Poverty, a qualification for success?

Two things that happened recently made my mind go a-wandering, yet again.

Credit: SCMP

#1. A friend, whom I have not met for some time now, appeared in my life during the course of my career. About twelve years previously, he became a widower after his thirty-something wife succumbed to the menace of the crab. Left to care for three young girls, ranging from ages of eight to twelve, he took it upon himself to be the sole provider of maternal and paternal love, all lumped to one. With his meagre income and a lot of helping hand from his extended family members, he forewent female intimacy and sacrificed simple pleasures of life to make parenting his sole purpose of existence. Fast forward twelve years later, the girls have managed to attain academic excellence. Each of them is pursuing careers by their own merit in local institutions respectively in medicine. Law and accountancy. It seems like poverty and melancholy never dragged them but instead propelled them forwards. They whipped fate to change their future.

#2. Another friend whom I had not met for 30-over years manifested himself out of the blues. Starting life in the humblest of circumstances, he had beat destiny to be a globe-trotting consultant of sorts. After realising that there is no place like home, he returned home to Malaysia. 

After a guided tour of the house, he told my son that the study room was as big as his whole house, area wise, the home, he grew up as a child. He reiterated that the young generation does not have worry about the nitty gritty about surviving but instead can channel their energies towards reaching greater heights that were never dreamt by their elders. In their own ways, they had a head start in life.

"Litre of Light" - a simple initiative in the 

Philippines to bring brightness to the poor with

just a plastic bottle filled with water.

More than half a century ago, as one of my uncles was trying to unshackle himself from the clutches of poverty through education, he had to appeal to a school headmaster for his kind office for a placement in his school. Being born to a rolling stone father who rolled from town to town without collecting any moss, he had no certificates of proof of his educational achievements. My uncle tried to plead his case by invoking his debilitated state of his economic affairs. The learned man told him, "Boy, poverty is no qualification but, in you I see the drive to succeed. That, no piece of paper can be a substitute!"

Necessity is the mother of all inventions, they say. True to that adage, the simplest of inventions usually from the most deprived of the society. Look at the ingenious ways things are used beyond their intended inventions by people in economically deprived areas of the world. (See picture).

Conversely, when there is abundance in a society, instead of reaching for greater heights, the denizens are lulled into boredom, lack of innovations and paradoxically melancholia of intangible things that seem ludicrous to their deprived counterparts in the land of barren!

P.S. Then there is another lady friend who grew up so poor that her family bonding time would include copying textbooks. They could not afford to buy textbooks so they would borrow the books from their affluent friends and the whole family would burn the midnight to copy the book in verbatim. Now she looks at those times and appreciates her family better.

Now that you have it all...

Now that you have it all, you can sit in the comfort of an armchair and advise those on the lower rung of the ladder to see the bigger picture. We were all there, struggling to weather the unknown, dreaming of walking shoulder to shoulder with the Titans. You thought that, by being up there amongst the immortals, life would be a pleasure cruise, a walk in the park. Life difficulties, you assumed, would be a thing of the past. Oh, how wrong you were!
You discover that new powers beget newer problems which are just as challenging to solve. You realise that money is not the panacea for all your woes. Your worries were just beginning but how you fail to take notice.

Then it would hit you...

You then start questioning the meaning of life, the meaning of existence and purpose of it all. You would find that there are other things in life than just chasing wealth and prosperity. It becomes crystal clear that the coveted pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is just an illusion. Just like many things in life, it is all a mirage, maya...
But by then the people who were around you, supposedly through thick and thin, feel that it is their birthright to savour all the fruit of your success. Suddenly, it is their journey, their labour, their right to flaunt your success. And they have the cheek to show off their affluence to the same people who are yearning to be in your shoes.

Well, well, well... karma has a cruel sense of humour. Just wait and see...

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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So you think you made it!

Perched high up on skyscraper, placed on a hill overlooking the lowlands of common people and the iconic bridge to mainland, amidst the clutter of cutlery in the continental restaurant, indulging in the high caloried diet with no guilt, sipping the freshly squeezed orange, brain immersed in endorphines, it sure feels good like a million dollars to know that you had conquered the challenges that life had to offer, albeit in our own small ways.

We made small baby steps to face the giant face of life and came out smelling not of stinking sweat but sweet smelling roses. We persevered, we fought the fight, endured the pain, ignored the heartbreaks and followed the path of least resistance. Like James Brown said, "It feels good, it feels nice". Even the unsweetened black coffee tastes sweet! And the bread as we know it has a funny foreign sounding name.

The life of a TaiTai 太太 lady

What is a TaiTai 太太?
noun 
1. A term used in Chinese circles for supreme wife (implying situation where a man is wealthy enough to have several "wives") but no longer strictly interpreted. Term now applies to citizens of the world with an Asian viewpoint who have bounds of time and money. A TaiTai 太太 is a privileged lady of means. 
2. Supreme of the Supreme is its literal translation. The term implies respect.
Real TaiTai's 太太 meet the following criteria
1. A tremendous amount of leisure time
2. Lots of money to spend. A TaiTai 太太 travels a lot
3. Concerned about status, social standing, and owning the 'latest in anything" that is remotely hot (ie: Pashminas. Fendi Baguette Bag,....) God Forbid a TaiTai 太太 be seen with last year's style!
4. Keenly interested ih beauty upkeep (Pedicures / manicures/ facials/ slimming treatments) Will stop at nothing to eradicate the tiniest sign of ageing.
5. Often associated with do-good charity works and community.
6. Discerning about the company she keeps. Must be in the right social circles
7. Well educated and global in perspective. Has lived on more than one continents. Experience and detail are what distinguishes a real tai tai from the wanna-be's.
8. Buy in multiples and only the real thing. To get a better price and for their other homes in New York, London, Hong Kong, Vancouver and Singapore, they will bargain.

Of course the word TaiTai is more than what my sister and I used to describe our paternal grandfather. I can  tell with a straight face that we had never seen him sober. The few times we saw him, he was either slouched in a post drunken midday stupor or be boisterous with the little kids around him dancing to an imaginary tune murmuring tai,tai,tai.... Hence, his nickname was Tai Tai Tata so as to differentiate from our maternal grandfather who had his own not so braggable feats himself.

Ka ching!

Of course I was fascinated when I stumbled upon this concept of Tai Tai lady, which I think is every Asian lady's secret wish. Laze all day, pampered by maids and butlers at the lift of a finger, showed compassionate to the downtrodden and the abused as though as to wash away their own  guilt of unladylike behaviour to people around them, appear to be seen charitable so her own 'friends' can die of envy, brag about their achievements, keep their appearance spick and span, pedicure, manicure, waxing, botox, capsicum wrapping body contouring, wrapping in latest wear complemented by matching accessories and brag all day about their children's achievements of who she probably do not know about their whereabouts! The cash cow (ka ching!) probably is  more than happy to be away from the clutches of the tai tai wife and is probably is quite immersed up to the knees with his own imbroglio!

Another chicken and egg story!

This guy's  (with 1 missing upper limb) job  is

to transport oil and other prayer paraphernalia
up to a temple atop a  hill

So you think you had it bad. You got a bad deal. You were born at a time when the stars were aligned at the worst constellations. Think again! Others who appear happy may have endured worse.
Yet another success story to share, that is, if it is approved by the party involved...
He hated it when people referred to him as 'the pasar malam egg seller lady's son' even though it was on a positive note, usually awed by his excellent results in school. Being a small town, everybody knew each other and each other's children. He often wondered why his parents could not be like other regular parents with regular 9 to 5 jobs. Why has it got to be chicken, eggs and all the barn and feather? He also hated it when he had to give up his precious revision time to set up stall at pasar malam (night market) as early as 3pm so as to ensure their usual business area is not hijacked by others. This squabble amongst the small men was a common daily occurrence.

Cherry blossom

The increasingly raging teenage hormones propelled with desire to 'be somebody in life' were reasons for his oft common argument with his hardworking old man. The atmosphere reached a critical point that he had to leave the household to stay with his grandparents. And away he went on his mission to be somebody....
Poverty is often said to be a driving point to kindle the inner spirits to succeed. And somebody he did become, self sufficient and role model for his family.
Fast forward to the future....The fences have been mended with his parents and relationship is cordial. The friction board (i.e. money) is out of the equation, everybody has more than enough money to spread around - Parents' egg business has blossomed like Sakura on cherry blossom season and they are more than self sufficient.
Yet another happy story from the land of aplenty!
It still baffles me why different people deal with adversities of life with different ways - Some decide to indulge in self defeating negative ways, others fight the fight with tooth and claw and give fate a run for its money. Why is this so? Is it because of karma, fate, the company he keeps with, his DNA or just that inner eye of self righteousness (third eye) opens early in life before it is too late? 

Everyone has a tale to tell!

Yeah, everyone has their own tale to tell about how they sailed the rough seas, scaled the high walls and swam through the shark infested choppy waters and came out unscathed smelling of roses.Previously, we have read about the true life saga of Lincoln Murthi, Kal Raman and T. Muthuswamy Iyer.
Just the other day, I met up with a friend who is now drilling hole into people's bones and spine as an Orthopaedic surgeon, just like how his late father was drilling (and digging) into people's lawn and public roads to sort out their plumbing woes as a plumber in the Water Work Department! Going through various trials and tribulations, my friend managed to be where is through his and his parents hard work.
Just like a radio DJ was telling his experience in Vietnam where the tailors literally worked around the clock to sew his suit. The suit was measured at 8pm, the client was called for fitting the next morning and the merchandise was ready to be collected by that afternoon. All this for a fragment of the cost in the tourists' respective countries. And mind you, the cutting is of latest Parisian style! (And they have 24-hour dentists in Vietnam too, drilling into people's teeth at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning!) These hardworking people's sweat will one day pay off and the sweet produce of their endeavours will be savoured effortlessly by the next generation. Whether this wealth will prosper into the following generation is anybody's million dollar question as the Chinese have a saying, 'Wealth in a family only lasts for 3 generations'.
Here, for your perusal and approval....Malaysian Dream and  前进吧！马来西亚(Dynamic Malaysia)...

Another two rags to riches stories!

It is always a pleasure to read about peoples' endeavours and successes. I am sure that there must be many instances of the converse as well - depicting how they tried and tried against all odds just to be disappointed again and again. Some will blame it on bad karma and some will blame it bad luck or misdoings of ill intended enemies! Their story will be not be heard and will die a natural death. This world is not about losers. It is all about winners and the winners will determine how things should be done and be portrayed as demi-gods irrespective of how they achieved their goals. The end will dictate the means whether right or wrong. The losers will wither away with disappointment and resentment in whatever substandard heights that they manage to attain.Here I have pasted two success stories of yet another rags to riches story. This time it is about two citizens of Tamil Nadu - one, Sri. Muthuswamy Iyer, decided to serve his mother land and the other (Kalyana Raman Srinivasan) at a global level. The first story was sent by a friend and the second from Wikipedia, the friendly online encyclopedia. May it serve as a source of inspiration not only for the career achievements but also for the social responsibility displayed.

From studying under the streetlights to CEO of a US firm!

Here is the rags-to-riches story of an extremely talented boy from a small village in Tamil Nadu who has risen to be the chief executive officer of a company in Seattle, USA. It is also the story of how Kalyana Raman Srinivasan, who was so indigent that he had to study under a streetlight, but then managed to score excellent marks, rose in life and became today's Kal Raman. 
At every turn in his life, he took the difficult path and it turned out to be the right one and in the right direction. His rise to the top is more dramatic than a thriller. Today, he is a very successful entrepreneur and the founder-CEO of GlobalScholar.
Read his extraordinary story of triumph and determination . . .

Difficult childhood

Kal Raman was born and brought up in a small village called Mannarakoil in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. It was a comfortable normal middle class life for him and his siblings as his father was a Tahasildar there.

But the sudden death of his father at the age of 45 changed everything overnight.

Kal was 15 then. "My mother got a pension of Rs 420 a month and you can imagine how tough it is to educate four children and feed five mouths with Rs 420?"

Hi life changed dramatically after his father's death. The family moved from the rented house to a hut that had no proper water supply or electricity. Kal Raman remembers, "All of us used to study under the streetlight and, thank god, the streetlights used to work those days! MGR (M G Ramachandran) was the chief minister then. We had to sell the plates to buy rice to eat and my mother used to give us rice in our hands. That bad was our situation."

But his mother, who had studied till the 8th standard, was very particular that her children studied. "All our relatives wanted my elder brother to stop studying and take up the small job offered by the government but my mother wanted him to continue studying."

"Then they wanted me to learn typewriting and shorthand so that I could get some job after the 10th  standard. But mother said, 'My children are going to get the best education I can offer. Education is our salvation.' She was my hero for her vision and she still is my hero." What kept the family going? "We were sad but because we accepted our fate, we were at peace with whatever that happened to us. We knew our father would not come back to lift us up from poverty. We also knew our salvation was a long way away."

He didn't know why he used to tell his mother, "One day I will give you so much money that you will not know what to do with it!" Years later, he did exactly that!

First turning point in life

Kal Raman believes that God played a hand in all the major turning points in his life. The first turning point in life was after his 12th standard. He got good marks in both the engineering and medicine entrance exams, and for engineering, he got admission at the Anna University in Chennai while for medicine, it was in the Tirunelveli Medical College.

"While going in the bus with my mother to join the medical college, I told her, "If I join for medicine here, the high probability is that my life may begin and end in Tirunelveli. I really want to see the world.' She agreed with my decision to go to Chennai and join Anna University and study Electrical Engineering and Electronics."

So, he stepped into a new world outside Tirunelveli, and that was Chennai. Though he had got merit scholarship and a lot of good people helped him pay the initial fee, the scholarship amount never used to reach him regularly or on time.

"The mess fee was Rs 250 a month and I used to be a defaulter in the mess at least six months in a year. Till you pay the mess fee, you cannot eat in the mess. So, I used to live on day scholars' lunch boxes and also use to fast. That is when I learnt to fast ! I must say a lot of friends helped me with money and food."

Scarcity of money was so bad that he had no money to buy food just before the final semester exams. When he gave his final semester exams, he had not eaten for a day-and-a-half. "After finishing the exam, I almost fainted."

The day after the exams came all the scholarship money that was due and it was around Rs 5,000. "So, I went home a rich man and that helped us repay some loans."

First job

Like opting for Chennai and joining Anna University instead of a college in Tirunelveli, Kal Raman took another risk with his first job also. His first job was with Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE), and he had a choice of joining either Chennai or Mumbai. Although he knew nobody in Mumbai, he chose the capital of Maharashtra.

He remembered the first day. "It was interesting. With bag and baggage, I went to the TCE office after taking a shower at the railway station as I had no money to go to any hotel. After the first introduction at the office, the manager noticed that I was wearing slippers to the office. He called me and said, "I don't care which college you are coming from but this is not acceptable. You should come in shoes tomorrow." I said I couldn't come in shoes the next day and this the manager construed as arrogance. "How could you talk like this?" he asked me. I said, "Sir, it is not that I don't want to, but I can't afford to buy shoes. Only after I get my first pay cheque, can I buy shoes. Sir, I request you not to terminate my job because of this. I and my family need this job." Shocked to hear the explanation, the manager asked, "Where are you staying?" and the reply was, "Dadar Railway Station."

So distressed was the manager to hear Kal speak that he immediately released a month's salary in advance and also arranged for him to be at his friend's place till he could find a place to stay.

"He bought me a pair of shoes and those were my first shoes. The next day, I sent Rs 1,500 from the advance to my mother."

From electrical engineering to programming

Kal's rise in career was meteoric in a short span of time. Within a month, he got a chance to move to Bengaluru (then Bangalore) and also to programming. Soon, he was in Chennai with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Within a few months, he was sent to Edinburgh, UK. From Edinburgh, his next stop was the United States. In 1992, he went to the US as an entry level contractor with Wal-Mart. In two years, he was a director running a division. When he left Wal-Mart after six years, he was a man running the information systems for the International Division of the retail giant. In 1998, he joined drugstore.com Online Pharmacy as the chief information officer and in 2001 at the age of 30, he was the CEO of the company. He was at the right place at the right time. "God was there at every step guiding me to take the right decisions. I was also willing to take risks and tread new paths," Kal says.

Starting GlobalScholar

Philanthropist Mike Milken who had donated more than a billion dollars to education, wanted to use technology so that high quality education was accessible to ordinary people.

Milken convinced Kal to join him. That was the time Kal was building schools in his village for poor students.

In October 2007, GlobalScholar was launched targetting both teachers and students by acquiring four companies -- National Scholar (USA), Classof1 (India), Excelsior (USA), and Ex-Logica (USA) -- that were into education.

"Three months after the launch, I travelled all over the US, India, Singapore and China talking to teachers and companies and the public. I found that the only way to impact education was by impressing teachers. The biggest scarcity in the world is good teachers. We decided to help teachers with teaching practices and kids, learning practices."

Kal Raman decided to concentrate on the US market as the US is more advanced in using technology. "They are also willing to pay money for technology. At present, schools buy the material which can be used by teachers, students and parents." Today, they have 200 people working for GlobalScholar in Chennai and 150 in the US. The study material is prepared in the Chennai office. The company that was started with $50 million will have in excess of $32 million and will generate $5 million of profits. In 2008, the turnover of the company was Rs 40 crore (Rs 400 million) and in 2009, it was Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million). In the current year it will be 150-160 crore (Rs 1.5-1.6 billion). "GlobalScholar is growing at 200 per cent every year. We have 1,000 schools and 10 million students, which is one out of 10 kids in the US, using our study material. This is almost 18 per cent of the US population. We are the fastest growing education company in the US." GlobalScholar will soon introduce a pilot project in India and China. In the course of all this, Kalyana Raman became Kal Raman. "The country gave me everything and took half my name."

Giving back to society
Kal Raman is in India now for the Kumbhabhishekam of the temple at his village Mannarkoil. "It is taking place after 500 years. It is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of work. I have spent more than one and a half crore rupees (Rs 15 million) to renovate the temple and do the Kumbhabhishekam. More than anything else, I have given jobs to all my friends in the village who are masons and carpenters."
Other than this, he has also adopted all the orphanages around his village and he takes care of around 2,000 kids, some of whom are physically handicapped.
"I feel if I can educate these children, eventually we can make a difference in the society. We also help 100 children in their higher education. Around my village, everyone knows that if a kid who studies well cannot afford to pay fees, he has to only come to my house; his education will be taken care of."
"I do not do this as charity; its my responsibility. I am giving something back to the society that fed me, taught me, and took care of me and gave me hopes. "

T. Muthuswamy Iyer  

And another morale booster....

T. Muthuswamy Iyer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  

Born January 28, 1832
 Vuchuwadi, Tanjore district,Madras Presidency, India
Died 1895
 Madras Presidency, India
Occupation: lawyer, civil servant, administrator 



Sir Thiruvarur Muthuswamy Iyer

(திருவாரூர் முத்துசவாமி அய்யர்)

KCIE(b.January 28, 1832 - d. January 25, 1895) was an Indian lawyer who, in 1877, became the first native Indian to be appointed as Judge of the Madras High Court. He also functioned as the Acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court for a brief period.

Early life
Muthuswamy Iyer was born in a poor Vadama Brahmin family in Vuchuwadi, Madras Presidency, British India on January 28, 1832. Muthuswamy Iyer's father, Venkata Narayana Sastri died when Muthuswamy was young and he moved with his mother to Thiruvarur to make a living. At Thiruvarur, Muthuswamy Iyer found employment as village accountant. However, his mother died soon afterward leaving Muthuswamy Iyer with little support. Around this time, Muthuswamy Iyer's talents were recognized by the tahsildar Muthuswamy Naicken who arranged for the former to study in Madras as a companion to his young nephew. In 1854, Muthuswamy Iyer won a prize of 500 rupees offered to the students of the Madras presidency by the council of education for the best English essay. This success brought him to the notice of Sir Alexander John Arbuthnot and Mr. Justice Holloway. He was offered help to proceed to England and compete for the civil service, but being a Brahmin and married, he declined to cross the ocean. Instead he entered the subordinate government service, and was employed in such various posts as school-teacher, record-keeper in Tanjore, and in 1856 deputy-inspector of schools. At this time the Madras authorities instituted the examination for the office of pleaders. Muthuswamy came out first in the examinations. Muthuswamy was then appointed in succession district munsiff at Tranquebar, deputy-collector in Tanjore in 1859, sub-judge of south Kanara in 1865, and a magistrate of police at Madras in 1868. While serving as the magistrate of police, Muthuswamy Iyer obtained his law degree law from the Presidency College, Madras. He also held a degree in Sanskrit at that time.

Legal career
Muthuswamy Iyer commenced his legal career immediately after graduation. He was appointed a judge of the Court of Small Causes in 1871. The very next year, he was made Fellow of Madras University. In 1877, the Madras Government took the controversial decision to appoint him as the first Indian judge of the High Court of Madras.

Appointment to the bench of Madras High Court and controversy
In 1877, Muthuswamy Iyer was appointed to the bench of the High Court of Madras. He was the first Indian to be appointed to this prestigious post. However, Muthuswamy's appointment was vehemently condemned by a Madras newspaper called The Native Public Opinion. This prompted a strong reaction from Indian nationalists who founded The Hindu newspaper to voice public opinion against the outrage.

Later career
Muthuswami Iyer served as a judge of the Madras High Court from 1877 to 1895. During the later part of his life, he even served as the Acting Chief Justice, the first Indian to do so. 

Reforms
During his early career, Muthuswamy Iyer also served as the President of the Malabar Marriage Commission. During his tenure as President of the Commission, he campaigned for the legal recognition of Sambandham and other forms of marriage practised in theMalabar. In 1872, Muthuswamy Iyer established the Widow Remarriage Association in Madras and advocated remarriage of Brahmin widows.
In 1872, he was nominated fellow of the Madras University. He became a syndic in 1877. He was also invited to attend the Coronation Durbar at Delhi in 1877.

Honors
In 1878, Muthuswami Iyer was created a Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire. In 1893, he was knighted for his services to the Crown.

Death
Muthuswami Iyer died in January 1895 after an illness of ten days. On his death, Sir S. Subramania Iyer took the seat in the bench of the Madras High Court left vacant by his death.
A statue of Muthuswami Iyer was erected in the precints of the Madras High Court campus on May 23, 1895.

Controversial stand on temple entryBeing a devout Brahmin, Muthuswami Iyer literally interpreted the dharma-shastras and Hindu religious texts and rigorously followed them. As a result, some of his speeches on caste and temple-entry have been controversial.

Muthuswami Iyer once said :

“ Religious institutions founded, endowed and maintained for the benefit of those sections of the Hindu Community who conform to certain recognized usages as those of the castes for whose benefit the temples are by immemorial usage dedicated as places of worship. ”

Another remark of his is regarded by the intellectuals of the Dravidar Kazhagam as blatantly casteist:

“ Hindu temples were neither founded nor are kept up for the benefit of Mahomedans, outcastes and others who are outside the scope of it"