Tag: financial struggles

The Stranger Who Changed My Battles


In business and in life, sometimes help comes from the most unexpected places.

Back in 2021, I was caught in a storm. A real estate syndicate blocked me from selling my own house for nearly 18 months. Every attempt failed, and the weight of financial struggle only grew heavier. My pride was bruised, my options shrinking.

And then, this person walked into my life. He had no money, no connections in the city, no reason to fight my battle. Yet, he did.

In just two months, staying in a place where he was a complete outsider, he managed to sell the house. That single act salvaged not only my finances but also my pride. For me, it wasn’t just a transaction—it was liberation.

But the story didn’t end there.

When I built Advaith’s Nest, people laughed at my conviction. “The rent is too high,” they said. “Nobody will pay this much in this neighborhood.” The whispers were everywhere.

But this man believed in me. He didn’t just believe—he executed. He went out, found tenants who trusted the value we demanded, and in doing so, we wrote history for that locality. What everyone thought was “too expensive” became the new normal. The neighborhood had never seen such rentals before, and suddenly, Advaith’s Nest became proof of what was possible.

Looking back, it wasn’t just about the house sale or the tenants. It was about what we proved together—that conviction, backed by the right execution, can rewrite narratives.

Sometimes, it isn’t the crowd that validates your dream. It’s that one person who stands by you, executes when everyone doubts, and changes the script for good.

When Shares Turn into Silent Specters: My Two-Year Battle with KFintech


Some stories are about success. Some are about failure. And some, like mine, fall into an endless limbo — a space where you’re not losing, yet you’re not winning either.

I still remember the excitement of participating in the Reliance Petroleum IPO years ago. It wasn’t just an investment; it felt like owning a tiny piece of a giant vision. Fast forward to 2009: Reliance Petroleum was merged into Reliance Industries, and a swap ratio was announced — for every 16 shares of RPL, one share of RIL would be issued.

Sounds simple enough, right? In a perfect world, yes. But in my world, simplicity turned into a long-winding maze.

At the end of 2008, life threw me off a cliff. I went through a partnership breakup, a personal relationship breakup, and a complete financial turmoil all at once. In that whirlwind of survival, I lost track of my demat investments entirely. Only around 2023 did I finally find the time — and the mental space — to look into these forgotten holdings.

When I checked my demat account years later, I realized those RPL shares were still haunting me, unconverted, unsellable, like a ghost from a forgotten ledger. I couldn’t sell them, couldn’t claim dividends — I couldn’t even move on.

ICICIDirect pointed me to KFintech, the registrar handling these transitions. And that’s where my real journey began — or should I say, where my patience was tested beyond limits.

Email after email, I kept trying. They responded asking for share certificates that never existed in the first place because my holdings were in dematerialized form. When I explained, they requested “additional proof” — statements, transaction records, holding confirmations. I provided everything, each time hoping it would be the last request, each time thinking: This is it, they’ll finally process it.

But like a twisted loop, the replies always circled back to new demands or cryptic statements: “Folio number doesn’t match,” or “Provide a scanned image of the certificate.”

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. And before I knew it, I had spent two years stuck in this bureaucratic labyrinth.

Somewhere along the way, I started questioning — was it my mistake? Did I miss some notification back in 2009? Did my broker fail me? Or is it simply that large systems forget small investors like us?

I don’t just see this as a technical or administrative issue anymore. It’s a test of resilience, a silent war fought through scanned attachments, politely worded follow-ups, and the relentless hope that this time it will work.

Yet, here I am. Two years later. My shares remain ghosts. My case remains “open.” My hope — well, it flickers, but it hasn’t died.

As I write this, I share not only my frustration but also my vulnerability. To all the financial advisors, experienced investors, or kind souls who’ve walked this path before and if you’ve solved such issues or know someone in this domain who can help, your guidance would be deeply appreciated.

I’m not just seeking a resolution. I’m seeking closure for my shares, and for the weary investor within me.