From flyover studies to flying colours

It was not an ideal study situation for this brother-sister duo, yet both of them managed to pass their HSC and SSC exams, respectively, with good scores, with the girl securing first class. Pooja and Manish Yadav lived and studied below a flyover in Kandivli; she scored 60.21% and he 58%.

The Yadavs are students of Prince Tiwari, who runs the NGO 'Teresa: the Ocean of Humanity Foundation' and used to teach children below the bridge. The siblings resided below the flyover for seven to eight years.

Pooja said, "I am not that happy with my scores because I was expecting above 75%. I wish to go for science stream, but now I don't know if I will be able to with this score."

Her elder brother Manish secured 58% in commerce stream. "We have shifted to a one-room tenement in a chawl in Kandivli with the help of our teacher Prince Tiwari. Our parents are happy with Pooja's score, but she is not. But the reason there has been no celebration is because our mother has been admitted in hospital with dengue," he said.

"We both will now study harder and stand on our own feet to build our own house. We both used to prefer studying at night as our home used to be below the bridge which was next to a traffic signal. We were shifted by our teacher in the chawl a few months before our exam began."