Married Off Before 10th Boards, My Mom Later Became A Doctor And HoD In A Medical College!

Can’t imagine myself married before my 10th board results, and then aspire to become a doctor and pursue my career thereafter. But my mother had this journey of her own!

She was born in a small village of Bihar in the 1960’s while India was facing the Indo-China war. She wouldn’t have known then, that time was about to prepare her for a war against all odds.

Her grandfather was a freedom fighter and father was struggling to get a central Government job. Her mother gave birth to her when she herself was 17 years. By the time her father got the job in a small town, she had a younger brother and a sister. At school, they studied by sharing the books of the neighbourhood kids who were rich enough to buy the books they needed.

She could continue being dedicated to her studies

My mother gave in to marriage as a tradition of society for getting married at that age, but she never faltered in her dedication and perseverance towards her studies. Soon after marriage, her board results were out and she had passed with first class and a very good percentage.

By then she was staying with her husband and in-laws, but she got admission to inter college for further studies. There she was, going to college after marriage, while the neighbouring girls and daughters in law were busy cooking for their families and nurturing hobbies. They used to stare her and wonder what my mother was going to do with all this study.

Soon she finished her 11th grade. In the 12th grade she came to know that she was pregnant as the 12th standard exams were approaching. Yet she gave the exam, and she was the first student in my family, on both my grandparents’ side, who took PCMB (Maths+Biology) in the 70’s era.

Her mother, my grandmother then realised her mistake in marrying her off so early

My granny meanwhile realized that she had done wrong in marrying off her daughter at an early age while she had great zeal in her studies. She came to my mother rescue in her third trimester of gestation period during her 12 grade examinations.

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Meanwhile my mother filled the form for the medical entrance examinations (AIPMT) as an appearing candidate. She took her entrance examinations while pregnant with me. After few days i was born and so was her medical entrance result. She cleared both her tests.

By now she was a medical student and a mother of a girl child. Her third phase of life had started so early that she was only 19yrs old. Now she had to be both – a mother and a medical student. My grandmother (nani ma) took the burden of taking care of her granddaughter, and sent her to the medical college hostel for her further studies while I was only two months old.

My younger sister came to my mother when she was in her fourth and final year of MBBS and I was 4 years old. By the time she cleared her MBBS she was a mother of two daughters, and pregnant for the 3rd time.

She fought all odds with the support of her mother and became a successful doctor. With her journey towards her aspirations and perseverance, she became a Professor at the Medical college in Bihar where she teaches medical students and holds the post of the Head of her Department.

This year, my mother is 60.

I always look up at her and learn from her journey, and she is my forever inspiration. “Look only at your goal, circumstances will take care of their own and nature will come to your rescue in unexpected ways.”

Mothers are always an inspiration and your first school.

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