Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA / Houston (Texas), USA :
SALMAN SAYYED may have summed up his life in a less-than-three-minute video but there could be a film on him, the 25-year-old jokes. A pavement dweller from Mumbai who now aims to become entrepreneur in social tourism, Sayyed’s video went viral on social media platforms on Saturday, tracing a young boy’s journey from Haji Ali traffic signal in central Mumbai to Houston, in Texas, where he is now pursuing a course in Business Studies.
“I am surprised the video went viral while I slept in the US,” Sayyed said, jokingly, from Texas on Saturday. Born on a footpath in Haji Ali area, Sayyed dropped out of school to support his family, comprising his parents, a sister with three children, her husband and a grandmother. While his mother worked as ragpicker, his father did odd jobs, and Sayyed sold second-hand books near Haji Ali signal.
“I would ask customers to explain words in the books I sold. My father had taught me basic alphabets,” he told The Sunday Express. When he was about 14, a volunteer from the NGO Akanksha Foundation, which provides aid in education, met him. “They were doing some survey. I spoke a little English, and they were impressed.”
Soon, Sayyed was coaxed to join the NGO, and study. For the next few months, he would wake up early to attend classes. In afternoon, he sold books, and spent the evenings playing. He quit after a few months — “they all spoke English. I didn’t feel comfortable.”
He does not remember his age at the time but one day, while selling books at Haji Ali signal, he wondered, “For how long will I sell books?” That was the “turning point”. He approached the NGO volunteers again and started studying. After failing in his first attempt in Class X Board examination in 2011, he reappeared the next year, and cleared it. In Class XI, funded by the NGO, he scored 91 per cent, following it up with 89 per cent in Class XII Boards.
He went on to pursue undergraduation in Sociology and worked as tour guide with Magic Tours of India alongside.
From the footpath his family moved to Kalyan, on the outskirts of Mumbai, and rented a small flat — his mother now works as a domestic help, and father photographs tourists at Haji Ali.
Last year, Sayyed came across a course under Community College Initiative, where he could study for 10 months in Houston’s Community College. He applied, and got through. “I am no different than anyone. Most of us are stuck at crossroads.. Today I want to help others like me,” he says in his video.
Ram Subramanian, former advertising professional and filmmaker who made the video on Sayyed, said even he was surprised when the video went viral from his Facebook page. “When I met him, we walked from my Khar office to home in Bandra. I realised he is very knowledgeable for his age. It is not academic knowledge — life has taught him a lot,” Subramanian, founder-director of Handloom Picture Company, said.
Sayyed has experienced the floods in Texas, joking that it is no different than Mumbai’s monsoon. The 25-year-old said several volunteers were “after my life, waking me up early morning to study”, and he now realises the importance of having that persuasion in life by an external force. Who does he think is happier, the rich or the poor. “The poor,” he replied. “We have nowhere to rush to. They (rich people) are always rushing, working.”
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> India / by Express News Service, Mumbai / December 17th, 2017