The Boy Who Never Quit

This is a story of a boy called Karan. He was very young, roughly around three or four years when he lost his parents in an accident. He then started roaming here and there for survival. Sometimes he used to roam in the train. He got the seat also to sleep. At that time, children were exempt from paying the ticket fare. He knew nobody where he could go to. After few months, one person started noticing that Karan is always roaming there in search of food. He then asked Karan if he would work to get food. He was not so kind to Karan. Karan was innocent. He did not know what was happening to him. He had to work in some factory which was involved in the manufacturing of shiny material for paper bowls. He could not go the school. He was forced to work as a child laborer so that he could have food. Sometimes he was even beaten and not given food. The life was miserable. I don’t know much in detail about the childhood of Karan. But the child had the determination to achieve success and get out of the life of pain, hunger and sadness.

After two years, there came a turning point in Karan’s life. One person visited the factory where Karan used to work. The person saw him and his miserable situation. He was around seven years at that time. The person got touched on seeing his situation. He brought Karan at his home. The family was kind to him. Thus, Karan got a family which had his uncle, aunt, sisters, brother and a grandmother. He became part of the family. He accepted all the family members with his whole heart and so did they. But there was always a vacuum. No one howsoever kind he is, can take the place of parents. He always felt how the life would have been if his parents were alive.

After some years, they moved to Gurgaon, Haryana. He started his education in a Hindi medium school. The uncle had a grocery shop in Gurgaon and he also used to deliver milk in the city. Karan had a feeling that the uncle and aunt are doing so much for him so he should also assist them in whatever way possible. He thought that he should not be a burden on them. He started helping his uncle and aunt in shop, delivering milk and some household related chores. He continued his education. He enrolled himself in a government college in Gurgaon. Life was going as usual.

One day, some uncle advised Karan to do Chartered Accountancy course. It was considered as the world’s most difficult professional course to pass. Karan thought it would be a great way to prove his potential and then decided to complete the course and become a Chartered Accountant. He discussed about that with the uncle, aunt and the grandmother in the family and then enrolled himself in the course. The course has three levels –

1.      CA – CPT

2.      CA – IPCC  

3.      CA – Final

Karan thought the decision to do CA course would be another turning point in his life. He started taking coaching for the CA CPT exam from a known coaching center in Gurgaon. It was an objective type exam and had four subjects aggregating to 200 marks. The passing criteria was to score 40% marks in each subject and 50% in aggregate. He appeared for the CPT exam in December 2012 but unfortunately couldn’t clear. After that he took another bold step to switch from Hindi medium to English medium. For the person who had never spoken in English in his life, it was a bold decision. It was difficult for him to understand what was written in the study modules. The content itself was difficult and the English language made it all the more difficult for him. But he was determined to be known as Chartered Accountant. He reappeared for the exam in June 2013 and cleared this time. He was on cloud nine.

It was just the beginning. He had a very long way to go. After clearing CPT exam, he enrolled himself for the intermediate level i.e. CA – IPCC. IPCC had two groups. First group had 4 papers and the second group has three. He again took coaching from the same institute. I was also taking coaching from the same coaching institute for IPCC. There I met Karan. He appeared for the IPCC Group 1 in May 2014 but unfortunately he could not clear the exam. He studied with more dedication for both the groups. He reappeared for the exams in November 2014. He cleared Group 1. He became eligible for the articleship. In CA course, one has to complete three years of articleship. It is the toughest part of the CA course. It is no different from a job. It consumes a lot of energy and time.

After clearing CA – IPCC Group 1, Karan started articleship in the same CA firm where I was doing my articleship. Only during articleship, I started to know him. During coaching also, we hardly talked. He worked at the CA firm for a very few months. Karan was humiliated by the partner of the firm on the grounds of poor English and the way he carries himself. The partner challenged Karan that he could never succeed and could never become a Chartered Accountant. He even gave Karan a page where he wrote Karan’s shortcomings. Karan was shattered. He did not have too many friends with whom he could share his feelings or pain. He had nobody to share the things he went through. The partner could not understand the efforts Karan was putting to learn English and it was not easy for him. Maybe the efforts were not adequate. But the way he talked with Karan that day almost brought Karan to tears. That day, Karan for the first time told me that he did not have his parents and the partner knew this. I felt, Karan wanted to share his feelings with me. But he resisted. We just had started talking. So, I also did not enquire much; just gave him the space he needed. Karan always keeps that letter with him. That letter reminds Karan that he has to show the partner that he can succeed and become a Chartered Accountant. I feel that letter somehow motivates Karan.

Karan left the CA firm soon after that and joined some other CA firm to complete his articleship. And upon that, to study for the exams with articleship and then give exams is an elephant like task. Karan had to clear IPCC Group 2 along with articleship to be eligible to appear for CA Final exam. He prepared for the exam with perseverance but the fate said “Not this time!!” He again prepared for the exam with much more perseverance but the fate said “Not this time!!” He again prepared for the exam with much more perseverance and patience but the fate again said “Not this time!!” Then after three unsuccessful attempts, Karan reappeared for IPCC Group 2 in November 2016 and finally he cleared the exam and entered the final leg of the CA course i.e. “CA-Final”.

Karan then completed the articleship and appeared for the CA Final exam in November 2017. But the fate said “No Karan!! Not this time!!” The fate consistently opposed the efforts and patience of Karan. But he stuck to his decision to become a qualified Chartered Accountant. He again tried several times but no success. I also tried to help him in studying but could do a little. After some time, his articleship was over and now he had to do job also to cover his day to day expenses. He started doing a job in a company. Managing job, studies and his personal life was becoming very difficult. As they say, “Even gold has to burn to become ‘Kundan’.” Karan was burning. He was earning enough to live a decent life. He could have quit considering the failures and pressure from the society. But he worked with more determination and patience with a hope to do better and show the world and before that himself, that he can do it.

One may think that there are so many aspirants who do CA. We hear different success stories. How is this story different from theirs? This is a story of failure but not losing hope. Most of us have many times heard a story of ant trying to climb an obstacle. She tries to climb but fails. She again tries to climb the obstacle but fails. She tries harder but fails. She tries again and again till she crosses the obstacles. Karan’s story is also like that. He did not achieve success in first attempt. But he never lost hope. Karan is still trying. And he has no plan to stop before he achieves his goal to become a Chartered Accountant. He will keeping trying till the institute grace him with the degree of Chartered Accountant. This story may inspire many other students and people who are just thinking of quitting because it does not seem practical. But what’s the harm in giving it a try.

Quitting is never an option. One may think after years that I should have not quit it at that time. But at that time, it would be of no use. There are many people who fail but quit after a one or two attempts, but our protagonist, Karan is different. He does not know what is meant by quitting. He is determined to become a Chartered Accountant and I believe that. Whatever Karan has achieved in his life is due to his own efforts. He few months back told me that he named himself as ‘Karan”, motivated by the character ‘Karan’ from Mahabharata. Karan is creating his own destiny, by his own decisions and efforts. Before you quit, just remember that “We are about to reach the destination before we quit”. Think about the reason which motivated you to take the very first step before you think about quitting. Think of the loved ones who care about you a lot. Think about yourself. The power is within you and “You Can Do It!!”