No shortcut to achieving dreams
Swamidas Nair
Pune
There are many who dream but very few who pursue the dream. Anuj Singh’s story is the story of a young boy who faced a lot of hardship in life but remained determined to bring change.
He was born in Uttar Pradesh in a middle-class family. He was the eldest among his three younger sisters. As a child, he was naughty and carefree. He was good at his studies. But Anuj felt the burden on his shoulders too early owing to the tough financial condition of the family. He would work along with his father in shops while his mother struggled to run a family of six with limited income.
As the family stayed in a small congested accommodation, Anuj would feel the discomfort of his parents and sisters. As he was growing he realized that he needs to do something which would make life better for his family. Anuj recalls that he was in eighth stranded when he decided that he would study hard and earn handsome money so that his family could live a quality life. But the path of his journey was not easy. He cycled to attend tuition classes and avoided wandering with friends and attending spending money on hoteling.
He dreamt of becoming a doctor but then his family’s financial condition was not good enough to support him. For higher education, he opted for the commerce side and decided to become a charted accountant (CA). After appearing for Common Proficiency Test (CPT) he was bedridden due to illness. He was hospitalized and there was an immense financial burden on his family. His distant relatives and friends started pressurizing him and also taunting him that instead of studying anything more, he must earn for the family.
New Turn
In the given condition, it was impossible to continue any studies, says Anuj adding that after he passed CPT de decided to drop further studies. “ Earning for the family was the top priority and I came to the conclusion to start coaching classes for aspirant CAs,” he says.
In 2013 he started Anuj Singh Academy in Pune. The classes were for tenth and twelfth-standard students who wanted to pursue a career as CA. The journey that started with 50 students now has four thousand students and the number is rising every year.
Starting tuition class was the temporary plan to earn for the family. But classes became popular and Anuj decided to continue with the task. Average 15-20 students from his class pass CPT and start their journey to become CAs.
“ My day starts at 4 am with Yoga and ends around 10 pm at night,” says Anuj adding that even today he doesn’t attend any parties and spends maximum time with the family.
At the age of 28, he has managed to shoulder the responsibility of the family and also determine his own career path.
“ My life situation is the biggest inspiration. Whatever I have achieved today because of my students' love and affection” he says. Anuj is popular among his students and many students who have passed out of his class continue to draw inspiration from him.
The Life Story
Anuj had to change his path, leave some dreams behind and take up something which he had never imagined. Life is full of surprises and Anuj is gritty enough to take it as it comes.
His suggestion to youth is that many times things will not go as you want and there will be rough patches in life. But don’t allow these rough patches to withdraw from the battle to achieve the dream. Move on and face the challenges, there is no shortcut to achieve dreams.
(Swamidas Nair is a SYBAJMC student at Vishwakarma University)
When life posed challenges, Sonal had befitting answers
Madhura Janorkar
Pune
Sonal, a 46-year-old single mother always made it a point to do self-examination regularly since her mother died of breast cancer. However, no one expects to actually find anything. Sonal faced the wrath of societal pressure the moment she decided to get a divorce and raise her daughter independently. Her own family was unsure of how she would manage in a society where a single woman is not given the respect she deserves. However, she went against it all and fought for herself and her child. She worked hard day and night and reached a senior position at her workplace.
Sonal has completed BSC (Statistics) and advanced diploma in software application and works with a private firm as delivery manager.
Everyone knew she is strong, but the day she felt a hard lump in her breast, it came crashing down. It was December of 2020 and the pandemic was not getting better. Deciding to not let the fear boggle her decisions, she immediately went to a doctor. Talking about the same, she says, “My mother died of breast cancer. She had noticed the signs earlier, but she hid it from all of us because of fear. By the time, I noticed it and took her to the doctor, it was too late. Cancer had spread and it was stage IV. She bravely fought it until the last, but the only thing that was stuck in my mind was a lot more could have been done if she had told us sooner. She might have been here today to see my success and her granddaughter's achievements.”
Fortunately, the self-examination and fight against the fear worked and the cancer was in an early stage and only localized to the outer tissues. A breast conservation surgery or BCS was enough to remove it along with chemotherapy and radiation. Breast conservation surgery is done to remove the part of cancer while keeping the breast tissues and shape as normal as possible.
Facing the Facts of Life
“I met a lot of other women while I was undergoing my treatment. All of them seemed to have lost the reason to live because of their cancer diagnosis. On the other hand, the diagnosis was hard. I took my time to accept it, but while doing so I just thought of one thing. I have a lot to live and I want to see my daughter standing up on her feet, she needs me and I have to be there for her. This very thought was enough for me as a mother to fight anything that came my way. I couldn’t let a disease break me down. I decided to fight with it with all in me and take it positively. The diagnosis was bad, but I had many positives. The stage was not later, there are treatments and the doctors are exceptional at what they do. The only thing I had to do was to be positive and fight as much as I could and I did it” she says.
Emotional Sonal requests that women worldwide, not think of cancer as the end of their lives. She urges them to look at their loved ones, and keep fighting positively. She firmly believes that the reason she could go through those intensive eight months of treatment and surgery without hurdles was her will to defeat the disease. The pandemic was hard, she only had her daughter because limited people were allowed in the hospitals, but the only thing that mattered was to win against the disease and come out healthy.
Still Going Strong
Now that Sonal is back to her daily routine and work life, she thinks of what happened as a big lesson for herself. It has made her stronger than ever and helped her defeat the only fear she had.
“My life has shown me the most difficult challenges and also given me the strength to fight them. Being a divorcee and single mother made a difference in society’s eyes. To date, I am not sure of how a person will react when I say that I am a divorcee. But that doesn’t bother me anymore, because I am independent and I have raised my daughter well. Getting cancer, and having to go through 6 intensive chemo cycles and 21 settings of radiation after the surgery seems unthinkable and hard. But I had to do it, for myself and my daughter. So why not do it with positivity?” she asks.
Getting a mastectomy, which means the removal of both breasts is a dreadful dream for women because of what society thinks. A woman is supposed to look in a certain way and getting an integral part of the shape removed, leaves many women terrified of ever stepping out in the public. What they fail to understand is that there are many reconstructive options available. Even if not, nothing is more important that their life. If you decide to do a mastectomy, remember that the shape of your body and the scars don’t matter, what matters is how you face it.
Today, Sonal hopes that she can inspire at least one other woman to not fear breast cancer and fight it. She wishes to join a group or NGO when she retires and tell the tale of her fight with cancer to others to help them understand that they are not alone.
(Madhura Janorkar is a TYBAJMC student at Vishwakarma University)
