From peon to lecturer, such a long journey

Working As Peon, Ashok Did His LLB, LLM & PhD

Rohtak: Until recently, he served water and cleaned tables in the law department of the university here. Today, he’s an idol to many, who are willing to do his bidding. Ashok Kumar, a peon in Maharishi Dayanand University who went on to earn his doctorate in criminal terrorism law, has fought off his demons well. Incidentally, he’s also a Dalit.
“I joined MDU as peon in 1992 after my intermediate. But I wanted to do more and pursued my studies privately. There was no looking back once I graduated and got admitted to LLB classes (evening shift),” said Ashok Kumar (36), who is also a lecturer in criminal law at BPS Woman University in Sonepat.
“It isn’t easy being a teacher. I realised there was a wide gap between my previous job and my current vocation, and often found it tough to deal with my inner complexes.”
A year into his new job, Kumar is the most popular teacher among the students.
While he read, Kumar ran a gruelling schedule often stretching up to 17 hours a day. “I would report for work at 8am, remain in the department until 9.30pm and reach home around midnight,” he said.
“The LLM course wasn’t available in the evening and I couldn’t join the morning classes since I was a regular employee. But I requested my department officials to transfer me as a peon to the evening session so that I could get admission in the morning session,” he recalls.
He remembers his father Jage Ram, an illiterate labourer, who wanted to give his children good education but had no resources.
“I am the sixth child among eight siblings, including five sisters. All my sisters are unlettered as my parents couldn’t afford education for all of us,” Kumar says.
Kids of rag-pickers come up trumps
Life was never a cakewalk for them. But on Thursday, ragpickers Gurjant Singh and Sarbjit Kaur succeeded in taking the first step towards a better future by clearing the state-level Joint Entrance Test (JET) and securing admission in three-year diploma courses. The two reside in rag-pickers colony in Patiala with their parents. Singh has secured admission in diploma in computer in Thapar Polytechnic, while Kaur has chosen information technology in Government Polytechnic for Girls, Patiala. The two could realise their dream thanks to the efforts of Malwa Arts Sports Cultural and Educational Trust (MASCUT) which has been funding the education of children in the colony.

Article from TOI (14th Aug 2009)

Laugh it out loud

I was in the pub yesterday when I suddenly realized I desperately needed to fart. The music was really, really loud, so I timed my farts with the beat.

After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my pint and noticed that everybody was staring at me.

Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod.