INDORE: “Beta you always pass the exams..,”: were the casual words of Ranjit Choudhary, a rag picker, when he was told that his son has secured a place in AIIMS Jodhpur. Sitting in a thatched home, his son explained: “Baba this school is bigger.., I will become a doctor.. like Kallu doctor in our village.”The mention of Kallu Doctor, the only medical practitioner in 10km vicinity of Vijayganj Mandi village, 40km from Dewas district headquarters, brought a twinkle in Rajnit’s eyes. Along came tears of joy as he hugged Asharam and assimilated the fact that his son has broken the shackles of poverty to secure a seat in one of the prestigious institutes in the country.“My father could not understand what I had achieved. It took some time to explain..,” Asharam told TOI after securing a berth in AIIMS Jodhpur. He will join classes on July 23.Asharam, was one of the 75 students selected by Dakshina Foundation for scholarship and residential classes at its facility in Pune. He secured AIR 707 as overall ranking and AIR 141 in OBC category.“After clearing 10th standard, I pursued higher secondary studies with Dakshina Foundation in Pune. This helped me to clear the AIIMS entrance examination at one go,” Asharam said.Born in 2000 to Rajnit and Mamta, Asharam is the eldest of the three siblings. His younger brother, Sitaram, studies in 12th standard and sister Narmada is in 9th standard.Ranjit does odd jobs and is a rag picker. “He has toiled hard to give me good education. He got me whatever I needed… books, stationary,” Asharam recounted, saying that he could not have achieved the success if his family had not stood by him.He also attributed his success to local administrative officials, who helped him getting a BPL card and backed him in his pursuits.But struggles for Asharam has not ended yet. He is working towards raising money for his college’s mess fees. Asharam had applied for chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s Mukhyamantri Medhavi Vidyarthi Yojana. “They told me that I am eligible only for college fee, which is zero for me because of the ranks I scored. But I have to pay Rs 36,000 for mess and around Rs 8,000 for books. I managed to arrange the books, but mess fee is a worry for me,” he said.Nevertheless, Asharam plans to get a gold medal in every year of MBBS course. “I want to return to my village and practice medicine. There is not a single qualified doctor here. Poor villagers can’t afford to travel far and raise money for the fees of qualified consultants,” he said, disclosing his plans.

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