Inspiring Story Of A Lorry Driver’s Son Who Lost Both His Legs, Yet Graduated From IIT-Madras And Joined Google

Nothing is impossible if you have a dedication and will power. This thing has been once again proved by Naga Naresh Karutura, son of a Lorry Driver who lost both his legs, yet graduated from IIT Madras in Computer Science and has joined a very reputed company called Google in Bangalore. Yes, this is not a fairy tale.

Naga Naresh, Who Lost Both His Legs In An Accident, Yet Graduated From IIT-Madras And Joined Google

Naresh Karutura was born to a poor family and both his parents are illiterate. Naresh lost his legs as a child and moves around on a wheelchair.  But still, he didn’t lose his hope. It was the hope against hope. Ever smiling, optimistic and full of spirit; that is Naresh. He says, “God has always been planning things for me. That is why I feel I am lucky.” Read why Naresh feels he is lucky.

Early Life:

Naresh was born and brought up in a village called ‘Teeparru’ in Andhra Pradesh. His father was a lorry driver and his mother was a housewife. He had one sister named Sirisha. In the year 1993 during Sankranti holidays, he fell off from a lorry and lost both his legs. Naresh remembers how the accident had happened right in front of a big private hospital and how they refused to treat him, saying it was an accident case. Then a police constable who was passing by took him to a government hospital. Naresh says, “I remember waking up and asking my mother, where are my legs? I also remember that my mother cried when I asked the question.”

Naresh doesn’t believe in self-pity and says that his life didn’t change dramatically after he lost his legs. His parents shifted from their village to a town Tanuku and admitted him in a Missionary school for higher secondary education. He studied there till the tenth standard. Naresh says, “I had a normal childhood and was a happy boy. I competed with others to be on top and the others also looked at me as a competitor. I made great friends who always treated me as their equal. My sister carried me in the school for a few years and after a while, my friends took over the task. When I got the tricycle, my sister used to push me around in the school.” Naresh did his 10th Class getting top position.

Inspiration

I was inspired by two people when in school; my Maths teacher Pramod Lal who encouraged me to participate in various local talent tests, and a brilliant boy called Chowdhary, who was my senior. When I came to know that he had joined Gowtham Junior College to prepare for IIT-JEE, it became my dream too. I joined the college and moved to a residential School. There, my inspiration was a boy called K K S Bhaskar who was in the top 10 in IIT-JEE exams. He used to come to our school to encourage us. Though my parents didn’t know anything about IIT, they always saw to it that I was encouraged in whatever I wanted to do. They are such wonderful supportive parents.

Naresh cracked the IIT-JEE with an All India Rank of 992 and was ranked 4th in the physically handicapped category. He then got admission to IIT Chennai.

Naga Naresh

Life at IIT- Madras:

His life in IIT Madras was filled with pleasant surprises. He received support from total strangers without asking for it. He once met a man called Sundar in the train, who, moved by his story, took care of his hostel fees. The hospital which treated him during his childhood helped him with his college fees. His department in IIT arranged a lift and ramps for him to move freely. His dean, Prof Idichandy and the Students General Secretary, Prasad helped him buy a powered wheelchair. “The world is full of good people”, he says with a smile.

Naresh says, “I evolved as a person in these four years, both academically and personally. It has been a great experience studying here. The people I was interacting with were so brilliant that I felt privileged to sit along with them in the class. Just by speaking to my lab mates, I gained a lot.”

Joining Google:

Always excelling in his studies and brimming with positivism, he got job offers from Morgan Stanley and Google. “I did not want to pursue Ph.D. as I wanted my parents to take rest now. Morgan Stanley selected me first, but I preferred Google because I wanted to work in pure computer science, algorithms and game theory,” Naresh says.

If you have immortal passion, indomitable will, limitless dreams and innocent thoughts, nothing is inaccessible in this Physical world. An inspiration to many, Naga Naresh makes everyone proud and proves how with the power of will, nothing is unattainable. We wish Naresh the very best in his life and career.

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