Ravi and Snehesh are cofounders of nearbuy.com, the startup I was running until 2019. We make it a point to meet every 2 months or so.
Some time back when we met, it was for a special occasion.
Snehesh was moving to Bangalore and it was a farewell dinner.
And it was a special one.
We spoke about our growing kids, our current lives and also our childhood.
And a story that Snehesh shared, stayed with me. Which I wanted to share with you.
?Snehesh grew up in a small town in Bihar.
His dad ran a school there.
Like many of us, growing up was tough. Little money. Tough world.
As Snehesh was growing up, he was encouraged to take on responsibilities.
One such responsibility, one fine month, was to take care of the household expenses for that month.
Snehesh was thrilled.
This was like the “big boy” feeling.
He went berserk that month.
Spent without budget. Spent lavishly.
And not surprisingly, the month was not yet over, but the money was.
Money getting over back then meant money getting over. Not anything else.
Scared, he went to his father, admitting his mistake and terrified of what would happen.
Back then (and I am sure even now), money used to be lying around somewhere, hidden in some corner.
Some utensil.
Some pocket.
Some book.
Somewhere.
They started looking.
Every corner possible.
They found a 10 rupee note. A 50 rupee note. A 20 rupee note.
Hidden somewhere, to be discovered today.
Slowly, after a day’s search, they got some 100-200 rupees, which his father convinced him was enough to run the house until the end of the month.
Before, money for the next month would come from the fees of the school kids.
As Snehesh was narrating this, I would see him get emotional.
He lost his dad recently.
And he was very close to him.
His dad was his rock.
“After that incident my father told me to never forget this. No matter how hard the time is, no matter how stuck you feel, no matter how difficult it is, remember there is always a corner that can help you. There is always a corner that will get you out.
Just keep looking for those corners.”
And that is what I wish for all of you to realise.
There is a corner that will get you out of whatever is it that you are going through.
Just keep looking for those corners.