DEHRADUN: As 28-year-old Balbanka Tiwari from Arrah, Bihar, graduated from the Indian Military Academy (IMA) on Saturday, transitioning from being a sepoy in the Indian Army to an officer, his wife, mother and four-month-old daughter, who he was meeting for the very first time on Saturday, watched with pride. Barely able to hold back tears, his mother Munni Devi said, “He started working by the time he had turned 16 to supplement the family income and toiled for 12 hours in return for just Rs 50 to Rs 100 a day.”
Tiwari, son of a farmer, said only “grit and faith” had brought him this far. “After Class XII, unable to find any prospects in Arrah, I moved to Rourkela in Odisha. I first worked at a factory that cut iron springs and rods. I then joined a namkeen factory. However, I continued my education and took tuitions. I never left my dream of joining the Army all this while,” said Tiwari.