From Rock Bottom to Rising Star

I still remember my first day at college.

No friends. No mentors. Just a belt around my neck, tied by seniors. They made me walk around like a joke. People laughed… I kept walking.

Some call ragging a harmless prank.

For me, it was the first toxic taste of humiliation.

When I told my father, hoping for support…

He beat me.

He said, "You’re the biggest mistake of my life. You're wasting my money. You should’ve been in IIT."

That day, I wasn’t broken by my seniors.

I was shattered by my father.

Semester one came — I failed miserably.

Why? Because he forced me to reappear for IIT.

Another beating.

Only my mother stood between me and more pain.

In my second semester, I gathered enough courage to confess to my best friend — the only person besides my mom I truly trusted.

She said: “I can’t be ridiculed by my friends.”

She cut me off. Just like that.

I was heartbroken.

Alone.

Lost.

Then came the break after the 4th semester. I got a call:

“Your mother has passed away.”

My world crumbled.

I cried for days. But what choice did I have? Life doesn’t stop.

My attendance dropped. The principal summoned me.

I told him my mother died.

He laughed it off.

“I hear this lie every day,” he said.

“Bring a death certificate if she’s even dead.”

And as I was walking out, he added:

“No need to bring it. Useless guys like you can even fake that. Call your dad.”

My friends? They called me a loser too.

I didn’t laugh at their jokes, so I didn’t fit in.

To belong, I started drinking.

I hated the taste — but I loved the high.

I pretended to be drunk.

I learned to call girls “magi” without knowing what it even meant.

All just to survive college.

Then came campus placements.

Rejection. Rejection. Rejection.

I took English-speaking classes. Bought new shirts.

Still, I got nothing.

When I told my father, he said:

“Don’t call again.”

This time, I felt nothing.

That night, I thought of ending it all.

But I didn’t.

Because I’d made a promise to my mom:

"One day, I will shine."

So I started tutoring kids.

I gave everything I had to CAT.

Scored 99.87 percentile.

But my low college grades ruined my shot at the big IIMs.

Still, I got into a decent B-school. A kind bank manager helped me with a loan.

Life gave me a flicker of hope.

Then came my first job — Volvo Eicher.

I lasted less than 3 months.

They said I wasn’t “efficient.”

Truth?

I didn’t know how to lick boots.

So I started building iPhone apps in my free time.

Two friends joined me — jobless, like me, but hungry.

In 2011, I opened a small office.

By the end of the year, we were 8 engineers.

In 2012, we landed contracts with companies like Mobiquity and Exxon Mobil.

The team grew to 80 developers.

By 2013, I was preparing for a turnover of ₹5 crores.

And you know what?

I thank every single person who broke me.

The senior who ragged me.

The girl who dumped me.

The professor who mocked me.

The friends who called me a loser.

You were my fire. You were my fuel.

Today, I don’t live with my father.

But I send him enough money to live comfortably.

To every junior reading this —

Don’t let heartbreak define you.

Don’t let failure consume you.

Don’t let rejection become your identity.

If a so-called loser like me can rise,

Why not you?

There’s a lot of darkness in this world.

But there's more light —

More kindness.

More goodness.

More second chances.

Lastly…

Mom, if you can hear me...

I kept my promise.

I love you. Always.