Never in my wildest dreams I had the thought of studying at Dhaka Medical College. It still seems unbelievable as I didn't even have the money to buy the admission test form. Yes, I had gone through such days.
My childhood was poverty stricken. My daily routine was to work in fields with my father by day and go fishing at night. I never had the chance to go playing like other kids. Survival was our only goal. But I still had the urge to study, I wanted to be something someday. So after working the whole day I'd light a lantern and start studying. Even if my body wanted to rest it took all my willpower to keep going. It seemed to me that studying is a luxury that I can't afford.
When I was in class four, my mother died. She suddenly fell sick. A quack doctor treated her. We didn't have the money for her treatment. Back then we didn't understand how she died. Now as I'm studying medicine, I came to know it was a case of stroke. Mother passed away, but left behind a 22 days old daughter. My father already had 4 children. The eldest being me, then two sisters then a brother. It was hard enough for us to survive, but now raising her up in these conditions seemed almost impossible. So we had to give her away to another family, under the conditions that we can never reveal our identities to her. 6 months after my mother's death, my father married again. A rich relative of mine took one of my sisters away. They treated her like a maid. They didn't allow her to sup with them and kept her in the kitchen. After passing class 4, it was everybody's decision that I quit school and move to Narayanganj to work in a workshop to support my family. I had to work from 8 in the morning to as long as 2am in the middle of the night. When I saw children of my age going to school, I couldn't hold back my tears.
After 6 months, I returned home. The day before going back to the workshop, one of my friends took me back to school and told me continue my studies. Seeing my school friends, I didn't want to leave again. I collected some books from my teachers. When my family got the news, they couldn't believe what I just did. My father and stepmother told me to go back to the workshop. They didn't let me stay in the house. I moved to one of my neighbours house, under the conditions that I had to teach their children and I'll bear my own educational expenses. On fridays I worked as a day labourer in the fields. My wages were 20 taka whether the elders got 50. At night I would go fishing. As I rowed the boat all night, my companion would catch the fishes. This is how I continued my studies. Against the opinion of all, I appeared at the class 5 finals in spite of a 6 month gap. To buy the scholarship exam guide, I asked for money from a man of my lodging house. I still remember his smile of mockery. A labourer of the fields dreams of studying? I got mad with rage, I started studying with everything I had. Later on I bought the "Panjeri" guide from one of my seniors for 50 taka. I couldn't afford rough copies. Had to use the old ones. Even I had to write on previous writings to save space. After so much hardships when I got the scholarship in talentpool quota, my teachers started to take notice of me for the very first time. This scholarship exam was one of the turning points of my career. After that, I continued my studies by doing tuitions.
(
)
I got the scholarship in general grade in class 8. After achieving GPA 4.88 in SSC and GPA 5 in HSC, I came to Dhaka. I couldn't afford to pay my admission coaching fees. Later on I had to sell my room's fan to gather the money. I can't describe how I managed to study in that summer time without a fan. I got chance in Dhaka University at first. I didn't have the money needed to fill my medical admission test form. I borrowed it from a friend and by the grace of almighty I stood 182nd in the exam and got chance in DMC. Now the people who once mocked me see me as a person of great importance. They consult me on any village problems. I too try my best to attend the patients of my village at DMCH. Helping them soothes my mind. When I was in my 3rd year, the owner of my workshop came to DMCH and I helped him in seeing a doctor. I pray that the chance that my Lord has provided me to help people is utilized to the utmost by me. I've never had the economics conditions in my favour, but that didn't stop me from believing. My motto is a quote of the Indian writer Chetan Bhagat- “When you fly high,people will throw stones at you.Don't look down.Just fly higher as the stones won't reach you.”