In his book "A Yen for Yen," Deven Arora from India describes his life in Japan as a "rupees-to-riches success story." He has always, he said, followed six rules: being committed to a dream; believing in self; daring to try unconventional ideas; being unafraid of making mistakes; persevering; and enjoying the journey. He recommends his six rules to "even the most mediocre person, who can then achieve his fullest potential," he wrote. His book is being translated into Japanese, Chinese and Tamil.
Deven comes from "a very conservative, God-fearing and simple family" in Meerut, India. He called himself "a very mediocre college dropout" until he spent two years at Rajkot College, where he took a diploma in audio engineering. This led to an internship repairing audio amplifiers, which in turn led to employment with a Bombay cinematographic equipment manufacturer. He looked to the East, which was then a popular concept. Within a couple of months, Deven determined to get himself to Japan to learn television engineering, which was not then available in India.
He was 23, with neither means nor connections.