Arjun, 31, once a steady bank employee with honest values, lost everything over a minor software glitch he didn’t cause. The bank dismissed him without inquiry, and with it, his routine, reputation, and peace vanished. His family never blamed him, but the silent disappointment was louder than words.
Determined to rebuild, Arjun used his savings to learn software — Java, SQL, SAP — but his stammer and shattered confidence made interviews painful failures. People whispered he had bad luck. He started to believe them.
One evening, broken and aimless, he met an old man in a park who said, “The tallest bamboo grows underground for five years. In the sixth, it shoots up 80 feet. Why? It was building roots.”
Something shifted in Arjun. He stopped chasing jobs and began volunteering at an NGO teaching computer skills to kids. There, he regained what he had lost — confidence, voice, and purpose. A referral led him to a junior tester role at a small tech firm.
He stammered through the interview — but didn’t quit. He was hired.
With time, Arjun grew. Skills sharpened, fears faded. His family smiled again. Two years later, he led a team — and one day, walking past that same park, he saw a boy sitting alone.
“You look lost,” Arjun said, smiling.
“Maybe I am,” the boy replied.
Arjun sat beside him — ready to listen, and to share.
Because now he knew: life may bend you, but it’s only preparing your roots.
