Bengaluru: K Shaji from Kerala is a professor of English and Physics. For 28 long years, he had led his life tutoring and shaping the lives of his pupils. 

But all thanks to the onset of pandemic, his life became topsy-turvy earlier this year.  

As the lockdown was imposed, schools were shut and there was a severe blow on his income. 

That is when he decided to do something different and more productive. 

He has converted a porch in his house into a store and been sustaining himself, reports the Indian Express. 

The website quoted him as saying, “I am the principal and owner of Gurukulam parallel college in Koduvally. When the educational institutions downed their shutters in March, I first thought it would be for a brief period. But sitting idle for five months gave me the insight that this was going to be a prolonged ordeal. I explored other ways and decided to start retail selling of maxi dresses, which are procured at wholesale rate”. 

His friends were very helpful and bought items from him. 

The website adds, “My friends and local residents were the first buyers as they wanted to support me. Later, I added a few other items such as soap, sanitiser and detergent. Now, I am able to manage somehow.”

The professor further notes that every cloud has a silver lining.

He adds, “There are a number of persons like me whose livelihood was snatched away by the pandemic overnight. But I want to tell the entire world that hope exists in any adverse situation and we should strive to find it out.”  

Shaji now stands as an inspiration to many who have faced hard times during the ongoing pandemic. 

It is these people who show us how to convert adversities into opportunities and lead lives in an inspirational matter.