Sambhunath Shaw serves tea at Howrah court. Picture by Gopal Senapati

When tea vendor Sambhunath Shaw leaves home at 8 in the morning every day with a kettle and a stove in his hands, the figure buzzing in his head is Rs 1,98,450.

That’s the amount his younger son Abhijit, studying electronics engineering at Techno India in Salt Lake’s Sector V, would need for seven semesters spread over the next three-and-a-half years. Elder son Abhishek is in his second year at National Medical College and Hospital and needs money, too, though not as much as his sibling because the government has been part-financing his education.

“I am working hard to educate my two sons. My only dream is to make my elder son a doctor and younger son an engineer. Till then I shall not take rest,” says Sambhunath, who lives with his family in a mud-walled, tile-roofed room at 7/3 Naba Kumar Nandi Lane, Howrah.

The son of a railway porter, Sambhunath himself had to drop out of school after clearing Madhyamik from Ambika Hindi High School in Shibpur. His only ambition now is to ensure his sons complete the journey he left unfinished.

If business is good and he works through the day, the 47-year-old vendor makes around Rs 3,500 a month, which is still Rs 1,225 less than the amount he needs for just his younger son’s education. But Sambhunath isn’t despondent. He believes he and his two sons will beat the odds, like they have always done.

Abhishek, 21, wrote the Higher Secondary exam from Sri Jain Vidyalaya in 2006 and passed with letter marks in five subjects. He took the JEE the same year and was ranked 252 among MBBS aspirants.

“I am not worried about my elder son’s education. After three years, he will be a doctor. He received Rs 12,000 from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund the first year and another Rs 22,000 from the directorate of medical education last year,” says Sambhunath.

After Abhijit cleared the Higher Secondary exam from Salkia Bikram Vidyalaya last year with letter marks in four subjects, Sambhunath sold a two-cottah plot he owned at Khatir Bazar for Rs 55,000 so that his son could take admission at Techno India. He is now planning to take a loan to cover a part of the recurring expenditure.

"I paid Rs 48,850 as his admission and first-semester fees, but a four-year engineering course has eight semesters and the fee for each semester is Rs 28,350. I have spoken to the manager of a bank for an education loan."

Grateful for the sacrifices their parents have made for them, Abhishek and Abhijit do not ask for anything more. The boys stay and study in the same rented room and avail themselves of public transport only when travelling long distances.

In their diligence Sambhunath finds the strength to soldier on.