Losing a father or the sole breadwinner of the family at an early age can be devastating and very tough on a child, especially when he belongs to a low-income group family. Vishal Kumar from the Muzaffarpur district of Bihar faced a really tough time when his father died in 2008 due to his drinking habit. However, Vishal’s mother became the backbone of the family after her husband’s death as she took the load of earning for the family and feeding them.
Vishal was a bright child from the very beginning and was also the district topper in the class 10th exam. His teacher or mentor, Gauri Shankar Prasad, found out about Vishal when he started his teaching career. Prasad understood that Vishal, being the district topper, was capable of doing big in life as his father had said when he was alive.
FAMILY CONDITION AND EDUCATION
Vishal’s father Bikau Prasad was a labourer and by some means or other, he used to take care of the family. After his father’s death in 2008, the situation worsened as there was no other source of income and Vishal was also in just 7th grade. However, his mother Rani Devi took the responsibility and started rearing buffalos and goats to make ends meet.
Vishal being an excellent student cleared his 10th grade from RK High School Chapra with outstanding marks after which he got selected for the Super 30 programme which is run by Anand Kumar, a mathematician from Patna.
It is said that his mentor Gauri Shankar got connected with him after he lost his father and was a major support to him, both mentally and financially, for the rest of his studies.
Vishal prepared for the JEE exam and got selected to IIT Kanpur to pursue BTech in Chemical Engineering. He completed college and started working in Reliance.
CLEARING UPSC
Vishal’s mentor Gauri Shankar was a UPSC aspirant himself and had written the main exam. However, due to family conditions, he had to choose teaching as a profession. Gauri Shankar believed in Vishal and felt that he had the capability to clear the UPSC exam.
As Vishal was not satisfied with his job, he left it and shifted to Delhi for full-time preparation. During this time as well, his mentor supported him as he used to discuss each and everything with him. Vishal had started preparing for the exam while working in Reliance and appeared for the exam four times. He cracked it in his fourth attempt in 2021 after which he was listed in the final list with AIR 484.
It is a matter of pride and happiness for Vishal’s family and all his acquaintances as he managed to achieve this height with their support. Vishal is contemplating preparing for the exam again and aim for the IAS the next time.
