How A Woman From The Slums of India Made 112 Million Dollars
Married abused and beaten as a child, to a multimillionaire
The first time I heard of this story, I was immediately reminded of the movie Slum Dog Millionaire. Except… this is so much better.
Unlike the movie, this is a true story, featuring a woman who worked harder than ever, to get where she is today, and to earn herself a fortune most people couldn’t even dream of.
It’s the story of Kalpana Saroj.
Kalpana Saroj was born in India, as a Dalit. Dalit means ‘the untouchables’, which is the lowest class of society in Indias’ old fashioned cast system.
Being born as an untouchable she was destined for a difficult life the second she came out of her mother's womb. Kalpana’s friend's parents would often not allow her to enter their homes, not wanting any contact with a person from that class. Since they were… untouchable.
At the age of 12, she was married off to a man who was 10 years older than her and left to go and live with him in Mumbai. It turned out that he himself also wasn’t wealthy by any means, and lived in the slums. There she was often mistreated and beaten by her brother and sister in law.
The verbal and physical abuse took a toll on her and was quickly noticed by her father who came to visit once. She was then taken back to her village where she was seen as a failure by the other villagers, for not being able to carry out her duty, as a wife.
Learning to ignore the harsh comments, she practiced her skills in tailoring and started working. Yet, the pressure still wayed down on her young shoulders which was when she decided to end her own life. This was thankfully quickly interrupted by her aunt who walked in on her, in the middle of attempted suicide.
Having survived her suicide attempt, made her reevaluate what is important in life, and brought focus and attention back to what was important to her.
Honing her tailoring skills, she moved back to Mumbai with her uncle and started working there again, earning very little.
It was when she couldn’t pay for her sister's medical treatment, which could have saved her life, that she realized what big role money plays in this world. She came to the realization that much more hard work and dedication was needed for her to live a happy and fulfilled life.
With the help of some funds from the government, Kalpana opened up a furniture store to expand her crafts of tailoring. She became quite successful, marrying a fellow furniture businessman, and raising two kids with him.
Her good repute did wonders for her, as a metal engineering company, Kamani Tubes requested she take over the company, as they were in loads of debt. Kalpana sympathized with the poor workers of the company, who wanted nothing more than to serve their family, and to work well.
So, through reorganizing the company, she brought it back up on its feet. Not as much bringing it back on to its feet as sending it up into the sky on a rocket. She is now very much enjoying her life, with a net worth of 112 million dollars to show for all of the hard work she has done.
Kalpana’s story, should, and needs to be spread as much as possible. It's a heartwrenching story, of bravery and persistence, and extremely inspirational, especially for the disadvantaged of this world.
As a Dalit woman, she was probably in the hardest position, ever to achieve success in her life, and can therefore stand as a role model to all people out there, who feel that they can’t achieve anything in life.
Kalpana was able to become a decamillionaire, originating from some of the harshest poverty in this world. She defied all odds and beat through all expectations society placed in front of her until she found her own reality.
If you’re a person reading this who has always wanted to achieve something great, something more than what society wants you to do, but you find yourself in a position where you question whether you can achieve anything since you might for example not have a lot of money. Take a step back and look at your situation.
Because Kalpanas was 100% worse.
If you are reading this right now you have access to the internet, one of the most valuable tools nowadays to make money. I know it's hard to put things in perspective sometimes since it's so easy to take things for granted, but having the internet is a luxury that needs to be cherished.
3.6 billion people are internet-less. But you have it. You’re starting out at a much better place than Kalpana did, which means if she can do it, you can too.
Seriously, chase your dreams and start living the life you want to be living. Reach the goals and aspirations you want to reach, and which you know will make you feel happy and fulfilled. This doesn’t just have to be about money. If you're currently in a 9–5 job which you hate, trust yourself, and try something new.
What you need is trust in yourself, that you can do anything. Just like Kaplana.
You can do anything.
