lower middle class. > > But my father had a dream—not forced, not imposed. > He would simply say, > “Son, study as much as you want. Don’t worry about money.” > > And I studied. > > 95% in Class 10. > 97% in Class 12. > > The coaching fee was ₹1 lakh. > My father withdrew his provident fund. > My mother sold her bangles. > > I went to Kota. > Two years of relentless struggle—heat, mosquitoes, long nights. > > And then came the result: > AIR 147. IIT Bombay. Computer Science. > > That day, my father distributed sweets across the neighborhood. > My mother cried and said, > “Now my son will go to America.” > > ⸻ > > The Rise > > At IIT, I thrived. > > Coding, hackathons, internships—everything clicked. > In my third year, I became a Google Summer Intern. > > With my first stipend, I bought my mother a washing machine. > I called my father. > > He said, > “Now I can rest after retirement.” > > ⸻ > > The Dream Offer > > Final year placements. > > After intense preparation, I cracked an interview with a San > Francisco-based startup. > > Four rounds later, the CTO said: > “We want you.” > > The offer: > $240,000. H1B visa. Relocation. > > I was ecstatic. > > Friends celebrated. > My mother said, “Get your passport ready.” > My father quietly said, “This is big, son.” > > My joining was scheduled for August 2016. > > ⸻ > > The Turning Point > > I came home during Holi in March. > > My father looked weak. Persistent cough. > I insisted on a check-up. He brushed it off. > > In April, I got a call— > “Your father has been hospitalized.” > > Lung infection. Heart complications. > Angioplasty needed. Cost: ₹3 lakh. > > Insurance covered only half. > > I used my internship savings—₹2 lakh. > The surgery was successful. > > I returned to Mumbai. > > Then in May, another call. > > My mother felt dizzy. > Diagnosis: Breast cancer. Stage 2. > > Six chemotherapy cycles. Surgery. > Total cost: around ₹5 lakh. > > My father had retired. Pension: ₹12,000. > > Savings were gone. > > ⸻ > > The Choice > > June 2016. > > In one hand: my offer letter. > In the other: hospital bills. > > Visa interview on July 15. > Flight on August 10. > > My mother’s chemotherapy had already begun. > > I asked my father about taking a loan. > He said, > “We’ll have to mortgage the house.” > > Then he refused. > “This house is your mother’s pride.” > > That night, I sat on the terrace, watching planes fly overhead. > > One of them could take me to my dream life. > The other path kept me here—with my parents in pain. > > I emailed my company, asking to defer joining. > > Reply: > “We need someone now.” > > No remote option. No delay. > ⸻ > The Decision > > July 14. > > The day before my visa interview. > > My father returned from the pharmacy and couldn’t even bend down to pick > up a dropped slip. > > In that moment, everything became clear. > > If I left— > who would take them to the hospital? > Who would manage medicines? > Who would sit beside them at night? > > I cancelled the visa interview. > > I wrote back: > “Due to a family medical emergency, I won’t be able to join.” > > Friends called me crazy. > “You’re leaving a ₹1.6 crore job!” > > Maybe I was. > ⸻ > A Different Journey > > I stayed in Kanpur. > > Got a local job—₹35,000 a month. > > Office during the day. > Hospital in the evening. > > I watched my mother lose her hair. > I bought her a wig. > I ensured my father took his medicines on time. > > Two years passed like this. > > By 2018, my mother recovered. > Cancer went into remission. > My father stabilized. > > But financially, we were drained. > > Then my company shut down. > ⸻ > Rebuilding Life > > I received an offer from Bengaluru—₹18 lakh. > > I refused. > > Instead, I opened a small shop under our house: > > “Sharma General Store.” > > Yes, the IIT graduate was now selling rice and lentils. > > The first day was difficult. > Then a familiar aunty walked in and said, > “Your mother taught my child. We’ll always support you.” > > Slowly, the shop grew. > > Mornings at the wholesale market. > Days at the shop. > Nights doing freelance coding. > ⸻ > A New Meaning of Success > > In 2019, my mother was declared cancer-free. > > I went to the temple that day. > > In 2020, during lockdown, my shop thrived. > We started home delivery. > Earned ₹2 lakh. Repaid loans. > > In 2021, I started teaching coding to kids—₹500/month. > > In 2022, one of my students won a national Olympiad. > The story went viral: > > “Student mentored by IITian grocer wins national award.” > ⸻ > Life Comes Full Circle > > That same week, I received an email. > > From the same CTO. > > They were opening in India. > > He wrote: > “Would you like to lead an education initiative—remote, part-time?” > > I said yes. > > Now my life looks like this: > > Morning: Grocery shop > Afternoon: Teaching kids > Evening: Working with a global tech team > > ⸻ > > Today > > Last month, my father turned 68. > > At his birthday, he said, > “My son didn’t go to America. He stayed with me… when I needed him the > most.” > > My mother once asked me, > “Why do you still keep that offer letter?” > > I smiled and said, > “To remember what I left behind.” > > She replied softly, > “You didn’t leave anything. You chose.” > ⸻ > The Truth > > Do I regret it? > > I used to. > > When friends posted pictures from the US… > when they built big careers… > > But not anymore. > > Because I didn’t sacrifice my career— > I redefined it. > > My career is no longer just about code. > It is about care. > ⸻ > Final Thought > > I may have left America. > But I gained something priceless. > > I serve tea to my father every morning. > I sit beside my mother and ease her pain. > > And trust me— > that is not something you can buy for $240,000. > > If given a chance again… > I would choose the same path. > > Because some sacrifices are not losses— > they are investments in love. > > And today, when a child asks me, > “Bhaiya, why are you running a shop after IIT?” > > I smile and say: > > *_“Because my parents are my biggest company…_* > *_and I am their full-time CEO.”_* ❤️ > > > *_Remarkable sacrifice in modern times. Seems to be a real Life - not a > story. பெற்றவர்களுக்கு சேவை புரிபவர்கள் பாக்யவான்கள். எத்தனை கோடிகள் > கொடுத்தாலும் நிகர் ஆகாது._* 🙏🙏🙏 > > Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer > <https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&c=US_Acquisition_YMktg_315_SearchOrgConquer_EmailSignature&af_sub1=Acquisition&af_sub2=US_YMktg&af_sub3=&af_sub4=100002039&af_sub5=C01_Email_Static_&af_ios_store_cpp=0c38e4b0-a27e-40f9-a211-f4e2de32ab91&af_android_url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yahoo.mobile.client.android.mail&listing=search_organize_conquer> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Thatha_Patty" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CABC81ZeZfgPuLf8aR%3DVpyEYSwaLiz6f1WBSWH9DLZiJ0UR19ew%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CABC81ZeZfgPuLf8aR%3DVpyEYSwaLiz6f1WBSWH9DLZiJ0UR19ew%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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