In a fairy tale like, yet inspiring, story of courage and affection, two siblings from an impoverished Bihar farmer’s family, younger brother, Basant Kumar Pandit (18) not only cracked the JEE himself but also carried his polio-afflicted elder brother, Krishna Kumar (20) on his back to success in JEE Advanced 2016.

Combating disability of legs following a childhood case of polio, Krishna has shown the world that courage can make you fly. However, Krishna’s younger brother, Basant is credited equally for the success of Krishna, as he has been carrying the latter on his back since childhood when he was detected with polio and needed someone’s support to go to school. Born to a farmer, Madan Pandit of Paroriya village in Samastipur region of Bihar, the duo have four other siblings of whom, the elder two Rajesh and Shrawan, work at a motor garage in Mumbai to support the education of their younger siblings. Krishna bagged All India Rank (AIR) 38 in Physically Challenged category (PwD) category of JEE Advanced 2016 while Basant has got AIR 3,675 in Other Backward Caste (OBC) Category.

The journey to country’s most premier institute – IIT – started for the siblings around 3 years ago in 2013 when they reached Kota from their village in Bihar for JEE coaching. Devendra Singh Parmar, Faculty, Mathematics at Allen Career Institute said that Basant deserves accolades for his service and dedication towards his elder brother Krishna to help him achieve his dream of seeking admission in IIT. “Everyday, Basant used to either carry his elder brother on his back or on his bicycle to the coaching institute. He also used to take Krishna along with their study bags to the classroom,” he said. “Basant was always smiling while working with his elder brother while Krishna was encouraged by Basant’s effort,” he added. He said that both the brothers were sincere and good in their studies during coaching. Krishna also attributes his success to his younger brother. “It was Basant’s efforts which enabled me to continue my studies and achieve my dream of seeking admission in IIT,” he said. Basant wants to study mechanical engineering at IIT Kanpur and later become a civil servant, whereas Krishna wants to study computer science in IIT.

Basant has been a support system for Krishna since their childhood. He said that Krishna suffered from polio at a very early age and had difficulties in attending school. It was at this point that Basant decided to carry his elder brother to school. After studying in their village school till class 10th, the duo reached Kota three years ago.

Krishna and Basant cracked the JEE Mains last year but failed to crack JEE Advanced after which their families asked them to return to Bihar due to their financial condition. Their coaching institute, Allen Career Institute came to their rescue and provided 75% scholarship in their fees to help them stay for one more year in Kota give the JEE Advanced 2016. Naveen Maheshwari, Director, Allen Career Institute said, “Our institute always supports talented and underprivileged students. We will provide a scholarship of Rs 1500 per month to Krishna for his IIT studies.” Allen has also awarded Krishna a cash award of Rs 21,000 for achieving 38 AIR Rank in PwD OBC category of JEE Advanced 2016.

The brothers are now concerned that their special bond might be broken as the vast gap in rank means that it is unlikely that they get admission into the same IIT. Krishna says that he has the option of filing for the same IIT institute to which younger brother Basant would apply to during the JEE Advanced counseling.