Fear of failure drove farmer’s son to ace CA
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Third-rank holder M. Gnana Sampath of Pogalur near Coimbatore and his roommate Nagasabarish of Pollachi cleared the CA final exam in the first attempt.
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Ever since he got to know that he cleared the chartered accountancy finals in the first attempt, 23 -year-old M. Gnana Sampath has been itching to go home.
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“I can’t wait for my people to say, ‘auditor vandhaachu,’” says the all-India third-rank holder who hails from Pogalur near Coimbatore.
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“There are barely three or four graduates there. My parents do not even know what a CA is. But that is the place that taught me to take education seriously,” he says.
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“At a very young age, I was sent to Ellapalyam where my grandparents live, because at Pogular I had to walk up to 3 km and then travel by bus for an hour to reach school,” he says.
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Gnana Sampath hails from an agricultural family and says his father wished for him to study so he wouldn’t have to depend of farming.
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“We were completely dependent on well irrigation. A few years ago, when the fields dried up, our life collapsed. We have been living on my father’s savings since then,” he says.
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Last week, when Gnana Sampath told his parents he scored 593 marks and secured a national rank, his mother had one thing to say, “Don’t roam around much on a bike. There is too much traffic in Chennai.”
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“My parents have barely studied up to class VIII, but my uncle, a B.Com graduate, was an accountant with the RBI. He was my hero. Though I was interested in science, I chose the commerce stream to break the circle of poverty,” he says.
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Gnana Sampath pursued B.Com at PSG College of Arts in Coimbatore. “Everybody there wore good clothes and spoke great English. I was extremely shy for the first couple of years. But later, I learnt to mingle,” says the student who has already cleared Cost and Works Accountancy. He underwent a rigorous schedule when he moved to a mansion in Chennai a few years ago.
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“I tried to manage with as little money as possible because I was dependent on my father. I got Rs. 7,000 as stipend but that was not enough in a city like Chennai,” he says. The day began as early as 6 a.m. with classes, after which he would spend all day at ICAI in Nungambakkam preparing, and then go to evening classes.
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His room has just the bare essentials and the TV is plugged off. “Fear of failure kept me focussed. I didn’t want to spend more money. It is time I gave my parents some relief,” he says.
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His peers speak highly of him. “He is very dedicated. Even in class, when asked a question, he would wait for others to answer. When everybody gave up, he would softly give out the right answer,” says his roommate Nagasabarish who hails from Pollachi.
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Gnana Sampath is also an inspiration for him, he says. “It is by looking at him and learning from him that I cleared my CA finals in the first go this year,” Nagasabarish says.
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https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/fear-of-failure-drove-farmers-son-to-ace-ca/article4354640.ece
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