A TEA VENDOR BECOMES A CA

“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”

– Langston Hughes

“While I was preparing for my CA, it was very tough to give those hours of studies that the course needed. So, during the exam time, I used to call my friends from village to come and take care of my tea stall”

After completing HSC from his village, when he wanted to study further, his family asked him to drop out and focus on earning instead. Son of a drought affected farmer, Somnath had no option but to give up his studies and take up odd jobs. He toiled day and night so he could pay for his education and send some money to his family living in Sangavi village, Solapur (Maharashtra). But that didn’t go well with him for too long. He left his village and came to Pune, with a hope that he would be able to work and study. On January 17, 2016, the 28-year-old chaiwala’s dream came true, when he cracked the Chartered Accountancy exams.

Somnath Baliram Giram hails from village Sangavi, Tal-Karmala (Solapur district), about 100 km from Pune. Erratic rainfall and drought situation left his father Baliram Giram unable to sow anything on their four-acre farmland and work in the fields of landlords as a daily wager. Poverty forced Somnath’s elder brother and sister to leave school. He studied in his village’s Zilla Parishad school till standard IV and walked two km to Kavitgaon for further schooling. Later, he joined Bharat High School and Junior College (commerce) at Jevur, located 14 km away from his village, where he used to travel back and forth on his bicycle every day. After finishing his junior college, the condition of his house further deteriorated, and his family was left with no money. He did try his hand at a few odd jobs around his village, but they didn’t pay him much. Moreover, there was no way he could have pursued his studies since work kept him busy through the day. In 2006, Somnath decided to leave his village and move to Pune.

After landing in Pune, he stayed with his friend Manoj Shende. Manoj also hailed from Sangavi village and had moved to Pune to prepare for competitive exams. Initially, Somnath looked for part-time jobs that would pay for his family back home, and in the spare time he would be able to study. However, he couldn’t get any such jobs. He was in a state of despair but didn’t want to give up at any cost.

Seeing his plight, Manoj took Somnath around and showed him the tea stalls being run by people and suggested him to start one of his own too. “I really liked the idea and soon put up a stall near Peru Gate Police Chowki in Sadashiv Peth with the money that Manoj gave me.” And here’s where he started his struggle – of earning a livelihood which could help him pursue his further studies.

“Even though I used to get extremely tired after standing throughout the day, I made it a point to go back to my room and study till 2 am"

Somnath working at his tea stall

Soon, Somnath’s tea stall which he named ‘Somnath Dadancha Nad Khula Tea Katta’ became a popular adda. From whatever he earned from the stall, he would send a certain amount to his family back in the village. Even though his tea stall was attracting a large number of customers and making good profits, seeing educated people visiting his stall would make his heart yearn as it was his biggest wish to study and earn lots of money one day. This moved him and he enrolled himself in Shri Shahu Mandir Mahavidyalaya in Parvati (Pune) to pursue BCom.

Though he wasn’t regular in the college because of pressure of running his tea stall, he somehow managed to graduate and then went on to take admission in Garware College for MCom.

“It was very hard to balance studies along with my work. So, I used to take small breaks during the business hours to study. Even though I used to get extremely tired after standing throughout the day, I made it a point to go back to my room and study till 2 am. There were days when my body would give up due to exhaustion, but I kept pushing myself, ” he said.

Well aware of his situation, Somnath’s professors at Shahu and Garware colleges were lenient towards his attendance and helped him in every way they could. “One of my professors from Garware College introduced me to a chartered accountancy firm, Sheetal M Shaha and Company. That’s when I came to know about this profession for the first time. My request to the officials at Sheetal to give me an internship was turned down initially. It was only when someone left the firm did they allow me to join,” he said.

The firm motivated him to pursue CA but Somnath failed to clear Common Proficiency Test (CPT), the first level. “I joined the AS Foundation private coaching class by paying Rs.20,000 that I had saved from my earnings. I cleared the first group (exams) in my fifth attempt but cracked the final in the first attempt with 55 per cent,” he said.

Somnath’s efforts paid off eventually, but there were many hardships that he went through. “While I was preparing for my CA, it was very tough to give those hours of studies that the course needed. So, during the exam time, I used to call my friends from village to come and take care of my tea stall so I could stay at home and study. I used to go to the stall once every day to see everything was running smoothly and then get back to study again.”

Somnath gives credit to his friend Manoj and Sheetal M Shaha and Company’s Sheetal for all his achievements. “It was Manoj who gave me shelter when I had nothing to look forward to when I first came to stay here. All these years, he never asked me to pay him any money and it was through his money that I started my business. Whatever I am today has a lot to do with my friend.”

Today, he stands tall and greets his customers with the same warmth and says this is just the beginning. Somnath has plans to start his own practice. As for his tea stall, he does not have any plans of closing it down. “I will hand it over to my friends from my village, so that someday they are also able to achieve their goals,” concludes Somnath.

“And to inspire students, I nominate him as the brand ambassador for ‘earn and learn’ scheme of the state government,” state Education Minister Vinod Tawde said. He will tour all universities in the state, share his experiences and inspire students to complete education to fulfil their dreams.