Kerala petrol pump attendant's daughter inspires netizens with her academic excellence

Arya Rajagopal, a native of Payyanur, is shy to talk to the media about her success in academics, but her quiet story of success has enamoured and inspired millions of Indians after a tweet of her story went viral. A simple story of the daughter of a petrol pump attendant who secured  MTech from IIT Kanpur broke the internet on Wednesday. The story had a picture of Arya with her father Rajagopal in front of the Indian Oil petrol bunk at Payyanur where he has been working since 2005. 51-year old Rajagopal was seen wearing a company uniform and a simple sandal. His daughter, who stood next to him, was seen dressed in her Salwar with a college bag on her back. 

The tweet described how surely and slowly the father fuelled the dream of her daughter in academics and how the daughter in turn excelled in her career taking the inspiration from her father. 

In less than 24 hours, the story was picked up by citizens who found it inspiring for a common man. "A regional manager of Indian Oil Corporation had asked me for a photograph with my daughter as he found it very inspiring that a daughter of a petrol pump attendant has made such great strides academically despite hailing from a low-income family," said Rajagopal. The photographs and the story first reached all the IOC dealers Whatsapp Groups. Later, it was picked up by the author of this piece. 

"My wife works as a receptionist in a private firm. Our income is meagre and we were particular that our daughter studied well. We were fortunate that she studied very hard and got through different stages of her academic career through merit," said Rajagopal, in an exclusive chat with Republic. " We only had to worry about hostel expenses and basic fees."

Arya's academic excellence shows a consistent performance. She secured 100 % in High School and 98 % in Higher Secondary. She got in through merit rank at the prestigious National Institute of Technology in Calicut with a CPI of 7.83 and then got to IIT Kanpur with a CPI of 8.33.

The tweet in 24 hours has reached out to 5 lakh individuals on Twitter itself and the story bounced across to other platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn as well, bringing in about of happiness in the social media platforms.  The story was amplified by Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs & Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas. He quote tweeted to mark his appreciation on Twitter. "Heartwarming indeed". Arya Rajagopal has done her father Sh Rajagopal Ji & indeed all of us are associated with the country’s energy sector immensely proud. This exemplary father-daughter duo is an inspiration & role model for Aspirational New India. My best wishes.

Petrol pump attendant's daughter inspires netizens

The story has moved many Indians to excel in their life. One Twitter user Meghraj Singh Jadeja tweeted, 

"Dear God, I will not come there before I make my pappa this much proud one day. Doesn't matter how many more times you try."

Ravi Gite, Directorate General of Information & Public Relations, Govt of Maharashtra quote tweeted and said daughters are moments of happiness.

When asked if his daughter would speak to the media, he said, "Arya is a very shy girl. Through Republic I would like to place my gratitude to all the people who send their best wishes to us." said Rajagopal. Before concluding, we asked the proud father, does he have any other dreams, he paused for a while, a spoke softly. "I would be wonderful if my daughter gets placed in Indian Oil Corporation, the same company I worked for since 2005," he said, in a soft voice.