Success does not always belong to those who were given a good start in life. Many have spent years in hardship, making do with very little, before they reached a position of comfort. Santosh Yadav, an Indian-born, is one of them. He once lived in a Mumbai chawl. Today, he owns a multi-storey apartment in Germany.

His story has attracted attention online because it speaks of endurance rather than luck. In a post on X, Yadav shared two photographs of himself and his wife, taken fourteen years apart. The contrast between the two images was enough to show how much their lives had changed. Many people praised the determination that carried them from one stage of life to the next.

Growing Up in a Mumbai Slum and Finding a New Direction

Yadav said he was born in Mumbai and spent his early years in a slum. It was much like the settlements that often appear in films, with ordinary families trying to get by alongside people involved in crime. Looking back, he says “there were good people and a lot of bad people, too.”

At school, Yadav admits he was never a serious student. Cricket mattered more to him than his books. He scored poorly in his Class 10 board exams and had little idea what came next. He hoped to study science, but his marks closed that door.

A friend of his father suggested a diploma course instead. Yadav chose computer science without much hesitation, though he had never touched a computer before.

He had studied in a Hindi-medium school, and English was unfamiliar to him. He recalls sitting in class in tears because he could not follow the lessons. The fear of failing again weighed heavily on him after the disappointment of Class 10.

Poor marks in his internal tests forced him to face the truth. He decided he could not afford another failure. He worked harder than before. Cricket disappeared from his routine. He kept away from friends and gave his time to study.

Financial Hardship Nearly Ended His Education

The diploma only strengthened Yadav’s interest in computer science. He enrolled in a degree course soon afterwards. Then came another setback. During his second year, his father lost his job. The family could no longer meet the annual tuition fee of about ₹42,000 (around $550). His father told him it was time to start looking for work.

Yadav says he wept through the night. The next morning, his mother refused to accept that choice.”Do whatever you want to do, but my son is going to continue his studies,” she told the family. 

He entered the second year at Mumbai University in 2004. Money remained scarce. New textbooks were beyond his reach, so he searched for cheaper copies wherever he could. A few professors lent him books from time to time so he could prepare for his exams. By his final year, the family’s finances had grown even tighter. Yet his father managed to save enough to see him through, and Yadav completed his degree.

How Santosh Yadav Built a Career in Software Development

Yadav married Upasana in 2007. Money was still scarce. The couple lived in a small home that leaked during the monsoon. He often says his wife stood beside him through those difficult years and never lost faith in him.

His first job came during the global financial crisis. It paid ₹5,000 a month. In 2010, he found another role developing Windows applications in C#. The salary rose to ₹12,000. The workload was light, so he used the spare time to improve his knowledge of C# and SQL. A year later, he joined a startup with a salary increase of more than fifty per cent. He stayed there for five years. The job also brought benefits such as provident fund and health insurance.

He kept building his technical skills. His work with Angular and NgRx later earned him recognition as a Google Developer Expert for Angular in 2019. In 2020, he became the first Indian to receive the GitHub Star title.

Life, however, brought fresh burdens. He borrowed money for his daughter’s emergency birth, her school admission and later her treatment for tuberculosis. He paid those debts one by one. Looking back, Yadav returns to the same lesson. Do not give up. And never take your family for granted.

At the age of 36, Yadav moved to Germany after accepting a new role. He wanted better work. More than that, he wanted a better life for his family. His daughter had spent the first eight years of her life in a slum. He hoped she would never have to return to those conditions. Today, he serves as Principal Developer Advocate at CodeRabbit, where he works on AI tools for developers.

The couple marked their seventeenth wedding anniversary with a post on X. Yadav shared two photographs. One was taken at their home in Mumbai in 2012. The other showed them in Hamburg in 2026. The contrast needed little explanation. 

Conclusion

The success that Santosh Yadav achieved in his life is a testament to the fact that it’s not just about the right moment. It is more commonly created by working, having to try again and again after failing, and being patient. He went from a slum in Mumbai to becoming the first GitHub Star in India and subsequently assisted in the creation of AI tools in Germany. There were bad grades, few bucks and plenty of reasons to quit along the way. 

However, every challenge was a step forward, with the help of his family and a thirst for knowledge. It’s a process of constant effort even if the outcomes take time. A poor report card can be a temporary designation for a student, but not a life sentence. Once he was diverted from his studies by cricket but the years that came later were a reward of far greater value. It was not a short nor a easy path but it was a path that proved that determination could take a person further than luck.

FAQs

1. What challenges did Santosh Yadav face during his education?

Yadav had to contend with the challenges of not doing well in Class 10 exams, language difficulties due to having studied in a Hindi medium school and hardship due to his financial situation. One time his dad wanted him to drop out of college because of financial difficulties, but his family and teachers supported him to keep going. A borrowed book sometimes is worth more than a costly book.

2. How did Santosh Yadav build his career in technology?

He began from very basic roles with a salary of ₹5000 per month and progressed to build up his technical skills in languages such as C#, SQL, Angular, NgRx. His dedication eventually earned him the Google Developer Expert title and then was named the first GitHub Star in India.

3. What role did Santosh Yadav’s family play in his success?

Throughout his path, family support was a key factor. His mother encouraged him to pursue his education even in the face of financial difficulty and his wife was by his side during the many years of tribulation. When he was tempted to give up, their encouragement kept him going.

4. Where is Santosh Yadav now?

After moving to Germany at the age of 36, Yadav became Principal Developer Advocate at CodeRabbit, where he works on AI tools for developers. A comparison of old photos with his current situation is evident. A great “before and after” scenario doesn’t necessarily involve a fitness program.

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