My Successful Dad’s Unsuccessful Professional Career

The story of an IITian dad unlike any other.

This past Father’s Day, I thought a lot about my late father, what he accomplished in his life, what he didn’t, and which parts mattered. I concluded, based on my single data point, that success as a dad and success as a professional don’t have to be related. I remember my dad as an incredible human being, a fun dude to hang out with, a brilliant mind, and a successful father. Someone who left this world too soon. At the same time, by most measures, and despite being a top ranked engineer at a top IIT, he wouldn’t be considered a professional success.

Success can be the perception you have about your journey, or it can be the perception others have about yours. I can’t honestly speak to how he saw his own life success; in this note I define success as how I perceived him then, and how I remember him now.

We hear certain kinds of success stories about graduates of IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) — Unicorn founders, CEOs, etc. but not enough about other kinds — the kind that is kin…