Video Editor: Varun Sharma & Sandeep Suman
When Ravish’s father fell sick just ahead of his Board exams in 2013, the then 16-year realised that he would never be able to live his dream – of getting admission in an IIT.
“Blood had started clotting in his brain and we spent everything on his surgery,” says Ravish, recalling his days of despair. Having spent all his life in government schools, the resident of Bihar’s Purnea district had suddenly hit a dead end – his family had accrued massive loans and could not afford sending him to a private JEE coaching institute.
Five years later, Ravish is a software developer with an IT firm. All thanks to “Anand sir and Super 30, without which” the 22-year-old says, he “ wouldn’t have been able to fulfil his dream.”
Super 30 – a free course run by the Ramanujan School of Mathematics (RSM) for bright students hailing from poor families – has been touching the lives of 30 people every year.
Now, a movie has been made about the course and its origin. One in which Hrithik Roshan plays the role of Anand Kumar, who co-founded the coaching centre in Patna.
After completing his training at RSM, Ravish secured admission into IIT Kanpur. There, he was faced with multiple problems, which he solved through skills and techniques that Super 30 endowed him with.
Like Ravish, Dhananjay, too came from a poor family and couldn’t afford private coaching. But when he turned to Super 30, he discovered Kumar’s novel way of teaching. He now works as a software developer.
“He would never worry about what time of the day it was, but would simply come teach us. He would link every question to a story. The stories would not only etch the questions in our memory, but also inspire us in the future.”Dhananjay, Super 30 Alumnus
Apart from being a brilliant teacher, Kumar is often praised for his unwavering concern for students. Super 30 Alumnus Prabhat Pandey experienced this first hand.
“I can still recall one incident. Because of being sick and some other problems, I was not able to perform well in class tests and then one day, sir came personally to me and asked, Prabhatji, what happened? How’s everything? You are not getting good marks.”Prabhat, Super 30 Alumnus
“He told me that we weren't like big coaching centers were students are surrounded with all facilities. We should work hard, day and night and take it on ourselves to achieve things only then will we be able to taste success. This statement was motivating for me,” he added.
After completing his course at Super 30, Prabhat took admission at IIT Warangal. Today, he’s a scientist working with ISRO.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)