From Undavelly to ISRO

My parents cannot read or write. They cannot even sign their own names.

Yet their support helped me reach places that once seemed far beyond our circumstances.

My father is a daily wage worker. My mother, too, has worked hard as a daily wage earner. I grew up in a family with very little money, but with parents who stood behind my education even though they had never received an education themselves.

Today, when I introduce myself as a scientist at ISRO, I carry their story with mine.

To understand my journey, I have to begin with them.

Before I understood computers, examinations, or careers, I understood that my parents worked hard to support our family.

Growing up with financial difficulties meant that education mattered deeply. Every step forward depended on effort – my effort in studying and my parents’ effort in making it possible for me to continue.

They could not help me read a textbook or explain a difficult lesson. But they encouraged me to study and supported my aspirations.

Looking back, I recognise how much that support meant. They were helping me enter a world they had never had the opportunity to experience themselves.

My education began at school. My understanding of perseverance began at home.

My school journey began at Zilla Parishad High School in Undavelly.

Whenever I look back at the path that eventually brought me to ISRO, this is where I return: to my beginnings as a schoolboy, with much still to learn and no clear picture of where life would take me.

There was no complete plan connecting school to a career in space research. That path emerged gradually, through studies, choices, opportunities, and setbacks.

Undavelly remains an important part of who I am. Whatever came later began with those early steps.

After school, I went to Tirupati to pursue my diploma in Computer Engineering (DCME) at Sri Venkateswara University.

It was the next major step in my education and the beginning of a more focused journey into computers and technology.

The diploma gave me a foundation on which I could build. It also opened the way to the next possibility: studying engineering.

For a student from my background, continuing from one stage of education to another carried real significance. Each stage brought me further into a field that would eventually become my profession.

From Undavelly to Tirupati, my world was growing.

My journey continued at Vasavi College of Engineering, affiliated with Osmania University, where I pursued a B.E. in Computer Science and Engineering.

Reaching engineering college was an important milestone. But as campus placements approached, I faced a difficulty that my technical studies alone could not solve: communicating confidently in English.

I struggled to express myself during the placement process. I had worked hard to reach this stage, yet language stood between me and the opportunities I was trying to secure.

That period was difficult. Getting a job mattered greatly to me and to my family, and every unsuccessful attempt made the uncertainty harder to carry.

I had to keep working on my communication while continuing to prepare for opportunities. Progress took effort, and confidence did not come all at once.

Still, I kept trying.

Eventually, I secured an opportunity at Way2SMS with a salary of ₹8,000 per month.

After struggling through placements, that first offer meant a great deal to me. I had finally crossed a barrier that had begun to feel difficult to overcome.

The amount was modest, but the opportunity was important. It gave me a starting point and a reason to feel more confident about what might come next.

When I tell my story today, I want this first offer to remain part of it.

It belongs in the journey just as much as the larger opportunities that followed.

About a week later, another opportunity came: an Android developer role at Bonavena R&D, offering ₹18,000 per month.

Then, about a month later, I secured a placement at Teradata R&D in Hyderabad, with an annual package of ₹8 lakh.

Within a short period, my circumstances had changed considerably.

The student who had struggled to get through campus placements because of an English-language barrier now had an opportunity to begin a career at Teradata.

Those offers remain memorable because I know the uncertainty that came before them.

Looking only at the final placement would leave out the hardest part of that chapter – the effort to get the first chance.

I began working as a Software Engineer at Teradata R&D in Hyderabad.

While working there, I applied for the ISRO Centralised Recruitment Board examination.

Preparing for another competitive selection process alongside a job brought a new challenge. I had reached an important milestone in my career, and now I was working towards another opportunity whose outcome was uncertain.

In my first attempt, I missed the interview shortlist by about three marks.

Three marks was a small difference with a very real consequence: I would not move to the next stage.

It was disappointing to come so close. But that attempt also showed me that selection was within reach, even though it would require more preparation.

I decided to try again.

In my second attempt, there were only nine posts.

Knowing how limited the vacancies were made the challenge clear. I had already experienced missing the shortlist, and there was no guarantee that trying again would end differently.

I put all my effort into preparing.

This time, I cleared the written stage and was shortlisted for the interview. The stage I had missed in my first attempt was now an opportunity in front of me.

I went through the interview process.

Then came the result: All India Rank 4.

After the placement struggles, the first unsuccessful ISRO attempt, and the effort of preparing again, I had finally been selected.

In 2018, I joined ISRO in Bengaluru as a Scientist.

I was happy. My family was happy. The people who had supported me shared in that happiness.

For my parents, whose daily wage work had helped sustain my education, this was a particularly meaningful moment. Their son’s journey had taken him from school in Undavelly to a position at ISRO.

When I think about that achievement, I also think about all the stages that made it possible: my schooling, my diploma, engineering college, the difficult placement period, my first offer, Teradata, and the examination I had to attempt again.

Every stage belongs in the story.

And through all of them, my parents’ support remained.

Joining ISRO opened a new chapter in my life, with new responsibilities, learning, and opportunities to contribute.

There is much more I want to share: the people who helped me, the happy moments, the disappointments, and the experiences that changed how I understood myself.

Some of those memories are easy to celebrate. Others need more time and care to tell.

I want this page to hold both.

If someone facing financial hardship or struggling to express themselves in English reads my journey, I hope they find encouragement here. I know how difficult it can feel when the opportunity you want seems just beyond your reach.

My own path took several steps and more than one attempt.

Whenever I look back, I return to the same beginning: two hardworking parents, with no formal education, who supported their son’s chance to learn.

This is my journey, and theirs too.