Daughter of migrant worker from Bihar bags first rank in university exam
Payal Kumari, who hails from Bihar and moved to Kerala in 2001, has made her parents proud with her exemplary academic success and plans to study further.
Pramod Kumar migrated from Bihar to Kerala in 2001 to give his family a better life. Since then, he has been working day and night to support his family, often working several jobs in Kochi.
His daughter, Payal Kumari, has now done him proud, bagging the first rank in BA Archaeology and History (Module 2nd) examinations at Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, from Marthoma College for Women, Perumbavoor.
Payal with her family (Image: The News Minute)
“My parents’ dream was to educate us. We live in a rented house. My father works in a paint shop and my mother is a homemaker. It was not an easy task for them,” Payal told The News Minute.
Payal initially found it difficult to keep up with her studies after arriving in Kochi. She even thought of quitting her studies seeing the struggles of her father. But she stuck to her academics, thanks to motivation from some of her teachers and friends.
“In Class 8, I began tuitions for tough subjects, especially Malayalam. Since then, my studies have been progressing smoothly,” she told The New Indian Express.
Payal did well at academics even when at school. She scored 83 percent in Class 10 and 95 percent in Class 12. She says she was interested in archaeology since Class 10.
“Antiques, excavations, historical sites… I was curious about all this. I am not a voracious reader, but a few books I read made me inclined towards the subject," she says.
Though Payal speaks Hindi at home, her Malayalam is almost impeccable. Kerala is home for her, even though her parents talk about relatives back home.
Talking about her future plans, Payal says she wants to continue studying and pursue her post-graduation. Despite the financial crunch, her parents want her to appear for the civil services examination.
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(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)