“I am a proud vegetable vendors’ daughter,” Madhu Priya wrote on social media soon after getting her first promotion, while recalling all the sacrifices her parents had made to educate her and bring her to this level. For the 28-year-old, who always dreamt about making it big in the corporate world, the parents’ relentless support is all that she needed. They didn’t earn much but never gave their daughter a hint of their struggles.

“Since vegetables have a short shelf life, parents could never take an off for any reason. If we had to go to any family functions, my father would sit in the shop while my mother, my sister, and I attended the function. The shop was open all 365 days giving them no weekends or vacation. They sacrificed their health for our life (Madhu & her sister),” she told Opoyi.

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Madhu recalled how her mother used to always come last for the parent-teacher meetings during her school days and how she would throw tantrums for not showing up on time, without realising the struggles and dilemma of her mother. She knows now.

“I was furious with her. Little did I know why. When I graduated from school, my mom said that she did that so as to not embarrass me in front of my classmates for being a vegetable vendor’s daughter,” Madhu said.

Today, she is an Associate Manager with a US-based IT firm. Not just that, she also has several firsts to her credit.

“I am a first-generation learner, first girl child in the family to have completed a Masters degree, first girl to get placed in an MNC, first working mother in my generation, and the first to get a promotion,” Madhu said proudly, adding that she cannot thank her parents enough for this and says that their happiness is her reward.

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In her post on LinkedIn, she had written an emotional note, dedicating her success to her parents, and also expressing how proud she was being a daughter of a vegetable vendor, who did all to make her achieve her dreams.

Madhu is married today with a daughter. “I am happily married for the past 4 years and have a two and a half year old daughter. My husband and I are both HRs. I am successful in my career and in my personal life, giving my parents enough reasons to be happy and proud of me,” she told Opoyi.

But the road doesn’t end here for Madhu. She wants to “achieve a lot of success and stand tall in society.”

Madhu, who defied all odds and thrived her way to success, is an inspiration to all the women and girls who have aspirations.