When your journey is your destination

Somethings in life you don’t plan. You live your life, think about the things close to your heart & and there comes a perfect opportunity for you to realize what you dreamed of for so long.

Growing up, I’ve seen my family work very hard to make a good decent living. Dad being the sole earner did what he could to take care of mom, 3 daughters & a son (yeah, that’s me). He did have to toil hard to handle the weight of the family. He did well.

I’ve seen him scramble, struggle financially but never did he give up once. I still don’t know what kept him going, with little to no real support from his family, he was determined to get us kids to good life. Growing up, somewhere i carried that thought in my mind – “I’ll be your best investment, Mom & Dad”. He could have very well given up, but he didn’t.

Years forward, as the opportunity present, i made it to United States. Was that my goal growing up? No. Am i thankful, i’m in this country? Yes. Do i value America as much as i value my motherland, you bet!

Getting here wasn’t a ticket to good life. I thought it would, but it wasn’t. As software consultant, you do so called good, compared to others, but nothing in terms of the dreams i carried in my heart to payback to my family who has done so much for me.

Knowing nothing, i pursued my career, i was doing OK. Only thing i had learnt from my family is to be successful is to – Work Hard, Never Give up, Principles over Progress, Enjoy life, Never Lose a Smile and Never Ever Ever Ever Give up. Sometimes you get so busy planning the projects at work that you fail to plan your life. That’s what happened to me, I drifted in my life. I lost sight of my goal of making my family proud & paying back. I got busy and then drifted towards fun life  in this land of fun & freedom.

But God has his own way of turning things around. Never did i know meeting that one person at work, will open the flood gates to progress in my life. Ya, i wish those flood gates opened in a day. But it wasn’t like that. All i got was, “A PLAN” that God wanted me to follow. He gave me the plan and i had to work the plan. Many days of trial & error, chiseling myself, crying, wiping up tears, going at it one more time, life is much progressive today. Not only am i thankful for what i have, i’m also thankful what i am able to do with what i have.

So back to the family stuff. Seeing my dad & mom struggle throughout those years, i wanted them to reinvent themselves. In my opinion, there’s nothing better than “Giving” that will make you feel better. Charity brings in a feeling that nothing else would. I wanted my family to enjoy that feeling as well. And what better than offering sight to someone who otherwise may have fallen into the darkness of life.

I floated the idea to my dad to go country side (villages), meet few people, find the ones who need their eyes operated for cataract but aren’t able to  due to financial limitations and you take up the financial burden – ” You bridge the gap, Dad”. He said he’ll think. And i told him, if you do that, take few pics and i’ll post on Facebook and write about you. He said, what book is that. He probably will never read this, but i did what i told him, i will.

Next day, i see 3 missed calls from him.

Me: Dad – what’s up.

Dad : I have 4 people ready to get operated. I need the funds, send me the money.

Never heard so much enthusiasm in his voice. Over span for 4 weeks, i think he got some 20 operations done. My fixed budget for him, sure must have forced him to put a stop to his drive, but i am so thankful i worked evening hours and weekends for so many years on my business after my day job, to secure my finances, so that i could fund His Tiny Charity Drive.

Hearing from my mom, that Dad feels so good about himself these days, was so special. He somewhere knows he made a difference in someone’s life. For most of his life, he may have been a taker, but him being a giver today does make him feel good.  Don’t judge those hazy pics, you have no idea, i had to convince my dad to take those pics and he has no idea about pic quality, he would care less! Picture is not worth 1000 words, your action is.

I never realized when i was going thru the churn myself that one day what i’m doing will payback. i’m glad, i didn’t choose to let the opinion of the world become my reality. I don’t believe in reality, reality is for those who have no dreams to fight for. It’s a new found passion for me & Nidhi (my wife – partner in crime) to grow our business so big that we could fund bigger causes.

And here’s the man himself – My Dad & my amazing mom!!

Dedicating this post to them (they’ll probably never read) and to other hustlers out there working on their dream. You get one life, make the best of it and leave something worthwhile behind!!

6 Comments
Keith Adamson
Keith Adamson

Beautiful story!!

Suresh Pandya
Suresh Pandya

KD you have done three things at one stroke. First,you tried to be honest and returned what was invested in you by your parents. Secondly,you made them givers. And it gives tremendous pleasure when you donate something to someone in need. Thirdly,giving a vision to less fortunate elderly people is like illuminating their world. I am proud of you for your sincere efforts. KEEP UP DOING GOOD.

Gaurav Vazirani
Gaurav Vazirani

KD you are the role model and a dream builder for lot of us.

Purvesh Desai
Purvesh Desai

You have been such an inspiration to so many. Thank you for sharing this story.

Raghunandana Rao
Raghunandana Rao

That’s so amazing and heart touching. You always inspire in very way possible. Thank you for sharing this and providing vision to the needy. When I say needy, not only the ones who got their eyes back, I’m talk about people like me who got a vision to do something in life

Nirav Patel
Nirav Patel

Thank you for the inspirational story and building the dream.