19 September 2008

Zero to Hero

I certainly believe there’s another Dhirubhai Ambani in the making...
Here’s an Ode to Sarath Babu and his undaunted fervor…



Momma lean and poor
Toils all day to earn a Re 1
All the energy and love she showers
To raise her little ones

Multiple jobs she has at hand
Tired, but determined all along
Dwells on platforms, the poor man’s land
Teaches her children, right and wrong.

Many a castle she built in air
Off to school, her many children go
Kerosene lamps was all she could afford
Quality of life couldn’t suck more

Blessed she was with a boy so sweet
God’s own child, he was.
Momma’s burdens he carries on his feet
And turned around their lives full of flaws.

He toiled like an ant
Relentlessly day and night
To noone he could vent, puff or rant
But in the end, he got it all right

BITS Pilani he plunked into
Much to everyone’s surprise
Pavement to campus- a transformation, that.
Indeed he was a superman in disguise.

Polaris pecked him away from there
Three years he worked and worked
Debts he repaid with utmost care
In parallel, he studied and studied.

Three times in a row he tried
To meow the un-crackable CAT
With viral fever he was being fried
Yet, he made it through to IIM A, just like that!

Two years of relentless coaching
Dreams being fondled more and more
“No” he said to companies that poached him
“Idlies I want to sell”, he swore.

2000 rupees
Mumbai platform
Mother’s blessings
Dreams that weighed a million tonnes

Thus, the birth of ‘Food King’.


At ISTD Regional Conference today, I had the privilege of listening to Sarath Babu address us straight from the heart. He spoke about his hardships and how his single minded dedication and focus got him here. With all my gut, I can swear he’d be one of India’s most admired entrepreneurs. He’s well on his way out there…


Sarath, you inspire many a lives. You are non-modestly humble, profoundly young, gigantically sensitive to others and simply big. I know you’re going to be reading this. Here’s **bows** to you and your mother. May you continue to touch many a lives and miraculously transform them all, beneath your wings.



9 comments:

vijay said...

This guy is an inspiration to the young minds of india and a perfect example of what can be achieved by hard work.Its not where you are. Its who you are which matters.

Sangeetha Mugunthan said...

Now thats what you call a 'Never-Say-Die' Attitude. Truly inspiring!

Smruthi Rajagopalan said...

i completely agree..he came to MOP last year for a seminar by BBA dept..he was amazing..everybody was so impressed..he was like the star of the day..! I hope he achieves whatever more he has in mind and scales up to greater heights..he truly deserves it..

Am I Who said...

@vij
yes.. but i will not demean the element of 'luck' that exists in anyone's life... 90% of the population will probably disagree with me. but there is a power higher than the efforts you take that has some kind of a bearing on you.

@sangee
very! :)

@smruthi
he is a star, wherever he goes.. :) people were really emotional after he spoke.... and yes, i truly believe he's gonna make it big.. really really big, God willing...

Unbiased Opinionz said...

wow... this man PROVES to me that humility, dedication and focus is all it takes to make it BIG.

- Ubiquitous - said...

Amazing!

The man is inspirational. Kudos to him!

Unbiased Opinionz said...

hey... just something off beat here... why did u title it "zero to hero"?..

don think he was ever "zero"...noone is..we all have our potential.. and are good at something..

rags to riches.. a better title..?

just a perspective :-)

Am I Who said...

'zero to hero' was the title of the ISTD seminar i attended... and that's wear this young man spoke.. some others who were in "rags" also spoke...

so this title is a borrowed one!

about your perspective...
zero doesn't mean you suck.. it jus means, you had practically nothing (not referring to talents here) and you've made it big purely because of effort!

Unbiased Opinionz said...

lets just say i took it more literally...and u are talkin about it more methaphorically..perspectives aat the end of the day... o its borrowed title eh.. theek hai..dint kno that...tho i stil question the title... u have brought in a new perspective :-)