Though many of us tend to blame our circumstances, very few gather the courage to fight those circumstances for the dreams. For instance, Sunny Hindustani, who went from polishing shoes to winning Indian Idol, the daughters of marginal farmers who cracked IIT-JEE and, the daughter of a mechanic who lives in a single room in a slum cracked NEET to become a doctor.
These stories are so inspiring that they always leave you with the hope that no dream is too big.
One such heroic story of Balbanka Tiwari surfaced on the internet. Belonging to Sundarpur Barja village in Arrah, Bihar, a 28-year-old Balbanka Tiwari, who is a son of a farmer, became an army officer.

As per the report in TOI, Balbanka recently graduated from the IMA (Indian Military Academy). He transitioned from being a sepoy to an army officer in the Indian army. But, his journey to becoming an army officer has been anything but easy.
Recounting his journey right from the beginning, the young officer says,
“After Class XII, unable to find any prospects in Arrah, I moved to Rourkela in Odisha. I first worked at a factory that cut iron springs and rods. I then joined a namkeen factory. However, I continued my education and took tuitions. I never left my dream of joining the Army all this while.”
He added how he was inspired by his relative who was also a jawan in the army. “I was fascinated by the kind of respect he received in our village,” he said.
Barely holding her tears back, Tiwari’s mother Munni Devi explained,
“My son has struggled a lot. He started working by the time he had turned 16 to supplement the family income and toiled for 12 hours in return for just Rs 50 to Rs 100 a day.”
In 2012, he managed to crack the entrance exam of the Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) Centre of the Army in Bhopal in his second attempt. After which, he worked as a jawan for the next 5 years. But simultaneously, he was preparing for the ACC (Army Cadet College) exams to facilitate the transition of soldiers to the rank of officers.
After having cracked it in 2017, he beamed,
“I am so happy I will serve the nation as an officer now.”
Because of pandemic and his training schedule, he was unable to go to his home during the birth of his daughter. Last Saturday, he was finally able to meet her now 4-month-old daughter for the first time.
At IFORHER, we are proud of Mr. Tiwari and his family for fighting against life circumstances. We hope this inspiring story will give courage to many who are battling with life for their dreams.