Born to a lorry driver, lost both legs in an accident, yet graduated from IIT to join Google
Both his parents were illiterates. His father was a lorry driver and his mother was a house wife. He lost his legs as a child and moves around on a wheel chair. An inspiration to many, Naga Naresh Karutura graduated as a Computer Science engineer from IIT Madras, and today works for Google.
Naresh was born and brought up in a village called Teeparru on the banks of river Godhavari in Andhra Pradesh. In the year 1993 during Sankranti holidays, he fell off from a lorry and lost both his legs. Naresh remembers how the accident had happened right in front of a big private hospital and how they refused to treat him. A police constable who was passing by took them to a government hospital.
According to Battakiran’s blog, Naresh doesn’t believe in self pity, and says that his life did’t change dramatically after he lost his legs. He had a normal childhood. He made good friends and had fun. Although a brilliant student, there was a time when he might had to discontinue his education. But fate was on his side. His parents moved shifted from their village to a town Tanuku, and admitted him in a Missionary school for higher secondary education. He made great friends who always treated him as their equal. He cracked the IIT JEE with an All India Rank of 992 and was ranked 4th in the physically handicapped category.
His life in IIT Madras was filled with pleasant surprises. He received support from total strangers without asking for it. He once met a man called Sundar in the train, who, moved by his story, took care of his hostel fees. The hospital which treated him during his childhood helped him with his college fees. His department in IIT arranged lift and ramps for him to move freely. His dean, Prof Idichandy and the Students General Secretary, Prasad helped him buy a powered wheel chair. “The world is full of good people”, he says with a smile.
Always excelling in his studies and brimming with positivism, he got job offers from Morgan Stanley and Google. His interest lay in pure computer science, algorithms and game theory; and hence he chose to work with Google. Today he makes everyone proud and proves how with the power of will, nothing is unattainable. We wish Naresh the very best in his life and career.