A Mumbai student, who once climbed upon the terrace of his modest dwelling to borrow the Wi-Fi of a neighbour, has now secured his place at IIT Delhi after qualifying JEE Advanced a few months back. Abhishek Sujit Sharma, who secured an All India Rank of 2,456, has emerged from circumstances in which even the ordinary means of study were not readily available.
Sharma belonged to Harad Chawl in Lokmanya Tilak Nagar, Mumbai, where his family of four lived in a rented room for Rs 3,000 a month. His father worked as a labourer in a steel fabrication company, while the family lived with limited financial means and without a private washroom.
For a student preparing for one of India’s most difficult entrance examinations, such circumstances presented difficulties beyond the examination itself. Space for study was scarce, and the surroundings offered little of the quiet ordinarily sought by students preparing for competitive examinations.
Internet access presented another obstacle.
When the limited mobile data on Sharma’s phone was exhausted, he would ascend to the terrace and use a neighbour’s Wi-Fi connection. There, amidst the open air and the sounds of the neighbourhood, he continued with his lessons and study material.
The terrace thus became, for a time, his classroom.
Unlike many aspirants who are able to depend upon costly coaching institutes and private study rooms, Sharma chose the online route, which placed structured lessons within the reach of his family’s means. His ambition was to pursue science and eventually devote himself to physics.
His parents, too, bore their share of the struggle. In order that their son might have a better place to study and rest, they would sleep upon the floor and leave the bed to him. Such small sacrifices, repeated through the years, formed part of the circumstances in which his preparation was carried forward.
Sharma eventually scored 199 marks in JEE Advanced and secured an OBC-NCL rank of 415. His admission to IIT Delhi marked a significant moment for his family and neighbourhood, where he became the first IITian from his slum community.
His journey presents a different picture of preparation for a demanding examination. There were no elaborate arrangements, no private study chamber and, at times, not even sufficient internet data. There was instead a student, a terrace, a borrowed connection and an ambition pursued with persistence.
From a small rented room in Mumbai to the classrooms of IIT Delhi, Sharma’s journey shows how the pursuit of education may proceed even when the means are modest.
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