India
Many of his cousins too have undergone the test to make their own living in a unfamiliar place.
Updated : Jul 25, 2016, 11:23 AM IST
Surat based billionaire Savji Dholakia recently made headlines after his son Dhravya tried to make a living for a month with only bare necessities in Kerala.
From finding it difficult to get a roof over his head to living on a one-meal a day, Dhravya Dholakia describes his experience to NDTV.
With only Rs 7,000 as emergency cash, only three sets of clothes, language barrier, the 21-year-old business management student said that it was only on the sixth day that he got a job at a bakery store.
He had to find a new job every week which made his job to make a living even harder.
He managed to work at Adidas only for day, learning that he was not cut out for the job. He later got a job at a small call centre but the earning could hardly help him obtain one meal a day.
He also worked at McDonalds for Rs 30 an hour.
Dhravya says the experience enriched him as he realised to have empathy for people and not judge people instantly. " Because of this I will remember how it feels to be rejected and dejected. I will be a more considerate person," he says. He also says he liked collecting shoes but is now happy to give it to people who need it more.
He now feels more capable of facing difficulties in life. ". I also feel much more confident about tackling adversity in life. I have a feeling that even when times are difficult, I'll be able to make it," he adds.
He says he was touched by the genuine compassion of people who helped him during his test, giving the instance of a photocopier guy who did not charge him and a security guard who offered him food and shelter when he did not have a job.
Dhravya says that the 'test' to earn one's own living in an unfamiliar place is a tradition in the family and he was not anxious about it as his cousins had undergone the experience before him.
The idea behind the test, he adds, is to have an experience which helps them understand the value of money and struggles of the common people.