BHAWANIPATNA: Medical student, formerly marginal farmer and migrant worker. That’s what Krushna Ataka’s CV - if he has one - would read like. Having battled poverty and drudgery all his life, Krushna is making a new beginning in life, at the age of 33. He just enrolled into Saheed Rindo Majhi Medical College and Hospital at Bhawanipatna. The Kondh youth had prepared for NEET without any coaching and got a rank of 3,902.
Born to a marginal farmer of Thuapada village in Bissamcuttack of Rayagada district, Krushna’s dreams of higher education took him places, literally. His father Vaidya Ataka’s 1.27 acre land was the only source of income for the family of five. However, poor financial conditions could not derail his ambition. In 2006, he completed matriculation from the Government High School of Ambadola (in Rayagada) and with the assistance of a voluntary organisation, he successfully cleared Plus Two from Khallikote Junior College in 2008.
But, challenges lay ahead. To assist his family, he migrated to Tamil Nadu in 2012 where he worked at a brick kiln in Perambur. He then moved to Kottayam in Kerala to work at a match stick plant. Two years later, he returned home and assisted his parents in agriculture work.
As he continued to nurse his dreams for higher education, he got married in 2018. The Ataka household had got bigger - his parents, two younger brothers, wife and two children. Between farm work and family, eight years passed but Krushna did not let his dreams die. The father of two found time for studies and qualified for NEET this year.
When it came to admission, finances were a challenge again. The admission fee of `37,950 was met by an affluent person in his village. It was a loan without interest. However annual hostel and mess charges of around Rs 36000 per continue to bother him.
“I am hopeful this hurdle too will be overcome,” says the 33-year-old as he continues to seek patronage. After completion of medical education, he says his dream is to serve his locality where health services are a distant dream.