Against All Odds Real Life Survival Stories.

[Applause]

it’s september of 1976

we are traveling back in time september

of 1976

a young teacher had just been appointed

in birla college

those of you who are from kalyan know

about this

it was a beginning of the new ten plus

two plus three format

and big college did not have rooms for

conducting lectures of class 11

so these will be held at century rayon

school

three kilometers away this poor teacher

had

no home and he lacked the funds to pay

for deposit

of a rental home after spending two

weeks

as an unpaid guest at the centurylink

guest house

he was politely asked to move out

because the rules

for it an extension desperate for a

place to stay

he appealed to his students to search

for a place where he could stay and at

that time he told them frankly that i

will not be able to afford

a deposit because

the next day a student walks up to his

teacher and says sir

you can stay in my house free of cost we

can provide your corner

but there is a catch that student’s

father

was a gardener in the local crematorium

shamshanghat

of maharan village on the outskirts of

shahada and this boy’s house was right

inside the crematorium

also there was no electricity in that

house there were six other occupants in

that house which was

hardly half the size of this change but

beggars cannot be choosers

and the teacher immediately accepted the

offer and shifted incidents

the sole source of light in that entire

crematorium

was a sodium vapor lamp on a pole

which was right next to the spot where

the dead bodies used to be burned on the

female fire

now this determined teacher used to sit

under that

land to prepare the notes for his next

year’s lectures

because he was educated in the

vernacular medium and he used to sit

with books and lick stories

to translate everything for the next

lectures

oh yeah around 7 pm suddenly this lamp

would go off

without warning and the whole place

would be

engulfed into pitch black

flicking on a stable torch the teacher

would gather his books quickly

and start walking 400 meters away to his

humble abode

he had to be careful because the place

was full of slithering snakes

there were bats chattering out shooting

and not very far away

there was also the call of a jackal and

hyenas

on reaching to that spot he used to

occupy that corner and fall into a tired

sleep

after a laborious day this ritual lasted

four months till he found a place as a

paying guest

and during these four months his early

dinner

like i need to tell you that also his

early dinner

used to consist of missile power worth

five rupees

for the first 10 days

what would be three for the next ten and

sukha bhajiya and power for the last 10

that could have heard now how do i know

all these details about this man

ladies and gentlemen the man i’m

referring to a teacher of teachers

a stalwart is none other than

my father

[Applause]

and all that i have told you is the

story of his life how he began

he became a legend in his own right for

the next 30 plus years state has

taught and guided and created careers of

thousands of students

many of whom have been placed across the

world run successful businesses

or also our corporate leaders

much to share this joy many of his

students are also

successful teachers what more could a

teacher ask for

and all of the students including myself

including myself we credit shaytan sir

for

creating in us a strong desire for

knowledge

a strong thirst for teaching with the

basics

learning with the why and most

importantly

never said i spend now many many people

must have been thinking in my earlier

days also that

this boy must have been

this boy must have been mentored to be a

teacher right since his student is

well that’s far from the truth even

though my mom and dad both are teachers

i was never programmed to be a teacher

in fact

they both allowed me to explore the best

thing that they did as parents was give

me freedom

so i was preparing for a corporate

career i was getting ready to do my mba

when suddenly tragedy struck but my

father’s business suffered a serious

setback

and at that time teaching chose me

it was as if i was destined to become a

teacher as soon as i got that

opportunity i took to it like a fish

takes to water

and i am very blessed that i was taught

by great teachers

and loved by my students so i learned

from both these cases

most important thing that everyone

should understand guys

is you are never too big to learn from

anyone you can learn even from your

juniors

and i would like to tell all the

youngsters here never try to copy anyone

if i would have tried to copy my

illustrates

always try to be the best version of

yourself

now in the last 21 years that i have

been a teacher i have met some amazing

survivors

people who take the leap of faith

people who come over a lot of odds one

of them was madurai

a class 12th student who was writing her

exams

during which her father suffered a

massive heart attack and died on the

spot

our teachers immediately went and come

sailed her and explained to her that you

should not

discontinue your papers that is not what

your father would want

thankfully the emotional will work and

madura decided to continue

but when you picture the scene your dear

father’s

cold body is lying on the floor

your distraught mother is sitting next

to the body

completely lost her eyes wet with tears

completely swollen and every time a

visitor walks in the dad goes

there’s a lot of chaos emotional turmoil

and in the middle of this

you write your exam knowing fully

when you come back you have to say bye

bye goodbye to your darling father

but that’s what mudra did and she passed

through flying colors

when the going gets tough the tough get

going

[Applause]

my is another example of a fantastic

fighter he was sincerely preparing for

his second year third year degree exams

when his father

a driver with mara assisted electricity

board who was standing outside his

vehicle

[Music]

suddenly one of the ropes snapped and

the transformer fell down on mr monday

completely crushing his back months were

spent in the hospital

and on one of the visits

birth to be a driver inspired by his

father’s faith in him

amid died deeper into his studies

finished his fourth graduation

got a degree in law and also became a

qualified company secretary

today one day a telestandard

is the head company secretary of asia’s

largest real estate firm

he is responsible for legal compliances

of

52 group companies winners

always find ways always

the third and perhaps the most closest

to my heart the example that i would

like to share with you

is all two of my students and what i

would say i will express my gratitude to

the universe for allowing me a chance

to teach

these students both boys lost their

sight

at a very young age but not their vision

sidekick provision they used to sit in

the class with regular students

with a recording device in hand on the

first bench all

senses completely focus their ears

popped up

and i am proud to say that they did not

just pass their exams

they inspired all their attachments and

they inspired their teachers as well

kumar used to even come from a rural

place called writing which is like 10 or

12 kilometers away

traveling in public transport now this

guy from a very poor background this guy

from a middle class family educated

background

being a brilliant student kumar also

decided to get into

music is gifted with a music magical

voice and he also

creates lot of love with music and

whosoever is working in an i.t firm as a

software tester

they do not need sympathy all they need

is an

opportunity coming to the second phase

of

my journey this was about my journey as

a teacher now my journey as an offline

traveler

i have met some wonderful survivors

throughout the world

i have traveled to many places in india

is abroad

wonderful of kenya the hardy mountain

folk of the himalayas

the farmers and tridents of maharashtra

rajasthan

all these people have common challenges

they are faced with

very very unpredictable climatic

conditions severe drought

poverty sometimes exploited by the

system

and always being challenged by the

elements

but you will rarely find more happy

people

they are always joyous they are always

smiling and most importantly they are

always needing to share

during the everest base camp trend and

before that

i would like to mention that in suddenly

classified

tough times do not last but tough people

don’t

and when the light flows unexpected

challenges like that

they do not mind why me

they chill up and say try me

you and i are far more blessed than

these people

a special mention to this lady from

australia

during the everest base came back in

2018 we met

soon sue was from australia 64 year old

breast cancer survivor

and she was there to reach the base camp

along with her daughter

her 40 year old daughter we were so

happy and thrilled to meet her

that the cancer could not defeat her but

two days after

after that we bumped into a group again

and we came to know that sue was finding

it very difficult to continue because of

the high altitude

her body had become weak and she may not

be able to continue

traveling and completing her trip well

we felt sorry for her but we could pray

that’s what we could do we reached the

other space camp at 5 000 340 meters

and two days after that when we were on

our way down

what do we see this gutsy lady climbing

up with her porter

in her own words if i could say

well the chemotherapy and cancer

weakened my body but not my spirit and

you don’t get a chance again

to come back to the himalayas all the

way from australia

so i just decided to push myself a bit

more

she deserves a round of applause

and this lady from australia what do all

of them have in common a super strong

will

a will to survive a will to never give

up a will

to ensure that they smile even in the

toughest situations

a will to rise like a phoenix

from when everything

seems lost these guys open their waves

of fire

and they take off now does it mean

to learn the art of survival we must

go through crushing defeats or face

severe setbacks

or have a loved one taken away from us

no not at all do you have any idea which

is the toughest exam that

any one of us passed was it boards

10 standard 12 standard no chartered

accountancy

no mbbs or iit entrance exams

not at all the toughest most difficult

life-threatening challenging

mind-blowing exam that all the persons

in this room

have appeared for and have passed with

flying colors

without help from any teacher any books

or any important questions yes

taking the first breath after being born

since you’re having this for nine months

you were floating

in your mother’s home free of any

worries and tensions being fed

ready-made food

and everything that is required through

that cord

which connected you to your mom no

tension at all suddenly when you are

violently pushed out

nobody even asks you you are finally

pushed down into a room full of lights

blinding lights full of masked men

and women there were no forbidden so

people weren’t used to us

so full of master and women and as your

body adjusts to the cold

labor room you realize something is

missing

your brain tells you it is the oxygen

and no no the lack of oxygen

something that is available in abundance

supply in that safe cocoon

and your survival instinct kicks in and

you are

quickly directed to breathe in a lung

full of oxygen

and that humongous effort is

so much that humongous effort is so much

allowed that your fragile body

cannot take it and you let out a loud

that is a sweet sound that everybody is

waiting to listen to

as soon as you cry everyone in that room

and outside

hug each other cry tears of joy give

high fives because

a survivor

[Applause]

without anything except your survival

instinct

my dear friends why be afraid of the

challenges that life throws at you

normally we get time to prepare for them

many times we forget that we are born

survivors

we lose the plot and we just drag

ourselves through lives

to such people i have one simple message

stop existing

start living it’s extremely important

to understand the day of one life let’s

make the most of it

let’s not crave let’s start buying let’s

not repent no regrets

because what you wanted to do then you

did it now don’t repent

and even if somebody forced you to do

something against your will

unfortunately promise yourself that such

a day is never going to come back in my

life

and i will be my boss i will be my ruler

and i will laugh a lot

smile a lot spread a lot of joy because

we have this one birth i don’t know

about the rebirth or something they say

that

the past is history the future

is mystery what we have today

is a gift and that is why it is called

present

[Applause]

yesterday is a lost chair

[Applause]

such that even after we have been gone

for 100 years

people remember us through our words

through our actions

and through the people and lives that we

touched because

where there is a will there are ways

thank you

[Applause]