Every time Apoorva Naik sat down at her sewing machine, she wasn’t just stitching clothes. She was stitching together hope. That machine became her family’s lifeline, paying school fees, covering daily expenses, and keeping alive a dream that once seemed out of reach. Today, that dream has brought her son Jigar Naik close to becoming the first person from his village Bakilikona, in Odisha, to make it into an IIT.Jigar scored an All India Rank of 5474 in JEE Advanced 2026. It’s a result that came after years of personal loss and financial struggle. But behind the rank lies a story numbers can’t capture.
11 Jun 2026 | 18:00
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When cancer took away the family’s main support
Until 2020, Jigar’s father Jurinath Naik worked at a textile unit in Gujarat and supported the family. Then he was diagnosed with cancer. Treatment wiped out the family’s savings, and despite everything, Jurinath passed away, leaving behind his wife and two young sons. The loss hit them both emotionally and financially. For many families, a blow like this means children’s education gets put on hold. But Apoorva had already decided. Her sons would keep studying, no matter what.
The sewing machine that kept the family going
Image Courtesy: Dainik Bhaskar
After her husband died, Apoorva took over running the household. She pawned her jewellery, took loans against her gold. She also started working as a tailor, taking in stitching work from nearby homes. It was tiring work, but she never let it become a reason to compromise her children’s education. While others just saw a woman sewing clothes, Jigar saw something more: sacrifice, determination, and someone who wouldn’t let circumstances decide her children’s future. Years later, that example became one of his biggest sources of motivation.
A dream that started on social media
Jigar’s IIT dream didn’t begin in a classroom. Until Class 10, he barely knew anything about JEE or the IITs. It was while scrolling through social media that he came across videos about engineering entrance exams and stories of students getting into top institutes. “I did not know much about JEE till Class 10. After watching videos related to engineering and competitive exams on social media, I started dreaming about studying at IIT,” Jigar said. He moved to Kota, India’s coaching hub, and spent the next two years preparing for one of the country’s toughest exams.
Hard work, scholarships, and a mother’s faith
Money remained a constant worry. Because of the family’s weak financial situation, Jigar got fee concessions during Classes 11 and 12, which eased some of the pressure. But success still demanded relentless effort. He scored 95 percent in Class 10 and 87 percent in Class 12, then went on to get a 98.6143 percentile in JEE Main before clearing JEE Advanced with a strong rank. But even as people celebrated, Jigar stayed focused on the reason he’d worked so hard in the first place: his family.
“I want to end my mother’s struggles”
Unlike many students who talk about their own achievements, Jigar’s first thoughts after his result were about his mother and younger brother, who is currently in Class 7. He hopes his success will help give his whole family a better future. “My hard work is not just for myself,” he said. “I want to end my mother’s struggles and make sure my younger brother completes his education without facing any difficulties.” For Jigar, getting into IIT isn’t the finish line: it’s the start of something bigger.
The parenting lesson behind Jigar’s story
Stories like this often get framed around academic success, but at their core, they’re about parenting too. Apoorva Naik couldn’t teach her son physics or maths, or help him solve practice papers. What she gave him instead was something just as powerful: belief. When life gave her every reason to give up, she chose to keep going. When money was tight, she protected her children’s education.Her story is a reminder that kids don’t always remember what their parents say. They remember what their parents do. And sometimes, a mother’s quiet determination becomes the foundation for her child’s biggest dreams. Today, as Jigar stands on the edge of IIT, every stitch his mother sewed carries a deeper meaning.
