HISAR: When her father braved the harsh Haryana summer, going from door to door as a junk dealer in Hisar’s Balsmand village, Simran dreamed of a life where money wasn’t a constant worry – a life where she could buy her parents a gift without checking the budget.That dream came true this Monday, when the 21-year-old electrical engineering graduate from IIT-Mandi landed a job at Microsoft with a Rs 55 lakh annual package. From a family where her father earned Rs 300-500 a day, Simran now brings home nearly Rs 15,000 a day.She cracked the AIEEE in her first attempt at 17 and, driven by a passion for coding, chose computer science as an additional subject during her engineering course – always keeping her eyes on one goal: a job at Microsoft. She achieved her first goal when she was selected for an internship at Microsoft’s Hyderabad campus. “During the two-month internship, I was named the best intern among 300 students. The overseas head of Microsoft flew in from the US to present the award. It was his first visit to India for such an occasion,” says Simran. Her father, Rajesh Kumar, had been using the little that he earned to support Simran’s three siblings. Her story is an inspiration within the family, as her two younger sisters, Mamta and Muskan, are studying in Class XII (non-medical) at the village’s senior secondary school. Her younger brother, Harshit, is in Class VIII. Simran’s mother, Kavita, is a homemaker and has studied up to Class XII. Rajesh says he never imagined his daughter would reach such heights. “I earn just enough to keep the family going,” he says. Kavita taught Simran at home up to Class VII, never burdening her with household chores so she could focus on studies. “She never needed tuitions. After Class VII, we sent her to a good school in Hisar. Now she has fulfilled her dream and has become an inspiration for her younger sisters. They too will try to achieve something big in life,” she adds.
