Howrah boy beats poverty, ranks 10th

Updated on: Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Howrah: She walked miles to sell the handbags she made ever since her husband lost his job as a daily wager in a casting factory in Kadamtala. Each day meant another tryst with toil and struggle for Basudeb Maity and his wife Maya. But on Tuesday, the family staying in a cramped two-room house in Baje Shibpur found a reason to rejoice in spite of their hand-to-mouth existence. Their only son, Dipankar has bagged the tenth position on the WBJEE engineering merit list.

"It pained me to see my jobless father desperately hunting odd jobs. My mother would often come back crestfallen when she could not sell even one bag after walking miles. I saw excelling at studies as the only way to alleviate our daily struggle. I knew only a good result can get me a stable job," said Dipankar, who didn't even have the money to pay his exam fees.

He always stood first in Baje Shibpur B K Paul's Institution. The mild-mannered boy was a favourite with teachers. The school arranged free coaching to him outside of school hours. "We had high hopes for him. We knew that given the family could not afford extra coaching, so we tried our best to help Dipankar. Our efforts have paid off," said principal Binoy Halder.

This topper still worries how his family would be able to afford fees for higher education. While Pathfinder, a local coaching centre came to Dipankar's aid and offered him free coaching, the family still apprehends future expenses. Dipankar wants to study electronics and telecommunications engineering in Jadavpur University.

Educationtimes

Howrah boy beats poverty, ranks 10th

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