Rameshwar- From Rags to Riches
“I was in 8th standard when I dropped out of school. Padhai mai man nahi lag raha tah, toh maine kaam karna shuru kiya. Papa used to drive trucks, so I joined him at work. But, a few months into it papa asked me ‘Do you want to be a truck driver all your life?’
That question was an eye-opener. I definitely wanted to do more than just drive trucks. So, I tagged along with my cousin when he moved to Karnataka in search of work. I had no skill, no educational qualification, no plan of action, all I knew was ‘I’m migrating so that I can provide life for my family and myself.’
Luckily, I got hired by an interior designing contractor. I’d wake up at 4 am, cook food, then go to work for 13 hrs and then return. For the first 4 months, I got paid Rs.5000. Not going to lie, getting through my initial days in Karnataka was hard. But, I’d say to myself ‘Keep working, you’ve got this.’
Soon I mastered the skills and started supervising some of the projects. I learned to operate software designing tools too. My pay increased to 20,000 as well. Everything seemed to fall into place. I loved my work, I was well equipped with the skills and earned a decent amount.
And finally after 8 years of working it felt like the right time to start my own interior designing company. I’ve always wanted to build a company of my own, and I finally felt the confidence to lead a team.
We started with 3 members. Our first ever project was to build a kitchen cabinet. Hands down, it was one of the best days of my life. Over the years, we grew from designing single articles to designing rooms and finally getting projects for designing entire houses!
15 years ago when I came to this city I was a school dropout who had no money, no clue what he would do. All I carried was a suitcase and a bunch of aspirations to live a better life. Today my company has a team of nearly 20 professionals. And I can proudly say that most of them are migrant workers. From being one of them to being able to provide job opportunities to them, life has surely come a full circle.”