Calcutta: Dreams in their eyes and passion for learning in their hearts fetched 30 students the Priyamvada Birla and Jaswant Singh Lodha scholarships recently.
Simarul Halsona, a student of Bengali (honours) at Jadavpur University, was one of the 25 meritorious students who received the Priyamvada Birla Scholarship.
"My father is a farm labour and this scholarship will help in many ways," said Simarul, who is 100 per cent visually impaired.
Simarul, like all other recipients of the scholarship, will get Rs 24,000 every year for four years to help them complete their graduation.
A former student of Ramakrishna Mission Blind Boys' Academy, Narendrapur, Simarul has also played cricket at the national level.
For Sangita Manna from Depal in East Midnapore, the scholarship is a step towards realising her dream of becoming a dietician and ensuring healthy eating habits among villagers.
"My father is a farmer and suffers from chronic bronchitis. My mother is a homemaker. Our annual family income is around Rs 48,000. This scholarship will be of great help to me," said the first-year nutrition student of Ramnagar College.
Iti Ghosh, a chemistry (honours) student at Bethune College, hopes the scholarship will ensure that she can continue higher education. The daughter of a farmer in Burdwan, she wants to do research in physical chemistry.
H.V. Lodha, the chairman of the MP Birla Group, said the scholarship was not only aimed at helping poor and promising students but also inspiring privileged students to excel.
"Students get to see how privileged they are. The scholarship recipients come from such humble and adverse backgrounds and yet they want to go forward and give back to the society and people. This is a very important lesson," he said.
Launched in 2013 by the Madhav Prasad Priyamvada Birla Apex Charitable Trust, the Priyamvada Birla Scholarship Scheme is executed by the South Point Education Society.
The Jaswant Singh Lodha Scholarship, instituted by the Lodha Charitable Trust, was launched this year. Five students received the scholarship in its first year.
"The students receiving the scholarship have not let adverse conditions undermine their zeal to go forward in life. Our students are getting a chance to appreciate their indomitable courage," said Rupa Sanyal Bhattacharjee, the principal of South Point High School.
