Snapped from a moment of 91Springboard, Delhi
Well I am 22 year old. My precollege story is I scored single digit rank for all the five years in Indian Cyber Olympiad (1st, 1st, 6th, 2nd, 1st). But as you know, in this country, if you are good in computer you will get a job of 20k (400$) in Infosys rather than teaching students for 8k (imagine 120$ a month for a family for 4). So teachers were pathetic cause no one treated computer as good.
So what made it to me. Maybe necessity. I just loved it, the complexity around it. I loved puzzles as it came from my dad. My dad has studied to 10th standard but he can solve 4*4*4 rubik cubes. He does that all the time since I saw him. Making patterns. I used to play tons of games. Haha, it also came from my dad. He still plays counter strike at midnight which is unusual at our society and in his age. I played MaxPayne 2. Now, as Einstein says, every one needs appreciation for positive reinforcement.
I was loving matrix movie. So I thought how I can play Max Payne without guns and stuff; and with my bare hands. So I went to deep. I made a mod (modification to the game) which got instant appreciation. Since then I was in game industry. I know many developers who are in mainstream game studios. I know personally know the people who makes VFX of avengers too (London’s Territory Studio)
Kicked Out.
Then came college. I wanted to do something in Mathematics. Specially in Cryptography.
Getting fatter day by day!! :D
I was lucky enough to get myself studying in NISER. It is the most prestigious place to study. Only 31 students are taken among millions. Well, that college isn’t a college technically cause it has a superior cultural and scientific appetite as it is a research institute. Imagine, you are seeing Nobel Laureates coming and going all the time. It is quite a long unusual in India. I was quite a good scholar. I have two papers in cryptography in my college’s first year as well as I was into numerous projects as seniors used to borrow my programming skills and I was happy to move on all the way earning me an internship in CERN, Europe in Summer but I went to Indian statistical institute of India as that mattered most that time though.
In first year, I made a web app which allowed me to put results in the physics lab and it will back calculate all the stuff and hence I have to just put those values and I did same thing with all the lab. Then the upgrade – I made a portal, which can be accessed by me and some of my friends to share assignment. Like Whatsapp group. One uploads, everyone gets. Guess what, all people signed up and even seniors. It became a disaster in college.
I got warning and our dean offered me to help the bogus company who won the tender to re-develop the entire college infrastructure. Then it created a massive ego issue cause people are too egoistic here. Let’s say, your site. They will call over 4-5 board meetings mostly wasting time doing nothing other than sanctioning more money.
Stumbled to, the web industry.
Ended up marrying this beautiful girl :)
Then I got into website totally and I started to manage various NGOs. I went into import export business as well as forex. I am terribly good at forex. I earn tons of cash but you can say like I manage to save nothing at the end. I haven’t bought clothes since last two years, I only buy necessity for me cause what is luxury for me can be many people’s bread. Hence I help everyone I hold the hand and will help them to the end selfishly for my own happiness :D. I have exactly like 380$ in bank right now which will be not there tomorrow.
I love to blog. I am an avid traveler; I travel almost every weekend. I am going to visit a fort in Jaipur and in a bus as I am writing this to you :)
My college was offering me an integrated Msc degree which is like you can not sign out in the middle completing bachelor’s degree. You are bound to complete till masters to make it valid. But you are eligible to take other master’s course after 3 years cause theoretically you are already an undergraduate. So I applied for Executive MBA in my 3rd year and somehow I accidentally manged to finish my MBA degree with finance but got kicked out from that mathematics one.
Being waken up by Popeye.
But end point is I am both happy and sad. I am happy cause of the journey I have made till date.
I am sad cause what I am doing is not a business. There is barely passive income and it is one and only me. There is no one else to stand by. People here are too much unprofessional and professional ones here think me as a child and why they will work for a child. Ego issues. XoXo (don’t know meaning of this smiley, but my sister uses this in this kind context).
My dad is not scholar, my friends are scientist and hence monk. Hence I have no one else who can be my partner rather than a robotic employee. That’s where lies the problem. 90% of them doesn’t like my vision. They just want a money making machine, lying non technical clients all the time pinging tech jargons and asking for more money. Like email is always free with hosting. But they are willing to charge on it and sometimes I saw some fellow just ignore there customer where some customers are begging over a year. People like them are running this industry and made it bad.
Hence, I am thinking much more seriously on how can it function it an extra ordinary way.
Let’s see how much I can take it forward. But believe me I am guy who listens to whatever his heart says. I reject more valuable works to do something silly but important to me and someone :)
But I sense there is a disciplinarian tone apart from your lawyer self in your writing. Is some one from your blood serves the nation ? :)
Ah, I typed a hell lot. Pardon me; This is my story. :) :)
Context: Originally written for Penny Fogel
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