His Family Couldn't Afford Daily Meal; Still He Cleared IIT

Source: Anand Kumar

When the IIT-JEE results came out it was hard for Dhananjay Kumar to hold back his tears. He was crying, because in his eyes appeared the hard work of his mother and father. The dream that he had followed so religiously for years; that dream had been realized finally. Dhananjay is someone who couldn’t buy a new book to study, or go to a private school. He has seen days when there was nothing to eat for dinner in his house. He hadn’t even heard about IIT, before making it to the Super 30 program in Patna. Today, he has made it to IIT and has the option to select the branch of his choice, with such a good rank.

Dhananjay belongs from Samastipur district’s Patori village, where his father had lands by his name. But he would work as a labourer in the village. Being a father of six children, it was hard for him to lead a family with less income. So he left for Gujarat where he worked in a mill. His income increased, but in few years his health started deteriorating. The owner of the mill soon asked him to leave work, handing him Rs. 10,000/- to take care of his children back home. It was a dream of Dhananjay’s mother to make her children study well, although she hadn’t been to school ever.

Dhananjay was studying in the 6th standard in a government school when his father returned home and opened a small shop. His father would wait for customers the whole day, and the days when there were no customers, they had to sleep with empty stomachs.

Dhananjay never let all these circumstances affect his studies. He borrowed books from friends and spent time in the shop when his father’s health deteriorated further. When he got to learn about the Super 30 batch, he filled its form after collecting Rs. 50 for it from his shop. He travelled to Patna on train without a ticket, and started putting all his heart into his dream after he passed the entrance test of Super 30. Dhananjay always stayed ahead in answering questions and even helping his classmates in studies.

When his IIT result came, he was there with Anand Kumar- his teacher who is also the founder of the Super 30 batch. Anand Kumar found him wearing the same shirt and trousers that he wore when he met him for the first time 2 years back. After being asked about it, Dhananjay said; he had only one pair of clothes, in those two years.

The Logical Indian community salutes the courage and determination shown by Dhananjay, as he moved a step closer to his dream. The man who made it possible for Dhananjay to reach his goal is Anand Kumar. This year 25 students from Super-30 program have been selected for the IIT. Congratulations to Anand Kumar and his team.