OUR CORRESPONDENT
MANGALDAI: This Durga Puja, festivity was in the air; decorated pandals were lit and dazzling. But for a young man in Mangaldai, the real light comes from the warm glow of a hot iron.
This is Rajen Baitha, son of Meena Devi and Ganesh Baitha, a humble laundryman from Gerimari, Mangaldai, who runs a small shop at Chilarai Bazar of Mangaldai town. Currently, Rajen is a student of Industrial Design at NIT Rourkela — one of the premier institutions of the country.
Rajen’s journey is one of grit, humility, and sheer hard work. An alumnus of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Darrang, he excelled in academics from the very beginning. He secured 83.6% in Class X and 82.2% in Class XII (CBSE) with an outstanding 98% in Computer Science. A student selected for IOCL’s prestigious Super 30 programme, he cracked the JEE with 49 percentile and secured an All India SC Rank of 3625, fighting all odds to reach NIT Rourkela. But what makes him truly exceptional is not his academic success, but his grounded heart.
Even in his school days at JNV Darrang, while other children enjoyed their vacations, Rajen spent all his holidays ironing clothes alongside his father in that small shop. And today, as an NITian, he is doing the same. This Durga Puja vacation, instead of celebrating outside with friends, he is standing beside his father — ironing clothes, sharing his burden, and honouring his father’s sweat that paved his way to NIT.