PATNA: A collapsed lung. Bandaged body. Over 70% vision impairment requiring glasses with a power of 9.5. Clock ticking towards one of India’s toughest tests.When Gunjan Kumar from Bihar’s Sitamarhi could no longer keep pace with JEE preparation, his mother picked up pen and paper — refusing to let his dream slip away.Months later, the 17-yearold secured admission to computer science at IIT Delhi’s Abu Dhabi campus, turning a season of pain into a future bright with possibility.Gunjan moved to Rajasthan’s coaching hub Kota in 2023 to prepare for JEE, but severe chest pain in Oct last year changed everything.Confined to bed for nearly3 months after surgery for pneumothorax — a collapsed lung — Gunjan could barely study during the crucial stretch of JEE preparation.Recovery, not IIT, was foremost on his mind. “At that time, I wasn’t thinking about IIT at all. I wasn’t even allowed to get up because my body was bandaged,” he said.That is when Gunja Kumari, a homemaker and BEd graduate in social science, stepped in. Far removed from physics, chemistry and mathematics for years, she attended his online coaching classes, prepared handwritten notes filled with complex equations and revised every lesson with her son. Recorded lectures became their classroom.“It took her 2-and-a-half hours to write notes from a 1-hour lecture. She would ask me questions so that I wouldn’t forget what I had studied.”Gunjan recovered only in Dec, leaving barely 3 weeks before JEE Mains in Jan.“The notes my mother prepared became the foundation of my revision.”Gunjan scored 91.8 percentile in JEE Mains and cracked JEE (Advanced) 2026 with rank 50 in PwD-OBC category and common PwD rank 120, earning a seat at IIT Delhi’s campus in UAE. Gunja recalled juggling household responsibilities, nursing her son and relearning subjects she had long left behind.“It was very challenging… but I never let myself get upset because I knew my son would lose hope if I did.”
