Journey of a Hindi Medium Shekhawati Girl to a Successful CA Practitioner – CA Sonia Sharma
“ DREAMS TRANSFORM INTO THOUGHTS AND THOUGHTS RESULT INTO
ACTION. “
In a typical marwadi family, a girl is brought up with the strong belief that she is going to be
the homemaker only. There are least scope for girls to go outside and fulfill her dream of
working. Thankfully I was fortunate enough that I was born in a family where we were given
the freedom to chase our dreams. And in shekhawati region, CA is considered to be a simple
course because Shekhawati i.e. Jhunjhunu, Sikar is a hub of chartered accountants. The
most number of members of CA fraternity belong to Shekhawati and they are earning name
and fame worldwide. It is said “Gali gali se CA hai yaha.”
Since childhood, my parents and my grandfather motivated me to chase expertise in
whatever I do. They said “Jo bhi karna hai usme strive to be the best….agar jhadu bhi lagani
hai to log bole ki ye sonu ne lagayi dikhti hai.” I was always motivated to perform well as my
mother used to say that professional excellence is the only weapon to chase your dreams in
marwadi family else you will be restricted to the kitchen only like we are. So I always tried to
achieve good in studies.
I was a Hindi medium student till class 10 th . Though a school topper since class U.K.G., I
missed the state level rank in class 10 th . It was a very disappointing moment. Then again I
was motivated by my Grandfather Mr. S.N. Sharma & his brother late Mr. R.N. Sharma to
change the medium of education and shift to English medium as I was willing to pursue
chartered accountancy. I was considered to be the most stupid fellow as after securing 92%
marks in 10 th board I wished to pursue Chartered Accountancy rather than opting for
Medical Science or Engineering. It was the dream of my grandfather that his family should
also have one CA child because in a typical marwadi family like ours, it was like a day
dreaming situation specially for a girl child to pursue CA. I was firm on my decision and
opted commerce stream. For a Hindi medium child, it was very difficult to cope up with
English medium and maintain her previous score also. By the grace of God, I was also
fortunate to chase my target under mentorship of some of the greatest teachers like my
principal Mrs. Bansal, our English teacher Mrs. Snehlata Shekhawat and Mrs. Indu Swami
who kept me boosting up everyday and I must say I owe every small achievement to them
also. Due to their efforts, a hindi medium child like me was able to score 4 th rank in rajasthan
state 12 th commerce board merit. My parents and teachers left no stone unturned to
provide me the comfort zone so that I could chase my dream successfully. It was the first
milestone in my journey of chartered accountancy.
As I always strived to achieve expertise, I pursued B.Com(Honors) in accounting and taxation
and started the journey towards next goal CA in may 2007 by clearing CPT. During the
graduation also, I was considered to be the stupid one as rather than going for civil services,
I was dreaming of becoming a CA. During these days my Kaku Mr. Anil Sharma was the one
who supported me as a friend and always encouraged me to follow my goal. It was my goal
to achieve expertise rather than clearing in 1 st attempt. So I studied hard for graduation also
and secured 8 th rank in university merit list. Then after completion of graduation in 2009,
I was aimed to concentrate fully on CA and started CS also along with studying for CA IPCC. In
June 2012 attempt, my CS degree was completed and then came a halt in this journey.
It took me 3 attempts to clear my CA Final, In may 2012 my 1 st group was cleared, then in
September 2012 I was engaged I felt very depressed as I felt that it is the full stop on my
professional journey and facing the failure was very difficult for me to endure. Again
Almighty helped me as I got full support from my parents specially my mother and maternal
family and my life partner Advocate Abhishek also who supported me in my every decision. I
got married in Feb 2013 and had to appear in CA final exams in May 2013 attempt. The time
was very short and it was almost impossible for me to concentrate on studies in a joint
family of 40 people. So my husband and parents in laws and my mumma papa took the
initiative to help me to stay at my maternal home so that I could focus on my goal. This was
the time when I had to prove that dreams can also be turned into reality. I burnt midnight
oil to study hard and me and Abhishek both had to sacrifice the charm of companionship
like other newly married couples enjoy. By the God’s grace, I could clear the examination
with 60+ marks in every subject and got the prefix CA. It was one of the best moments of my
life.
I took the COP and started practicing along with joining the family business of garments
manufacturing. Then also I was keen to get expertise in auditing so I qualified DISA and IFRS
in first attempt in year 2014 & 2015 respectively. It was difficult to survive the sarcastic
dialogues of other family members as I was the only working daughter-in-law in the house
but my mother in law and father in law along with my husband always stood behind me
firmly so that I could continue my practice. In 2016 I was blessed with my son and
concentrated on his upbringing along with continuing my practice. Few days after
childbirth, I suffered from brain stroke and this was a major halt in my career. I had to take a
big break and here also my family stood behind me like the guardian angel. After recovering,
again I wished to work and both my maternal and in-laws family supported beyond words.
My family always helps me in taking care of my son during out station audits and
completion of other professional commitments. In pursuance of my dream of being and
expert chartered accountant, I have qualified the course of Forensic Audits and Fraud
Detection in Jan 2020. This I feel is another stepping stone in the journey. I am also a faculty
of MCS classes conducted by ICAI. It’s a life long journey and I feel everyone should enjoy
the journey rather than being worried about the destination merely.
I feel “DREAMS ARE NOT SOMETHING WHICH WE SEE WHILE SLEEPING, BUT DREAMS ARE
THE DRIVING FORCE WHICH WILL NOT LET U SLEEP UNTILL YOU ACHIEVE THEM.”
And when you are committed towards achievement of your goals, god also helps you by converting the
difficulties into opportunities. I feel proud of being a woman as only a woman has the
superpower of chasing her career objectives along with managing the family simultaneously
and not to forget “SUCCESSFULLY.”
CA SONIA SHARMA (B.Com(h), FCA, CS, DISA, IFRS, FAFD). M.No.423911
Managing Partner- Sonia Sharma & Co. Chartered Accountants Jaipur, Jhunjhunu,
Chirawa