128) The Chartered Accountant

Petchi first heard this while in school, as her teacher addressed the class, “If you can stand next to a CA, consider it a blessing”. This girl from the hamlet raised her hand for clarification and to which the teacher replied,” It is an extremely tough course to clear”.

Petchi Thyagarajan grew in Madurai and her parents were vegetable vendors. It is as tough a vocation as any, come rain or summer her father would make rounds in the neighbourhood on his tricycle shouting his wares. An extremely vulnerable likelihood and if you don’t sell for the day, you go hungry the next.

This girl is now 27 and a chartered accountant with Deloitte. She explains,” Whenever anyone says something is tough, I have to crack it. Otherwise I can’t sleep well”. She pulled out a copy of a magazine that showed her receiving a prize at the annual chartered accountant’s conference. Only last year, she attended the conference for the first time and listened to all the big guns in the profession. She was determined to present a paper for the next conference and there was a hitch; her grasp on English was poor.

At the next conference, her paper,” How to audit under computerized environment” won the prize for the best paper. So, when she says,” I can crack anything you describe tough”, then it’s worth a listen.

She reminiscences; at school her elder brother dropped out and he alternatively bullied and coaxed her to study. Her father was none too concerned about her studies but her amma’s last words were,” never give up on your studies”. I see her getting a bit emotional as she narrates as how her mother grappled with cancer and passed away even she was in her XII standard.

The next hurdle was to get admission into a college. Petchi had all the marks for admission but the principal dilly dallied. He was not convinced about whether they could afford the course as each semester would cost over Rs.10,000. Her brother and father went the Principal’s room and assured, “We will suffer, but we’ll pay her fees”.

The day after her B.Com exams, she reported to a local audit firm and started her preparations for CA exams. Her tutor Mr. Seshadri was so impressed with her grasping prowess that he took free classes. He then recommended her to his friend’s firm in Chennai which had better coaching facilities.

Petchi spent three years in the big city and those were times when she worked during the day at office and prepared for her exams in the night. She would prop the mattress against the wall so that she wouldn’t drop into it after a tiring day. She battled typhoid in a new city and no one to comfort her.

Those were days of struggle and they have paid off.

Petchi says, “I have not heard of Deloitte when I came to Madras. In fact I couldn’t even pronounce it right”. Today her calling card reads: Assistant Manager, Taxation, Deloitte.

Petchi advises in her won characteristic style,” CA is not difficult. One has to keep telling oneself that they can do it. I am more scared of T. nagar traffic”, she adds jovially.