Kota: One lost his father and watched his widowed mother stitching clothes day and night to fund his education. The other battled a serious lung ailment months before his engineering exam as his mother attended online classes and prepared notes for him.
The journeys of Jigar Nayak from Odisha and Gunjan Kumar from Bihar have emerged as two inspiring success stories from Kota this year, underscoring the role of parental sacrifice in helping students overcome adversity to secure admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
Jigar, a resident of Bakalikoda village in Odisha's Ganjam district, secured All India Rank 5,474 in JEE Advanced 2026 and is set to become the first student from his village to join an IIT.
His father, Jurinath Nayak, who worked in Gujarat's textile industry, died of cancer in 2020, leaving the family in financial distress after exhausting its savings on his treatment.
His mother, Apoorva Nayak, took a loan and started a tailoring business to support the family and finance her son's education. Jigar later enrolled at Allen Career Institute in Kota with fee concessions during Classes 11 and 12.
"My mother never let me realise the financial struggles she endured for my education. She quietly managed everything by earning through tailoring," Jigar told PTI.
He said he first learnt about the Joint Entrance Examination through social media while in Class 10 and resolved to become an IITian to improve his family's circumstances.
Meanwhile, Gunjan Kumar, a resident of Bihar's Sitamarhi district, secured OBC Category Rank 50 in JEE Advanced 2026 and is set to pursue Computer Science at IIT Delhi.
Gunjan, who has more than 70 per cent vision impairment and wears spectacles with a power of 9.5, moved to Kota in 2023 to prepare for the engineering entrance examination.
Months before the examination, he was diagnosed with pneumothorax (collapsed lung) after lifting a heavy object and remained bedridden for nearly three months.
During his recovery, his mother Gunja, a homemaker with a B.Ed degree, attended his online classes, prepared handwritten notes and helped him continue his studies despite having an academic background in the humanities.
"When I fell ill, my mother's support became invaluable. She prepared notes and helped me continue my studies during those months," Gunjan told PTI.
Gunja said she learnt scientific terminology while preparing notes for her son and found immense satisfaction when they proved useful during his preparation.
Allen Career Institute Director Naveen Maheshwari said the achievements reflected not only the students' determination, but also the extraordinary commitment of their families.
He said such stories demonstrate that talent can overcome financial hardship and personal adversity when backed by perseverance and parental support.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
