The life cycle of a child born into a middle-class Indian family is pretty much programmed at birth—education, higher education, a well-paying job, marriage, parenthood, children’s aspirations, retirement, and old age.
There are certain benchmarks children from middle-class families have to supposedly climb – first get a suitable educational qualification, then a job, and then you can choose to pursue your calling – be it filmmaking, adventure sports, writing or painting. But once you get established in a job, there is an increasing demand to get “settled” in life—and the added financial and social responsibilities of a family life make it rather impossible for one to listen to their heart and follow its calling. Still, as they say, where there’s a will, there’s a way, some exceptions do meticulously work towards a plan to realise their calling, while they still have it in them, and in the process end up bringing about a positive change in their lives and the lives of many others.
For Deepak Sharma, born to a physics professor father and a homemaker mother, childhood came with a similar set of fixed boundaries and expectations – as is usually the case with other educated middle-class families. He, as anticipated, excelled in academics and ended up starting his career as a power engineer with one of the most prestigious government enterprises in India. Life followed its steady path and he rose through the ranks.
But little did he know that what looked like a casual conversation with one of his colleagues would change his life forever! His colleague was volunteering with an NGO. Sharma could relate to the cause and started funding the education of two girls through the NGO. Later, his visits to the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta opened a whole new world to him. He realised that simply paying the money wasn’t enough.
As luck would have it, he came across an advertisement in a leading national daily English newspaper, which was inviting volunteers from civil society. Both Sharma and his wife associated with Udayan Care through the programme in 2009. Over time, Sharma felt the need to engage full-time with this NGO. But there was a problem. He still had some family obligations. His son was studying. In 2013, when his son graduated from IIT-Delhi, Sharma decided to leave his corporate career with the Tata Group and started volunteering full-time with Udayan Care.
At present, Deepak Sharma is a trustee at Udayan Care and, along with his wife, is a mentor to 40 girls at Udayan Ghar (a home for girls in Greater Noida).
Deepak Sharma’s life journey from a first rank holder throughout his school and engineering to a flourishing corporate career is the familiar success story of every aspiring middle-class Indian boy. What makes it different is what follows after! It is a story of calling, awakening, social service, and giving back to society in the noblest of ways.
Indian families, and specifically those in the lower strata of society, even today, lament the birth of a girl child, often treating her as a family burden which they can safely offload when she comes to a marriageable age. Education and empowerment are not even a consideration for her. Consequently, marital abuse, divorce, and the death of the husband (the earning member) often force them into a life of economic dependence and no freedom of choice. In the absence of a proper education, they fail to become economically independent and stand on their feet.
Empowering girls by way of education to make them self-reliant is the noblest of vocations. The story of Deepak Sharma inspires the world; how leading a missionary life after quitting a glamorous corporate job brings gratification and joy in life.
Some of us reading this book could be the next Deepak Sharma! He is a role model for every dreamer who wishes to give back to society.
The excerpt is from ‘Wings to Fly: Nurturing Dreams to Come True’ (published by Notion Press).