Doc dream bears fruit, with little help

Calcutta: Living with her parents and younger brother in a one-room house in Chingrighata, 19-year-old Tiyasa Majumder dared to dream big. Daughter of taxi driver Kamal Majumder, Tiyasa always had her eye on the target - to become a doctor.

"If my parents can work so hard to help me study, why can't I push myself to make my dreams come true," said Tiyasa, who has just got admission in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. She wants to be a neurologist.

The support of her parents has always been her driving force. "I have never had to do any work around the house, my mother made sure I held on to my focus," said Tiyasa.

With a monthly income of Rs 6,000 and a four-member family, Tiyasa's parents ensured their financial situation did not come in the way of her goal. "My father, just to ensure that I have a space to study comfortably, built a makeshift wooden room above our house," said Tiyasa. "In five years I dream of being in a place where I can provide all types of comfort to my parents."

Tiyasa gave tuition classes to four students to supplement the family income, her mother Tapasi Majumder said.

Apart from her family, coaching institute Pace IIT and Medical played a crucial role in Tiyasa's journey. She learnt about Pace from a pamphlet and went to their office. "After I told them about my financial condition, Pace lowered the tuition fee for me," she said.

Tiyasa scored 422 out of 720 and secured a state rank of 141 in NEET 2018. "Pace's support has been a blessing. Even now they are paying my college fees," she said.

She feels there is a dearth of doctors in Calcutta. "Patients are increasing every day but the number of doctors is limited. I want to provide free service to people who can't afford medical attention."

Tiyasa supervises her brother Ron's studies. "Pace has selected my brother as the recipient of a scholarship and I will make sure he, too, becomes a doctor. I will guide him," she said.

Following her success, Pace IIT and Medical with actor and radio jockey Mir, and Tiyasa, launched a website www.tiyasarkhoj.com at Pace's Exide junction centre on Saturday to support others like her.

"Through this website we plan to give scholarships to 40 students from Class XI who want to pursue engineering or medical studies," said Rohit Agarwal, director, Pace Calcutta.

The website will help people nominate any Class XI student who dreams to be an engineer or doctor.

From the nominations, Pace will shortlist students who would receive coaching and in some special cases, also their engineering and medical college fees.

Along with the website, Mir, Tiyasa and her family launched #TiyasarKhoj, a short film by Pace as a tribute to Tiyasa's achievements.

"We hope that this website will become the gateway to the dreams of millions of students in Bengal," said Vivek Modi, CEO, YellowBulbs, who conceived and made the film .

Talking about the website Mir said, "Pace is here to make a difference to many lives. Who knows, maybe there is a Tiyasa right next door. Pace has provided a platform and process. Tiyasa is the spearhead of the campaign. She is the biggest inspiration for us."