Singh was driven by just one dream: to pursue his post-doctorate in antioxidants from Germany. And he was hoping to be sent to Germany for a project around mid-2010.
With a success story scripted amid trash and squalor, Umang Singh could easily have been the protagonist in Danny Boyle’s cinematic yarn on gritty slum kids and shantytown dreams Slumdog Millionaire. Only, there would have been no happy ending to the story. The BARC laboratory fire on Tuesday forced the twist.
Umang Singh, 24, was one of the two junior scientists killed in the fire. It ended the heart-warming journey of a bright scientist from the slums to the country’s premier nuclear research centre.
The only son and the youngest of three siblings in a lower middle class family, Singh grew up in a one-room Jogeshwari tenement in Mumbai’s western suburbs. But slum life adversities never smothered his determination.
“Even power cuts did not deter him from studying. He would sit under the street lamp and bury himself in his books,” said Chotelal Gupta, his neighbour and friend of 20 years. His friends, who had gathered at JJ hospital to claim his body on Wednesday, recalled him as a “studious, helpful and dedicated” person.
Singh was driven by just one dream: to pursue his post-doctorate in antioxidants from Germany. And he was hoping to be sent to Germany for a project around mid-2010. Tuesday’s blaze cut short his 15-year-old dream.
A dedicated worker, he even postponed plans for the New Year’s Eve bash with his friends. “For him, duty always came first,” said Jairam Golve, a friend. “He told us we could party over the weekend as he did not want to bunk work.”
“He was a complete go-getter. Once he set his goal, he would not let anything come in the way,” said Sushil Mishra, a hotel management graduate, one of Singh’s close buddies.
Singh did his schooling from the St Mary’s school and graduated in science from Ismail Yusuf College. He later joined Bhavan’s College to pursue post graduation in science and topped the results.
“In 2007, his dream of joining BARC came true. He was thrilled when he was selected,” said Vijay Yadav, another friend.
Bina, Singh’s sister said he always strove to provide luxuries to his family. “He kept telling us that one day he would make it to a position where the entire nation would respect him,” said Bina.
His father Uday Narayan Singh, 57, who works as junior accountant in a private firm in Dombivli, managed to eke out a living and educate his children. “To ensure that Umang’s educational needs were met, my father even borrowed money on a couple of occasions,” said Bina.
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