NOT YET
The Trial of a tea cup

I haven’t always been a tea cup; there was a time in my life when I was just a lump of clay. Then my Master took me and began to pit and mold and shape me. It was very painful and I begged Him to stop, but he only smiled and said “NOT YET.”

Then he placed me on a spinning wheel and I went round and round! I got so sick I thought I wasn’t going to make it, but then finally, let me off.

Just as I thought was going to be all right my Master put me in an oven. I have never understood why he wanted to burn me. I yelled and begged for Him to stop, to let me out. I could see dimly through the glass in the oven door, but He only smiled, shook His head and said. “NOT YET.”

Finally He came and took me out. “Oh, that some feel better, “I said to myself. Then all of sudden, my Master picked me up and started sanding and brushing me.

Then He took a painting brush and started painting colours all over me. The fumes were so strong I thought I was going to pass out. I pleaded with Him to stop, but He continued to smile and said. “NOT YET.”

Then He placed me in another oven. This one was twice as hot as the first. I know that I would suffocate. I begged, I pleaded, I cried, but He still only smiled and said. “NOT YET.”

I began to feel there was no hope. I would never make it. I couldn’t take any more. It was all over for me. I decided to give it all up.

Then the door swing open and Master said. “NOW.”

He lifted me up and He placed me on self to rest. Later He came to me with a mirror and told me to look. As I looked at myself, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I said “Oh ! my……what a beautiful tea cup !”

Then the Master explained- “I want you to understand that I knew it hurt when I patted and molded you. I knew the spinning wheel made you sick. But if I had left, you alone, you would have dried up and always have been just a lump of clay. You would not have had any personality in your life.”

“I know it was hot when I put you in the first oven, but if I hadn’t you would just have crumbled.”

“I knew it really bothered you to be brushed and painted but if I hadn’t you would not have had any colour in your life.”

“Oh, now I know the second oven was hard for you. But you see, if I had not put you there, you would not have been able to stand the pressure of life.”

“Your strength would not have lasted, so you would not have been survived for very long.”

“So you see, when you thought it was all so very hard. I still had, you in my care. I knew all along what you would be today. I had the finished product in mind from the day, I first touched you.”

All of us have to go through pain in life, if any one understand that each such pain is making a better person out of us, our day will be better.

There is a story which is true to this…….

From Studying under the streetlights to CEO of a US Firm

Here is the rags-to-riches story of an extremely talented boy from a small village in Tamil Nadu who has risen to be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company in Seattle, USA.

How Kalyana Raman Srinivasan, who was so indigent that he had to study under a streetlight, but then managed to score excellent marks, rose in life and became today’s KAL Raman.

At every turn his life, he took the difficult path turned out to be the right one and the right direction. His rise to the top is more dramatic than a thriller. To-day, he is a very successful entrepreneur and the founder-CEO of Global Scholar.

Difficult Childhood

Kal Raman was born and brought up in a small village called Mannarakoil in Tirinelveli district of Tamil Nadu. It was a comfortable normal middle class life for him and his siblings as his father was a Tahsildar there.

But the sudden death of his father at the age of 45 changed everything overnight. Kal Raman was 15 then. His mother got a pension of Rs 420 a month and one can imagine how tough it is to educate four children and feed five mouths with Rs. 420/= ?

His life changed dramatically after his father’s death. The family moved from the rented house to a hut that had no proper water supply or electricity. All of the children used to study under the street light and, thank god, the streetlight used to work those days! MGR (M G Ramachandran ) was the chief Minister then. They had to sell the plates to buy rice to eat and the Mother used to give rice in their hands. That bad situation was their situation.

But his mother, who studied till the 8th standard, was very particular that her children studied. “All their relatives wanted his elder brother to stop studying and take up the small job offered by the Government but mother wanted him to continue studying.

Then they wanted him to learn typewriting and shorthand so that he could get some jog after 10th standard. But mother said, “My children are going to get the best education I can offer. Education is our salvation.”

What kept the family going? They were sad but because they accepted their fate, they were at peace with whatever that happened to them. They knew their father would not come back to lift their poverty. And also knew that their salvation was a long way away.”

Kalyana Raman Srinivasan (Kal Raman) didn’t knew why he used to tell his mother. “One day I will give you so much money that you will not know what to do with it!” Years later. He did exactly that !

First turning point in Life

Kal Raman believes that God played a hand in all the major turning points in his life. The first turning point in his life was after 12th standard. He got good marks an both the engineering and medicine entrance exams, and for engineering, he got admission at the Anna University in Chennai while for medicine, it was in the Tirunelveli Medical College.

“While going in the bus with his mother to join the medical college, he told her. “If he join for medicine there, the high probability is that his life may begin and end in Tiruneveli. He really wanted to see the world. ‘She agreed with his decision to go to Chennai and join the Anna University and study Electrical Engineering and Electronics.”

So he stepped into a new world outside Tirunelveli, and that was Chennai. Though he had got merit scholarship and a lot of good people helped him pay the initial fee, the scholarship amount never used to reach him regularly or on time. “The mess fee was Rs. 250 a month and he used to be a defaulter in the mess at least six months in a year. Till you pay the mess fee, you cannot eat in the mess. So, he used to live on day scholar’s lunch boxes and also use to fast. That is when he learnt to fast ! Lot of friends helped him with money and food.”

Scarcity of money was so bad that he had no money to buy food just before the final exams, when he gave his final semester exams; he had not eaten for a day-and-a-half. “After finishing the exam he almost fainted.”

The fay after the exams came all the scholarship money that was due and it was around Rs. 5,000. “So he went home a rich man and that helped them repay some loans.”

First Job

Like opting for Chennai and joining Anna University instead of a college in Tiruneveli, Kal Raman took another risk with his first job also. His first job was with TATA Consulting Engineers (TCE), and he had a choice of joining either Chennai or Mumbai..

Although he knew nobody in Mumbai, he chooses the capital of Maharashtra. He remembered the first day. It was interesting. With bag and baggage. He went to the TCE office after taking a shower at the Railway station as he had no money to go to any hotel. After the first introduction at the office, the Manger noticed that he was wearing slippers to the office. Manager called him and said, “I don’t care which college you are coming from but this is not acceptable. You should come in shoes tomorrow.”

He said, “I couldn’t come in shoes the next day.” and this manager construed as arrogance. “How could you talk like this?” he asked him. Kal Raman said, “Sir, it is not that I don’t want to, but I can’t afford to buy shoes. Only after I get my first salary cheque, can I buy shoes. Sir, I request you not to terminate my job because of this. I and my family need this job.”

Shocked to hear the explanation, the manger asked, “Where are you staying?” and the reply was. “Dadar, Railway Station.”

So distressed was the manger to hear Kal speak that he immediately released a month’s salary in advance and also arranged for him to be at his friend’s place till he could find a place to stay.

He bought him a pair of shoes and those were his first shoes. The next day, he sent Rs. 1,599 from the advance to his mother.”

From Electrical Engineering to Programming

KAL Raman’s rise in carrier was meteoric in a short span of time. Within a month, he got a chance to move to Bangalore and also to Programming. Soon, he was in Chennai with TATA Consultancy Services (TCS). Within a few months, he was sent to Edinburgh, U.K.

From Edinburgh, his next stop was the United States. In 1882, he went to the US as an entry level contractor with Wal-Mart. In two years, he was a Director running a division.

When he left Wal-Mart after six years, he was a man running the information systems for the International division of the retail giant. In 1998, he joined drugstore.com on line Pharmacy as the Chief Information Officer and in 2001 at the age of 30, he was the CEO of the Company.

He was at the right place at the right time. “God was there at every step guiding him to take the right decisions. He was also willing to take risks and tread new paths.

Starting Global Scholar

Philanthropist Mike Milken who had donated more than a billion dollars to education, wanted to use technology so that high quality education was accessible to ordinary people.

Milken convinced Kal to Join him. That was the time building schools in his village for poor students.

In October 2007, Global Scholar was launched targeting both teachers and students by acquiring four companies- national; Scholar, Classof1 (India), Excelsior )USA), and Ex-Logica (USA)—that were into education.

“Three months after the launch, he traveled all over the US, India, Singapore and China talking to teachers and companies and the public. He found that the only way to impact education was by impressing teachers. The biggest scarcity in the world is good teachers. They decided to help teachers with teaching practices and kids, learning practices.”

Kal Raman decided to concentrate on the US market as the US is more advanced in using technology. “They are also willing to pay money for technology. At present, schools buy the material which can be used by teachers, students and parents.”

Today, they have 200 people working for Global Scholar in Chennai and 150 in the US. The study material is prepared in the Chennai office.

The Company that was started with $ 50 million will have in excess of $ 32 million and will generate $ 5 million of profits. In 2008, the turnover of the company was Rs 40 crore Rs. 400 million) and in 2009, it was Rs. 80 crore (Rs. 800 million). In the current year it will be 150-160 crore (Rs. 1.5- 1.6 billion).

“Global Scholar is growing at 200 percent every year. They have 1,000 schools and 10 million students, which is one out of 10 kids in the US, using Chennai made material. This is almost 18 percent of the US population. They are the fastest growing education company in the US.”

Globa; Scholar will soon introduce a pilot project in India and China. In the course of all this, Kalyana Raman became Kal Raman. “The country gave him everything and took half his name.”

Giving back to Society

Kal Raman was in India Now for the Kumbhabhishekam of the temple at his village Mannarkoli. “It is taking place after 500 years. It is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of work. He has spent more than one and half crore Rupees (Rs 15 million) to renovate the temple and do the Kumbhabhishekam. More than anything else, He has given jobs to all his friends in the village who are masons and carpenters.”

Other than this, he has also adopted all the orphanages around his village and he takes care of around 2,000 kids, some of whom are physically handicapped. “He feels if he can educate these children, eventually they can make a difference in the society. He also helps 100 children in their higher education. Around his village, everyone knows that if a kid who studies well cannot afford to pay fees, he has to only go to his house; his education will be taken care of.”

Kal Raman says,”I do not do this as charity; it’s my responsibility. I am giving something back to the society that fed me, taught me, and took care of me and gave me hopes.”