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Superheros are not born – they are made!

D Anila Jyothi Reddy: A journey from farm labourer to IT firm’s CEO

“खुद को कर बुलंद इतना की, हर तकदीर से पहले,
      खुदा बन्दे से खुद पूछे, बता तेरी रजा क्या है.     “
(Elevate yourself so high that even God, before issuing every decree of destiny, should ask you: Tell me, what is your intent)
Dear Readers,
Superheros are not born – they are made! |_2.1
All of you fall into a situation of ‘If’ many times in your life. This ‘If’ leads many to failures. But it is not necessary that ‘If’ will lead to failure always, ‘If’ can lead you to success also. And this difference between failure or success due to ‘If’ depends only on your approach on how do you take this ‘If’ in your life. 
Being students you fail many times in the examination and you feel that you could not do because you do not get time to study, your surroundings are not supportive, If you could have a better primary education you could crack the exams easily right now, If you had good financial condition then you could do many a things and many more ‘If’s’ come in life. But speaking is easy and doing is difficult. And those who take this ‘If’ positively and work for it become finally successful. Every successful person has many ‘If’s’ in their life. So, we are starting this “If..? – that creates winners” series. Today we are going to discuss about the story of a lady who turned herself from a farm labourer to the CEO of a US IT Firm!

Escaped from the orphanage even though she had her father alive, from working in the farm fields of Warangal, where she used to earn Rs 5 per day, to become the CEO of Key Software Solutions in US, it has been a long journey for D Anila Jyothi Reddy.

Her life journey can be briefed as;

” poor => orphanage (though father was alive) => farm labourer => Typist => Tailor => Librarian =>  special teacher => sell sarees in the train => child development officer => US IT Company CEO “

The story of the charismatic entrepreneur who employs 63 people is as dramatic as that of a Bollywood movie. “I never feel shy about speaking of my background, though some of the experiences were unpleasant and hurtful,” said Reddy, when she took part in the International Women’s Day celebrations being held at the UGC Academic Staff College, Andhra University.
Superheros are not born – they are made! |_3.1Reddy was the second of five siblings of an extremely poor family. So poor that Jyothi was put in an orphanage so that she could get some education after she lost her mother early in life. She passed Class X in first division but extreme poverty forced her to discontinue studies and work in the fields.
When she was 16, Reddy was forcibly married off to a distant cousin and in the next two years she had two children. But Jyothi was not a person who scarifies with the situation. Tired of living in poverty and desirous of giving her children a good life, Reddy kept trying for various jobs. In 1988, she joined as adult education teacher at a remuneration of Rs 120 a month. She tells “In those days, Rs 120 was a lot of money for me. I could at least buy fruit and milk for my children. Next, I worked as a National Service Volunteer for Rs 200 a month“.

“You don’t get frightened of these furious, violent winds,
Oh Eagle!  These blow only to make you fly higher.”



You too may feel sometimes that situations are not favorable to you. You feel qualifying an examination is like chewing iron grams. But, the way you feel and the way you act for that makes you different from others. Nothings and no-one else can divert you from your track if you are determined to get a good life. You cannot live on yours parents identity, your parent’s money always. This is the time when you need to struggle  and you need to make your own. Some people are there who make everything for the time span of max 80-90 years i.e. their life span, but  some are such who leave their watermark for ever. Work to become the 2nd sort of person.

Mrs. Reddy doesn’t hesitate to explain her life story –
“Despite my husband’s disapproval, I moved out of the village, Mailaran, with my children and went to Hanamkonda town. I joined a typing institute, did a craft course and earned Rs 20-25 daily by stitching clothes at Re 1 per piece. I also got a job as the librarian at Janasikshana Nilayam and joined an open school where I would go every Sunday to continue my studies



Superheros are not born – they are made! |_4.1Her story itself depicts that it is not necessary that you remain in the same profession always. If you need to do different you may need to be dynamic. If you graduated with Bachelor of Arts, Science, Technology or any other stream, it does not mean that you need to stick to that stream even if you are not getting interest in that now.



If you feel at a later stage in your life that you can do better if you were something else, then give it a try! Why to be adamant? Even Earth is not adamant! 

If you want to be a banker give it a try, if you want to qualify SSC give it a try, if you want to be something else give it a time! 




“In 1992, I got an 18-month job as a special teacher at Ameenpet, 70 km from Warangal. The journey would cost me more than my salary. I used to sell sarees in the train every day to earn the extra money. Finally I got a regular job in 1994 at a monthly salary of Rs 2,750. I worked as mandal girl child development officer and would inspect the schools,” she said.



The ambitious woman was not satisfied with earning just enough to bring up her two children. When she saw her cousin, who had come down from the US to Warangal in 1998, she wondered about the differences in their lifestyle and felt that she could learn software courses like her cousin and try to better her fortunes in the US.


Her next step was to learn software from VCL Computers in Hyderabad. She took a long leave from the office, got her passport and H1 visa ready and in 2000 and she went to US, where her husband’s distant cousin was residing.

Initially in US, she got a job in a shop earning $60 for a 12-hour job. Then she had a lot of struggle there but she managed anyhow to join as a software recruiter in US. Though she wasn’t fluent in English she overcame all challenges and gradually started her own company.
Superheros are not born – they are made! |_5.1
With her children, who are now engineering graduates, married and settled in the US, Reddy wants to focus on her dream project which is providing placement and training to 1,000 youth and to start a school that has classes from LKG to PG. Reddy, who is associated with numerous charitable projects, is also an ardent advocate of orphans’ rights.

A book on the life of Mrs. D Anila Jyothi Reddy “Aina Nenu Odipoledu (I haven’t been defeated)” is also released on March 10 this year.
A nice saying by Mrs. D Anila Jyothi Reddy specially for the female candidates – 

“I want to tell women to be economically independent and take their own decisions instead of depending on their fathers, husbands and sons at various stages in life. They keep educational degrees as mere certificates and stop working after marriage unlike in the US. Be the master of your fate and remember, taking care of children is part of life, but not a life” 
Superheros are not born – they are made! |_6.1
Students, What did you learn from the life story of  Mrs. D Anila Jyothi Reddy? 
I learnt, 

“You are the creator of your own destiny! If a LADY Farm Laborer from a small Village in India – ALONE can become the owner of an IT Firm in US, then anyone can become what he/she desires. You just should have the COURAGE!”



All The Best!

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