Stressing the dignity of labour, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday told a conference of state education ministers in New Delhi that she had washed utensils 15 years ago at a hotel in Mumbai.
However, she is not alone. Firstpost brings you a list of celebrities, sports persons and politicians in India who slogged and made it to the top.
Here are some of the inspiring stories.
1. Mamata Banerjee: The first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee’s rise to power was not an easy one. She was born in Calcutta to a lower-middle class family. Interested in politics from a young age, Banerjee joined the Congress in the 1970s. An NDTVreport says, “From the unknown worker pasting anti-CPM posters to General Secretary of the Congress’ youth wing, Banerjee had a meteoric rise in the Congress. She first contested elections in 1984.” Later in 1997 she broke away from the Congress and started her own party – the Trinamool Congress. Despite her rise to fame Banerjee still lives an austere life and is only seen in cotton sarees and rubber chappals.
2. Rajinikanth: Born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, the actor had to see much struggle during his initial years an an actor. The Indian Express reports, “At the start of his career, he took up a number of odd jobs including being a carpenter and a coolie. He was later employed by Bangalore Transport Service (BTS), where he worked as a bus conductor.” He also used to take part in many stage plays where he was noticed by Tamil film director K Balachander, and the rest, as goes the popular saying, is history.
3. Irfan and Yusuf Pathan: The brothers were born to a poor family and grew up in a mosque in Vadodara, Gujarat. Their father was a muezzin (the person appointed at a mosque to lead, and recite the call to prayer). While Irfan made his debut for India in the 2003/04 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Yusuf made his debut in first-class cricket in 2001/02. Irfan Pathan’s father Mehboob Khan was once quoted in an interview as saying, “In India, even the sons of billionaires play cricket, but they don’t get into the national team. What did I have? Nothing but a broom. Destiny is rewarding me.”
4. Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Before starring in critically acclaimed films like Gangs of Wasseypur and Kahaani, and also bagging a national award for his role in Talaash, Siddiqui had worked as a watchman and a chemist. He was born to a farmer in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhudana village. Here’s how Tehelka put his transition in short, “His earliest memories are of waking up at 4 am to help his father on the farm before going to school. He studied science in college and briefly worked as a chemist in a petrochemical company. The boredom of the job brought him to Delhi where he drifted towards theatre, obsessively watching plays for a year and sustaining himself as a watchman in an office.”
5. MC Mary Kom: The first Indian woman boxer to win a medal in the Olympics, Mary grew up helping raise her siblings and farming apart from studying and playing sports. Reader’s Digest in a story about the boxer says, “Inspired by Manipuri boxer Dingko Singh’s gold at the 1998 Asian Games, Mary Kom moved to Imphal, the Manipur capital, to train in athletics. Dressed in torn, shabby clothes, the teenager approached coach K Kosana Meitei at the Sports Authority of India there and asked to be given a chance.” Now she is a celebrity with a film that was based on her life.
