Speaking exclusively to India.com, Gagan spoke about how education was not a priority in his community and children younger than him had to work to support their families.

New Delhi: Sometimes life has many surprises, but you need to be determined and hardworking to achieve them. In this series of success stories, we are talking about Gagan, a small-time boy from Atrauli in Aligarh who, despite his humble background, made it to IIT, one of the premier institutes in the country. From a daily wage earner to cracking the IIT interview, Gagan's story will surely inspire you to aspire in life.

Gagan earned only Rs 350 a day

Raised in a family of six, Gagan's father worked as a godown keeper at a gas agency. To support his father, Gagan and his elder brother worked with him, lifting gas cylinders for Rs 350 a day. Despite the heavy weight of these responsibilities, he never gave up on his ambitions and refused to settle for less. Gagan focused on his dream of getting into IIT.

Speaking exclusively to India.com, Gagan spoke about how education was not a priority in his community and children younger than him had to work to support their families.

Working during the day, studying at night

Gagan and his brother had been doing this work since childhood, earning just Rs 350 a day by lifting gas cylinders. Despite all these difficulties, Gagan did not back down but worked tirelessly throughout the day and after night work, he used to study Physics Walla online on his mobile phone.

It was the only gadget available to him to study as intensely as JEE preparation. With relentless effort and determination, he got into IIT BHU in Electrical and Communication Engineering.

In a YouTube video, he shared how he balanced his hard days and nights studying, ultimately overcoming challenges to achieve his educational goals despite having very few resources and no access to high-quality and expensive educational materials.

Gagan began his academic journey with Physics Walla's online classes, steadily improving his grades throughout high school. He got immense help from Physics Vala's Arjun Batch for Class 11th and Lakshya Batch for Class 12th which are famous for preparing school students for admissions.

He enrolled himself in the attempt batch of PWs, which was meant to break the entry door by the leakers. He was relieved by the highly affordable courses designed keeping in mind the financial constraints of many students who dreaded the thought of taking admission in such institutions due to less financial resources.

Gagan qualified for JEE Main twice

Even after qualifying JEE Main twice, his ultimate goal remained to clear JEE Advanced at an IIT. Taking a year off to devote himself fully to his studies, he scored an impressive AIR 5286 in JEE Advanced 2024.

After watching a video about Gagan on YouTube, Alakh Pandey, founder and CEO of Physics Walla, was impressed by her struggle and unwavering commitment to education. Pandey offered Gagan a scholarship of Rs 4 lakh to pursue his dream. Additionally, recognizing the determination of both Gagan and his elder brother, he increased employment opportunities at the Physics Walla, ensuring that they would no longer have to endure such labor.

Students who have limited financial means but have extraordinary courage, dedication and ambition should remember that they are never alone in their journey and Gagan's transition from hardship to success is a testament to the fact that anything is possible with focus. .