The Man Who Keeps Taking the Chance: The Story of Ruben Moses

In a quiet flat near Bangalore's bustling metro lines, Ruben Moses wakes most mornings without an alarm. He rarely sleeps before three in the morning, and by eight he is up again, lacing his shoes for a walk through Indiranagar, one and a half hours of open air before the day's real business begins. It is a small ritual, but it says everything about the man: Ruben doesn't stop moving, no matter how many times life has told him to.

Born and raised in Bangalore, Ruben's early years were shaped by a string of schools - Sri Ramakrishna Primary and High School for his first years, St. Lourdes Boys Middle & High School, a pre-university course at a commerce college in Indiranagar, and finally a degree in commerce. He even began a law degree, chasing it all the way to the final year before life pulled him elsewhere, leaving one paper unfinished. Ruben starts things with his whole heart, and he rarely lets go of an unfinished dream.

That restlessness found its truest expression in public service. For thirty years, Ruben has thrown himself into social work, organizing blood donation drives, arranging free medical camps where doctors would come and treat the poor, and putting together football and cricket tournaments for his community. He ran for local office three times, from three different political banners, each time hoping to become the elected voice for the "downtrodden and the poor," as he puts it. Each time, the seat eluded him. And yet, with an election on the horizon once more, Ruben is preparing to try again, one more chance, in his words, to finally do the good he has always believed he was meant to do.

Business told a similar story. Ruben once ran three hotels across the city, he remembers fondly. Each venture eventually slipped away. He speaks about it plainly, without bitterness: everything was lost, he says, but he is still trying, trusting that grace will find him in some other field.

Where the world of business and elections has been unyielding, music has given Ruben something gentler. For three years he has poured his evenings into StarMaker, the singing app, where he has recorded thousands of songs, solo performances that let him unwind after a long day. In 2003, he started his own YouTube channel, which has since gathered over fifteen thousand subscribers, a quiet testament to a voice that found its audience even when elections did not. Singing, he says, is one of his true passions, alongside a fondness for indoor games and, always, the hope of one day winning that council seat.

At home, Ruben is anchored by his wife, and their three children. His elder daughter, works as a senior analyst; his son moved from JP Morgan into a finance role at TCS; and his youngest, has just finished his commerce degree and is looking for his first job. It is, in many ways, the quiet success story running alongside his own three children building steady futures while their father keeps chasing his.

Asked to describe life in his own words, Ruben doesn't hesitate. Life, he says, is something God-created, and the soul belongs to God, so for as long as we are here, we must enjoy it, and do good for others. It is a simple philosophy, but it is the thread that ties together every chapter of Ruben's story.