{"id":3036,"date":"2010-08-22T15:08:45","date_gmt":"2010-08-22T10:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/sweetblog\/?p=3036"},"modified":"2010-08-22T22:28:17","modified_gmt":"2010-08-22T17:28:17","slug":"a-truly-inpsiring-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/sweetblog\/sweet_motivations\/a-truly-inpsiring-story\/","title":{"rendered":"A truly inspiring story!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Radhe Radhe &amp; dandavat pranam!<\/p>\n<p>One of the best E-Mails of 2010&#8230; \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">A Guy who got into Google<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Naga Naresh Karutura has just passed out of IIT Madras in Computer Science and has joined Google in Bangalore.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">You may ask, what&#8217;s so special about this 21-year-old when there are hundreds of students passing out from various IITs and joining big companies like Google?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Naresh is special.<!--more--> His parents are illiterate. He has no legs and moves around in his powered wheel chair. (In fact, when I could not locate his lab, he told me over the mobile phone, &#8216;I will come and pick you up&#8217;. And in no time, he was there to guide me)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ever smiling, optimistic and full of spirit; that is Naresh. He says, &#8220;God has always been planning things for me. That is why I feel I am lucky.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Read why Naresh feels he is lucky:<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/custom\/naresh\/image001.jpg\" alt=\"Naresh on his Laptop\" width=\"450\" height=\"341\" \/><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Childhood in a village<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I spent the first seven years of my life in Teeparru, a small village in  Andhra Pradesh, on the banks of the river Godavari. My father Prasad  was a lorry driver and my mother Kumari, a house wife. Though they were  illiterate, my parents instilled in me and my elder sister (Sirisha) the  importance of studying.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Looking back, one thing that surprises  me now is the way my father taught me when I was in the 1st and 2nd  standards. My father would ask me questions from the text book, and I  would answer them. At that time, I didn&#8217;t know he could not read or  write but to make me happy, he helped me in my studies!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another  memory that doesn&#8217;t go away is the floods in the village and how I was  carried on top of a buffalo by my uncle. I also remember plucking fruits  from a tree that was full of thorns.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I used to be very naughty,  running around and playing all the time with my friends.. I used to get  a lot of scolding for disturbing the elders who slept in the afternoon.  The moment they started scolding, I would run away to the fields!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I  also remember finishing my school work fast in class and sleeping on  the teacher&#8217;s lap!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/custom\/naresh\/image002.jpg\" alt=\" \" width=\"450\" height=\"589\" \/><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">January 11, 1993, the fateful day<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On the January 11, 1993 when we had the sankranti holidays, my mother  took my sister and me to a nearby village for a family function. From  there we were to go with our grandmother to our native place. But my  grandmother did not come there. As there were no buses that day, my  mother took a lift in my father&#8217;s friend&#8217;s lorry. As there were many  people in the lorry, he made me sit next to him, close to the door.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It  was my fault; I fiddled with the door latch and it opened wide throwing  me out. As I fell, my legs got cut by the iron rods protruding from the  lorry. Nothing happened to me except scratches on my legs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The  accident had happened just in front of a big private hospital but they  refused to treat me saying it was an accident case. Then a police  constable who was passing by took us to a government hospital.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">First  I underwent an operation as my small intestine got twisted. The doctors  also bandaged my legs. I was there for a week. When the doctors found  that gangrene had developed and it had reached up to my knees, they  asked my father to take me to a district hospital. There, the doctors  scolded my parents a lot for neglecting the wounds and allowing the  gangrene to develop. But what could my ignorant parents do?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In  no time, both my legs were amputated up to the hips.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I remember  waking up and asking my mother, where are my legs? I also remember that  my mother cried when I asked the question. I was in the hospital for  three months.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Life without legs<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I don&#8217;t think my life changed dramatically after I lost both my legs.  Because all at home were doting on me, I was enjoying all the attention  rather than pitying myself. I was happy that I got a lot of fruits and  biscuits.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/custom\/naresh\/image003.jpg\" alt=\" \" width=\"450\" height=\"598\" \/><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">&#8216;I never wallowed in self-pity&#8217;<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">July 28, 2008<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The  day I reached my village, my house was flooded with curious people; all  of them wanted to know how a boy without legs looked. But I was not  bothered; I was happy to see so many of them coming to see me,  especially my friends!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">All my friends saw to it that I was part of  all the games they played; they carried me everywhere.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">God&#8217;s  hand<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I believe in God. I believe in destiny. I feel he plans  everything for you. If not for the accident, we would not have moved  from the village to Tanuku, a town. There I joined a missionary school,  and my father built a house next to the school. Till the tenth standard,  I studied in that school.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If I had continued in Teeparu, I may  not have studied after the 10th. I may have started working as a farmer  or someone like that after my studies. I am sure God had other plans for  me.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">My sister, my friend<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When the school was about to  reopen, my parents moved from Teeparu to Tanuku, a town, and admitted  both of us in a Missionary school. They decided to put my sister also in  the same class though she is two years older. They thought she could  take care of me if both of us were in the same class. My sister never  complained.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">She would be there for everything. Many of my  friends used to tell me, you are so lucky to have such a loving sister.  There are many who do not care for their siblings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">She carried  me in the school for a few years and after a while, my friends took over  the task. When I got the tricycle, my sister used to push me around in  the school.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">My life, I would say, was normal, as everyone  treated me like a normal kid. I never wallowed in self-pity. I was a  happy boy and competed with others to be on top and the others also  looked at me as a competitor.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Inspiration<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I was inspired  by two people when in school; my Maths teacher Pramod Lal who encouraged  me to participate in various local talent tests, and a brilliant boy  called Chowdhary, who was my senior.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When I came to know that he  had joined Gowtham Junior College to prepare for IIT-JEE, it became my  dream too. I was school first in 10th scoring 542\/600.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Because I  topped in the state exams, Gowtham Junior College waived the fee for  me. Pramod Sir&#8217;s recommendation also helped. The fee was around Rs  50,000 per year, which my parents could never afford.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Moving to a  residential school<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Living in a residential school was a big  change for me because till then my life centred around home and school  and I had my parents and sister to take care of all my needs. It was the  first time that I was interacting with society. It took one year for me  to adjust to the new life.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There, my inspiration was a boy  called K K S Bhaskar who was in the top 10 in IIT-JEE exams. He used to  come to our school to encourage us. Though my parents didn&#8217;t know  anything about Gowtham Junior School or IIT, they always saw to it that I  was encouraged in whatever I wanted to do.. If the results were good,  they would praise me to the skies and if bad, they would try to see  something good in that. They did not want me to feel bad.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">They  are such wonderful supportive parents.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Life at IIT- Madras<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Though  my overall rank in the IIT-JEE was not that great (992), I was 4th in  the physically handicapped category. So, I joined IIT, Madras to study  Computer Science.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Here, my role model was Karthik who was also  my senior in school. I looked up to him during my years at IIT- Madras.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He  had asked for attached bathrooms for those with special needs before I  came here itself. So, when I came here, the room had attached bath. He  used to help me and guide me a lot when I was here.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I evolved as  a person in these four years, both academically and personally. It has  been a great experience studying here. The people I was interacting with  were so brilliant that I felt privileged to sit along with them in the  class. Just by speaking to my lab mates, I gained a lot..<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8216;There  are more good people in society than bad ones&#8217;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Words are inadequate to express my gratitude to Prof  Pandurangan and all my lab mates; all were simply great. I was sent to  Boston along with four others for our internship by Prof Pandurangan. It  was a great experience.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Joining Google R&amp;D<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I did not  want to pursue PhD as I wanted my parents to take rest now.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Morgan  Stanley selected me first but I preferred Google because I wanted to  work in pure computer science, algorithms and game theory.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">I am  lucky<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Do you know why I say I am lucky?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I get help from  total strangers without me asking for it. Once after my second year at  IIT, I with some of my friends was travelling in a train for a  conference. We met a kind gentleman called Sundar in the train, and he  has been taking care of my hostel fees from then on.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I have to  mention about Jaipur foot. I had Jaipur foot when I was in 3rd standard.  After two years, I stopped using them. As I had almost no stems on my  legs, it was very tough to tie them to the body. I found walking with  Jaipur foot very, very slow. Sitting also was a problem. I found my  tricycle faster because I am one guy who wants to do things faster.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One  great thing about the hospital is, they don&#8217;t think their role ends by  just fixing the Jaipur foot; they arrange for livelihood for all. They  asked me what help I needed from them. I told them at that time, if I  got into an IIT, I needed financial help from them. So, from the day I  joined IIT, Madras, my fees were taken care of by them. So, my education  at the IIT was never a burden on my parents and they could take care of  my sister&#8217;s Nursing studies.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Surprise awaited me at IIT<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">After  my first year, when I went home, two things happened here at the  Institute without my knowledge.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I got a letter from my  department that they had arranged a lift and ramps at the department for  me. It also said that if I came a bit early and checked whether it met  with my requirements, it would be good.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Second surprise was, the  Dean, Prof Idichandy and the Students General Secretary, Prasad had  located a place that sold powered wheel chairs. The cost was Rs 55,000.  What they did was, they did not buy the wheel chair; they gave me the  money so that the wheel chair belonged to me and not the institute.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">My  life changed after that. I felt free and independent.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">That&#8217;s  why I say I am lucky. God has planned things for me and takes care of me  at every step.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The world is full of good people<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I also  feel if you are motivated and show some initiative, people around you  will always help you. I also feel there are more good people in society  than bad ones. I want all those who read this to feel that if Naresh can  achieve something in life, you can too. (via : email)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Radhe Radhe &amp; dandavat pranam! One of the best E-Mails of 2010&#8230; \ud83d\ude42 A Guy who got into Google Naga Naresh Karutura has just passed out of IIT Madras in Computer Science and has joined Google in Bangalore. You may &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/sweetblog\/sweet_motivations\/a-truly-inpsiring-story\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[220],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sweet_motivations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/sweetblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/sweetblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/sweetblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/sweetblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/sweetblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3036"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/sweetblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3039,"href":"https:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/sweetblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3036\/revisions\/3039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/sweetblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/sweetblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kunjeshwari.com\/sweetblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}