NEWSPAPER VENDOR TURNS NEWS MAKER WITH IIM ENTRY

Bangalore: The son of debt-ridden truck driver, Shiva Kumar was forced out of his ICSE School because his father could not submit his fee for a trimester. He straightway approached to Krishna Veda Vyasa who bought a morning newspaper and asked him to fill his fee for the trimester. The kind man got moved with his desire to study and vowed to endorse his education. Under his patronage, Shiva Kumar not only become an engineer but secured an entry into Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta.

This is not a story of a film or a Chetan Bhagat novel, it is an inspirational story of unwavering resolve and backbreaking industry of a 23-year-old newspaper vendor who braved all the adversities to crack one of the toughest entrance examinations in the country, the Common Aptitude Test (CAT).

While studying in Class 3, Shiva used to sell flowers in morning and evening to support his family.  As he grew up the financial condition of his family deteriorated. He moved to a more profitable business of vending news paper. He would get up at 4 am; distribute newspapers in the morning before going to school. He would often skip his breakfast as he would not have time left for his daily activities.

Despite living the hectic life at a tender age, he never lost hope. He worked hard to get ends meet, but harder at studies. He remained a topper in his school despite his tight schedule. When he entered college, he continued his business to fend off bills. He used to sleep in his engineering college to compensate for his lost hours at bed.

During his days as newspaper distributor, he has taken a lot of lessons from his life. His aim is not earn big bucks in an investment bank, but to educate under-privileged children like him. He intends to work hard in the IIM as he would specialise in finance.