Cobbler's son cracks IIT-JEE

Cobbler's son cracks IIT-JEE - Kanpur - City - The Times of India

Cobbler's son cracks IIT-JEE
Abhinav Malhotra, TNN, May 26, 2010, 10.41pm IST

KANPUR: 'Success has no shortcuts'. The adage stands true for the son of a cobbler who really had to toil a lot for cracking one of the most coveted exams of the country-JEE with AIR-154 in the SC category.

Abhishek Kumar Bharti, a city lad and a son of a cobbler in Kidwainagar, was also one among those whose dream of graduating from IIT came true on Wednesday when his name appeared in the list of the qualified students. A student of the UP board, Abhishek gathered 78 per cent marks in his class XII. Though he hails from a financially weak segment of the society but his deep inclination towards studies helped in meeting his goal - Goal to graduate from IIT. His dream is not very far off from now, as the boy who studied in the limited resources will probably get IIT-Kanpur to pursue his graduation.

Overwhelmed with his result, Abhishek, a resident of Gangapur Colony in Machhariya said, "I am thankful to God for this achievement. As I was short of facilities, so it took me a little more than others to prove my mettle. I used to study in lantern due to absence of power at my place but all is well now."

Abhishek emerged as a fine example for others who wish to crack the entrance exam of various competitions. He not only lacked electricity at his house but it was too tough for him to study in a small room of 10-by-10 wherein his entire family lives. His father is the bread earner and many a times he used to work as a labourer for six to eight hours in a day to arrange for the two ends to meet. Abhishek used to assist his father in doing so.

Moved with the achievement made by her son, Sangeeta Devi said, "We have been living without basic facilities at our end because we cannot afford to buy luxuries. Selection of my son has come as a gift to us from the God's side. His hardwork has borne fruits. He used to study in lantern and make his earnings by working as a labourer. I used to engage in stitching work to make some money. This is how the family used to survive."

The mother of the boy had more to add, she further said, "Abhishek's selection will pave way for other kids of the family. They will also be motivated to study and earn their own money."

Mahesh Singh Chauhan, the teacher of Abhishek who provided the boy with free education was overwhelmed with the success. Chauhan had raised a batch of 35 students last year wherein he had taken poor students as a part of his team. He taught them the basics of Physics, Chemistry and Maths alongwith a team of young IIT passouts to strengthen them. Abhishek was one among those fortunates who cracked the JEE and emerged as a winner.

Satyabhan Singh (348 AIR), Ankan Gupta (463 AIR), Ashish Kumar Singh (651 AIR), Nitin Saini (1338 AIR), Partha Shekhar Pathak (5221 AIR), Shekhar Agarwal (6002 AIR), Ravi Kushwaha (7691 AIR), Vishal Allen (8377 AIR) and Ravindra Pratap Singh (8542 AIR) have been other dunderprivileged students who hail from financially weaker section of the society but they could make to the finals of the JEE.