KOCHI: This is a tale of determination. When Shomzida Yeasmin and M D Safiqul Islam from Assam decided to travel 3,601 km to Kochi, their dream of furthering their education seemed far-fetched.“Ours is a love marriage and hence didn’t have the blessing of our families. So, Safiqul, who cleared class XII, and I, who completed class X, had to rely upon ourselves to make ends meet,” says Shomzida. Safiqul was her brother’s friend. “We fell in love while studying in the post-metric college located 40 km from my village Morigaon. We used to travel to the college together,” says Shomzida. “Though we wanted to complete our studies. we dropped the idea after our families disowned us,” she said.
Shomizda’s husband had joined for BSc course, but the strain that the huge fee put on their limited budget saw him dropping out. “But, since I was yet to complete my Plus Two course, he told me that he would travel to Kerala, get a job and send me the money needed for my education.
However, I told him that I won’t stay back,” she said. The duo boarded a train to Kerala in 2012 with just their clothes and a small bag of rice. “When we reached the state, we were a bewildered young couple. We didn’t know the language and even our English was limited. We didn’t know whom to approach and how to find something to eat, let alone go around asking for a job,” said Shomizda, who explained how they roasted the rice, pounded it into flour and made a gruel.
But, soon Safiqul landed a job with a bottled drinking water supplier. “This job was what revived our academic future,” she said. “One of the regular customers was Nirmal Jyothi College at Angamaly. After making a few supplies, my husband requested his manager to talk to the college authorities about continuing his education. The manager contacted the director, who agreed and admitted Safiqul to BCom course. Since I hadn’t completed my Plus Two, I repeated the course as a private student in commerce stream,” said Shomzida.
Today, 25-year-old Shomzida and 26-year-old Safiqul are waiting for the college to open so that they can write the remaining papers for MCom and get their postgraduate degree certificates. “Both Safiqul and I are appearing as private candidates of the college. During weekdays, he works with a construction company. He attends classes on Sundays,” she said.
Shomzida had in between had completed CA foundation course and is now preparing for the intermediate course. According to her, they dream of getting a good job after they finish their course. “Safiqul too wants to do CA. Besides getting a job, we dream of starting an educational institute in our village that is affordable to everyone,” she said.