Meet Laxman Rao, a tea seller by day and an author by night. Hailing from a small village in Amravati district in Maharashtra, he left home when he was 18 with just Rs 40 in his pocket. He has come a long way since then and has written 24 books in Hindi. That's not all. Despite dropping out of school in Class 8, his willingness to learn has seen him earn a graduate degree. At 62, he is now pursuing his Masters in Hindi from Delhi. He aspires to open a book stall someday but until then, he has to make do with a tea stall near ITO in Delhi to support his family. "Life in the pursuit of literature is beautiful because what you see otherwise does not exist," he says. Here is Rao's story. We salute his dedication and hard work.

1. Former President of India, Pratibha Patil, was so impressed by the man and his work that she invited him over to the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

2. His book, Ramdas, which has also been adapted into a play, has sold over 3,000 copies.