From sleeping on the footpath to finally qualifying as a Chartered accountant: How true Love helped this CA overcome every difficulty

• Hi, I am Parwez Shelat and I became a qualified chartered accountant after facing a lot of failures and handling numerous responsibilities.
• Due to my continued hard work, I cleared CPT and IPCC on 1^st attempt. Even my articleship went on smoothly. However, three months before my CA Final exam I fell in love with a girl, and unfortunately, I failed my CA Final exam.
• To make the situation even worse my family did not approve of our relationship and I had to move out of my parent’s house.
• I had to face a lot of challenges be it educational, financial, or personal yet I was able to survive. In the end, I ultimately became a CA and even got engaged to the love of my life.  It was certainly a miracle.

CPT & IPCC Journey

I was born into a very poor family in Botad, Gujarat. To pursue my Chartered Accountancy (CA) I moved to Ahmedabad.

CPT (1st level CA exam) and IPCC (2nd level CA) were easy. I cleared it all on the 1st attempt. Life was good. My articleship went on smoothly as well. However three months before my CA Final exam, I fell in love with Sumaiya.

Challenges throughout CA Final Journey and My Love Life 

I never sacrificed my studies and continued my preparation for CA Final with dedication. As fate could be, I failed my CA Final exam. I anyway had immense financial responsibilities to my family hence this failure created a lot of pressure. To add to the problems, my parents got to know Sumaiya.

Coming from a conservative family, our families did not approve of our relationship. In our community, we are ‘not permitted’ to have love marriages. We were forced to go our separate ways. At the same time, my father also told me to fend for myself and manage my own life.

Somehow I got a job and managed my expenses. I continued pursuing CA Final and I kept failing. It was getting very difficult and depressing. The girl I loved was getting blamed for my failure, she was being accused by society for ‘Being Bold’ and falling in love. Due to this she wasn’t even getting any marriage proposals from anyone else.

Finally became a CA & got engaged

One day, Gaurav Jain my supervisor at work (Kotak Bank) realized I was going through a rough phase. He was a CA himself. He sat me down, spoke to me, and motivated me to keep pushing and pursuing CA. He advised me to leave this job and give 100% to my studies. I am forever grateful to him. His support gave me strength.

However, leaving my job meant no income. I somehow mustered the courage and requested my dad to help me financially. He obliged and I moved back to my native place. My family accepted me and things got normal. I got busy with my studies. Sumaiya and I were out of touch.

One day she called me and told me that her parents have agreed about us. I spoke to my dad and miraculously my family agreed as well. We got engaged quickly. In the meantime, I gave my exam and cleared only CA Final Group 1 (CA final has 2 groups, Group 1 and Group 2).

My family was going through severe financial issues. I had to work now. I moved again to Ahmedabad, India. There were days when I did not even have Rs 40 on me for my dormitory expenses, I used to sleep on the footpath. In spite of all this, I was still hopeful. I gave my Group 2 exams and cleared this time. I finally became a CA.

Today I am working and doing well, however, there were days when I couldn’t even take Sumaiya out for a coffee as I had no money. But she still stood by me and supported me patiently. I always tell everyone – Have hope, Have faith, and Be patient.