Tradition alive & kicking

DAV School principal CM Singh blesses successful IIT-JEE candidate Kusum Kumari in Gaya on Wednesday. Picture by Suman

Gaya, May 25: Patwa Toli is a non-descript locality under the Manpur block of the district. However, youths from this area have made their home famous by cracking the IIT-JEE regularly since 1999.

This year too, five students from Patwa Toli — Anuj Kumar, Deonarayan, Dev Kumar, Alok Ranjan and Sumeet — have made it to the premier tech hubs.

Apart from them, nine youths, including two girls from the district, have also qualified in the entrance exam.

The successful candidates are Harsh Ranjan, Rahul Kumar Saxena, Kusum Kumari, Rajan Kumar, Amit Kumar, Ajay Kumar, Rishika Garg, Ajay Kumar Verma and Pararia village resident Nikhil Kumar.

It was celebration time in Patwa Toli. The locality has around 1,000 households, most of them patwas (weavers). Of them at least 200 families have at least one engineer. Around 10 families have two IITians.

Karan Raj, a final year information technology student at Kochi University of Science and Technology, said: “Even girls are not lagging behind. Most of them are pursuing higher studies.”

A source said the youths, who made it to the IITs this year, used to study together. They got books and other study materials from their seniors. They also benefit from Nav Prayas, an organisation formed by students of the area who have made it to the IITs in previous years.

A source said: “They come here during vacations and conduct Manpur Talent Search Examination to help the IIT aspirants. At present, around 200 boys and the girls are associated with the organisation. Their seniors are helping shape their careers.”

Mahesh Kumar, a third year student of Banaras Hindu University, told The Telegraph: “As the competition has become tougher, the students do not want to take any risk.”

Patwa Toli’s tryst with the IITs began in 1996, when Jitendra Kumar became the first person from the area to qualify for the IITs. His success inspired others and from 1999 onwards 58 students have made it to the tech hubs.

The standard of living in Patwa Toli had also changed with the success of its youths. Now, more that half the households have access to computer and Internet.

At least six technologies of printing, dyeing and bleaching have been introduced here. Once known as the Manchester of Bihar, Manpur Vastra Udyog in Patwa Toli is now a centre of cotton fabric and cloth merchants from different parts of the country come here to buy fabric and looms.

District results

Two students from Saran and one from Siwan have cracked the IIT-JEE this year.

While Aayam Bharadwaj, a resident of Sherpur village, ranked 913, Rebelganj resident Akhilesh Singh secured rank 3,233.

Shivam is the son of former minister and Congress leader Vijay Shankar Mishra.