They tell us, ‘when life gives you lemons, make a lemonade’. But they never tell us how.
Life can throw the worst at you when you least expect it. To overcome the hardest situations, it takes the biggest of efforts and the ones who have the courage to come through, truly SHINE. They are the ones who beat the summer heat, with the most chill lemonade that there is.
Meet 28-year-old Ummul Kher, a bright young woman who cleared the UPSC at one go and got an all India ranking of 420! Her’s is a story meant for the books. She was disowned by her parents because she wanted to study. She also suffers from a rare kind of bone disease. And after 16 fractures and 8 surgeries, she is here.
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When Ummul wanted to study beyond class 8, her parents told her that she COULDN’T. If she studied anymore, they would sever ties with her. Determined to learn more, Ummul rented her own ‘Jhuggi’ and started earning a living at the age of 14.
“I WAS ABUSED. MY INTENTIONS WERE QUESTIONED BECAUSE I WANTED TO STUDY. IT WAS THE WORST TIME. THEY SAID YOU HAVE NOW GOT MORE EDUCATION THAN A GIRL SHOULD.”
She never felt safe in Delhi. She says that this phase of her life was tougher than cracking UPSC.
She was teaching students nearby, day and night. She used all the money she earned with tutoring and funded her own studies. Children from slum areas flooded in to learn. Soon enough, she took 4 batches of two hours from 3 PM to 11 PM.
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“I GOT BETWEEN RS 50-100 FROM EACH STUDENT. I COULDN’T HAVE EXPECTED MORE AS THESE WERE CHILDREN OF LABOURERS, IRON SMITH, RICKSHAW-PULLERS ETC.”
She passed her class 12th exams with 92% and got admitted in Delhi University, she pursued her Master’s from JNU. A faculty from JNU, Archana Upadhyay praised Ummul and said –
“DESPITE HER PHYSICAL CHALLENGES SHE WAS ALWAYS AT A PAR WITH OTHER STUDENTS AND EXCELLED IN BOTH ACADEMICS AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES,”
Ummul is hoping to get into IAS under disability quota. Talking about forgiving her parents, she humbly said, “I don’t blame them. They were brought up in an environment that shaped their thinking. It is not their fault.” She hasn’t called them up yet, but she will let them know. Her parents and brothers are currently living in Rajasthan.
Ummul’s story of perseverance and determination is unlike we’ve ever heard. To support herself through a painful disease since the time she was 14 while earning a living, it sure sounds like the work of a superhuman.
Honestly, if I were in her place, I would have been broken. That million dollar smile on her face says it all. You make the world a better place, Ummul.
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