Security Guard’s Daughter Becomes CA After 10 Attempts: A Story More Than Just a Professional Milestone
Success is not the end, and failure is not the end either. What matters most is that you keep going and never give up. Heeral Patel, the daughter of a security guard, has proved these lines by clearing the Chartered Accountancy (CA) exams after 10 attempts. She fulfilled a promise made to her late father, Ashok Patel.
Her dream of becoming a CA started long ago, when she scored 99.2 percentile in Class 12th. However, her journey to becoming a CA was not easy. With her father earning only Rs 11,000, it was not possible for her to afford the tuition fee of Rs 28,000. His income was not sufficient to even feed the whole family. Long years ago, feeling demotivated, she called her father, saying that she would give up on her dreams. To which her father replied that he could even sell their house to educate her. “Ja Jee le apni Zindagi, Hiral“, her father said.
When the ICAI CA final results were announced, Hiral stood in front of her late father’s photograph with tears in her eyes. She saluted him and whispered, “I did it, Papa.” Hiral’s journey teaches us that failure is not the end, but a part of the success journey.
Hiral’s father had a small TV repair shop, but due to the LCD screens and the launch of smartphones, he had to shut the shop and work as a security guard at a power company. Hiral also shared that due to her Grandmother’s dementia, she used to study in her father’s shop to avoid the noise at home. But due to the closure of the shop, she started studying at a friend’s house.
She passed the CA intermediate examination in six attempts and took four attempts to clear the final exams. When she failed the exam the first time, her father told her that he would salute her once she became a CA. Sadly, during her CA journey, her father passed away due to a heart attack. This created more challenges for her as her family was struggling financially. However, she never gave up. After the death of Hiral’s father, her elder sister, who holds MSc in horticulture, took the financial responsibility of Hiral’s education. Her family lived in a small 1BHK flat in Krishnanagar, east Ahmedabad.
Hiral completed her articleship under Karim Lakhani, who became her mentor. He enrolled her in a liability and guided her throughout her CA journey. Where many people get tired and quit, Hiral said her mother always encouraged her, saying, ‘Just one more time.’ She said she would not have become a CA without the support of her mother, her sister and her boss, Lakhani.
Her story was not just a career achievement, but it was a tribute to the man who had faith in her when she couldn’t even believe in herself.
Two other stories of Sreekumar P R from Kerala and Mukund Agiwal from Madhya Pradesh are also inspiring the CA aspirants. Sreekumar P R cleared CA exams despite severe locomotor disability that affected his ability to even hold a book. Mukund Agiwal, a 21-year-old from a small town in Madhya Pradesh, secured All India Rank 1.
