No age bar for learning: 71-year-old Jaipur man cracks CA final after retirement
A result that made headlines
On July 6, when the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) declared the CA final results, a name stood out — Tarachand Agarwal, a retiree among a crowd of mostly twenty-something aspirants. While most would hesitate to pick up an academic pursuit after retirement, Agarwal not only attempted it — he aced it.
The septuagenarian hails from Sangaria in Hanumangarh district. He completed his schooling there and began his banking career with the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (now SBI) in 1976. Over 38 years, he climbed the ranks to retire as assistant general manager in 2014. Life after retirement was content until tragedy struck. In November 2020, during the Covid pandemic, Agarwal lost his wife Darshana — his companion of over four decades. The grief was unbearable. 'We used to spend almost 21 hours a day together. When she left, I was completely shattered,' he recalls.
Sinking into depression, Agarwal sought solace in spiritual reading — particularly the Bhagavad Gita. It became a turning point. 'The Gita made me realise that life is a battle, like the Mahabharata. You cannot escape it — you must face it with courage,' he says.
With renewed clarity, he decided to reclaim purpose. Initially considering MCom or a PhD, it was his sons Lalit and Amit — a Delhi-based CA and a tax consultant, respectively — and granddaughter Ankika who nudged him toward something more challenging. 'Why not CA?' they asked. And just like that, his journey began.
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