His house does not have electricity or a toilet and his father collects garbage to make ends meet. The odds were always against 18-year-old Asharam Choudhary, but he battled all challenges and cleared the prestigious AIIMS entrance exam in the first attempt.
Choudhary, who hails from Dewas in Madhya Pradesh, left for Jodhpur on Sunday to pursue MBBS at AIIMS.
The teenager secured the 141st rank in the OBC category and 707 rank overall in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences entrance test held on May 27. He cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), conducted on May 6, bagging the 803rd rank in the OBC category and 2,763 overall.
Just before boarding a bus for Jodhpur, he told PTI over the phone that the bus ticket was bought by Dewas District Collector Shrikant Pandey and the administration had also sent a state government official to accompany him to Rajasthan.
“I am so happy that I cannot express myself. My next goal is to become a neurosurgeon. After MBBS, I want to do a Master of Surgery (MS) in Neurology,” Choudhary said.
The teenager said that he does not want to go abroad for studies or settle there. “I want to return to my Vijayganj Mandi village and set up a hospital there so that no one is deprived of medical facilities,” he said.
Recalling the hardships faced by him, Choudhary said, “I received my primary education at a government school. I completed my schooling in Dewas district. My house does not have an electricity connection or a toilet.
“My father is a ragpicker. He also did odd jobs to make ends meet. Now, he wants to open a small vegetable shop,” he said. His younger brother, Sitaram, is in Class XII and his sister, Narmada, in Class IX.