| Bigg Boss Ke Badmaash # 53 | Invites Only | - Page 7

Finally a pen to write, not sell - Habra boy's journey from train hawker to medical student


The first time Subodh Biswas took out his pen to jot down a note in his medical college classroom, his mind wandered to a train compartment where he once sold pens for a living.

"It's so difficult putting the past behind. As I sat down for my first MBBS class (on August 2), I had to keep reminding myself that it was for real," recounted the Habra resident, who earned a scholarship to finally take admission this year after thrice clearing an entrance exam that many fail to crack even in three attempts.

At 26, Subodh's late entry into MBBS makes him around eight years older than most other freshers at Burdwan Medical College. The age factor doesn't bother him.

"I have spent all my life struggling to survive. I started going to school much later than students my age'I have since done everything from selling pens on trains and buses to toiling at a construction site in Delhi for Rs 80 a day. Now I need to make the most of the opportunity I have been given instead of worrying about these things," he told Metro.

Subodh's career lifeline was Udayer Pathe, a scholarship programme sponsored by Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences, off the EM Bypass.
"The programme has been reformatted this year to cover the basic financial needs of 12 poor but meritorious students. We will support Subodh's basic financial requirements for the next five years," said cardiac surgeon Kunal Sarkar, the vice-president of the institute.

For Subodh, this is the first time that he won't have to work to study. "I lost my parents early and was brought up by my elder brother Sukhlal, who is a carpenter. But his monthly income is Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000, with which he cannot feed his family, leave alone educate me. So I had to fend for myself," he reminisced.

Sukhlal supported Subodh's studies till 2003, when he passed Madhyamik from Baugachi Kashibala Vidyapith in Habra with a 71 per cent aggregate. But once the elder sibling got married, Subodh was on his own.

"But I decided to continue my studies, come what may. A neighbour introduced me to a wholesaler of pens and I started hawking these on local trains and buses even as I continued studying," he said.

For four years, Subodh was a regular on local trains on the Sealdah-Bongaon section and buses headed for Calcutta, earning Rs 100-150 a day. "I would step out of home at 7am and return at 9pm, after which I would study. It was a hard life but I persevered because I had a dream to fulfil," he smiled.

After passing the Higher Secondary exam in 2005 from Rajbullavpur High School in Machlandapur with 61 per cent, Subodh decided to take the Joint Entrance Examination with the support of some neighbours and free lessons from a private tutor.

"I cracked the test and was ranked 77 in the merit list but poverty prevented me from taking admission in the dental college in north Bengal where I was offered a seat," he said.

Subodh passed the Joint Entrance Exam for the second time two years later and was offered a seat at North Bengal Medical College, but he again failed to arrange the admission fees. "I was so frustrated that I thought of giving up my dream," he recounted.

So how did he motivate himself all over again? "I went to Delhi the next year as a construction worker but returned after six months for one last attempt. I took up a job in an Ayurvedic medicine store in Habra and started studying for the exam," he said.

After clearing the entrance exam for the third time, Subodh was again at a loss how to arrange for the money required to take admission when the Bypass institute stepped in.

"The scholarship covered my admission fee but I also took a loan of Rs 3,000. A few individuals helped me, including seniors who gave me books," he said.

Barely a fortnight into his MBBS course, Subodh has regained not only his confidence but also hope for the future. Classmate Abu Raihan, 18, said he admired and looked up to Subodh for "everything he has done to reach this far".

And where does Subodh see himself five years from now? "I can't think that far ahead, not after what I have been through. But, yes, I know my dream is now within reach," he smiled.

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