“I came to Hyderabad from Kadapa 22 years ago. Back home, my parents were into farming, but the situation was very dull. I had just finished my 10th class and wanted to study ITI, but life didn’t work out that way. When the house is struggling, you don’t always get to follow your heart; you just find work.

For seven years, I was a driver for a family here. They were good people—they treated me like a son, not an employee. They even took the responsibility of my marriage. Around that time, my brother also moved to Sharjah for work. Seeing everyone in the family fighting to move forward gave me the strength to think bigger.

My wife is from Narayanpet. Coming from Rayalaseema, our Telugu was totally different. In the beginning, we actually had trouble understanding each other’s dialects! It took time, but we built a life by bridging those differences.

The turning point was when I decided I couldn’t stay behind the wheel forever. I knew I had to take a risk to grow. I joined an optical shop as a salesman and started from zero. I cleaned the shop, wiped the glass, and learned everything about how frames come from Mumbai and Delhi. I didn’t just work there; I studied how the business runs.

Eventually, everything came full circle. Through years of hard work and the trust I built, I bought the business. Today, I am the owner of Eyekart Optical. I went from the guy cleaning the display cases to the man who owns the store.

I’ve watched Hyderabad change since 2004. Back then, it was a quiet city of 70 lakhs; today, it’s a sea of over a crore and a half people. The city has grown massive, but its heart is still the same. If you give this place your 100% focus, it will take care of you. I arrived here with nothing but a 10th-grade certificate, and today, I have my own identity.”

• Gangadhar