THE INDOMITABLES
(4)
They rose above their grim financial circumstances, overcame all sorts of odds and defied stereotypes to top exams, get into IIMs and even pursue a PhD at 15! Here are their incredible stories: of unrelenting struggle and hard work.
YOGENDRA SINGH
RICKSHAW-PULLER’S SON IN IIM LUCKNOW
'My
father was a rickshaw-puller'
Why
would you want to feature me in your magazine?” asks Yogendra Singh
incredulously. The 28-year-old IIM Lucknow student has a dilemma: should he
continue with his studies or resume working? “Your story is about people who
have succeeded in life, isn't it? But if I quit IIM and go back to my village,
that would make me a failure, right? Koi successful person ka story chaapiyega
to woh theek rahega,” says the young man from a village near Daltonganj in
Jharkhand.
But
Yogendra is already a success.
He remembers
the time he went off with his neighbour to get admitted to the nearest
government school in his village. He studied there till class 8 and then moved
to a school in a town eight kilometres away. “My father was a rickshaw-puller
and my mother a homemaker. But they never had to pay for my education.” The
pride in his voice is unmissable.
Being
the eldest of seven siblings – four sisters, and three brothers – Yogendra's
struggles started early. He would graze cattle and soon after his class 10
Board exams, he started giving tuition to younger students. “I began making
enough money to take care of the household expenses.”
That was
when he met his future wife. She was one of his students before his prospective
fatherin-law, a primary school teacher, decided to make him the offer that
would change his life forever.
Yogendra
was juggling his life as a student and a teacher. But someone suggested that he
should take the Polytechnic Diploma exam. He did and was selected too.
“Suddenly I was famous in my gaon. That's when my to-be fatherin-law proposed
to fund my education on the condition that I marry his daughter,” he says. He
did.
Yogendra
discontinued his coaching classes, but worked for a few years while finishing B
Tech from BIT Sindri in Dhanbad, to be able to support his family. While his
job took care of the household expenses, he took coaching for a few months to
crack the CAT exam. “My happiness knew no bounds when I got a call from IIM
Lucknow,” remembers Yogendra.
Walking
through the gates of one of India's most reputed and toughest B-Schools is a
dream come true for any student. But accepting the offer from IIM Lucknow has
given Yogendra sleepless nights. He can't stop wondering if he made the right
choice. “There is no one to support my family right now. I spent all my savings
on my sisters' weddings. My younger brothers are in school. I am contemplating
quitting and going back to my village,” says Yogendra. HTBR 13SEP15
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