Higher studies dropped, but GK raised him to the skies

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 4

Having completed his BCom from DAV College in 2011, Kumar Sambhav (30) had chosen a career in law. The same year he opted for LLB at St Soldier College of Law.

Owing to some financial problems at home, he had to drop his studies midway. “I had two sisters who too were studying at that time. My dad was then a law officer with a national daily and my mother too worked in the same organisation. I was in the first year when my parents told me that they will not be able to bear further expenses of my studies. So, I decided to drop my studies,” he recalls.

Following the grave decision, he had thought of earning enough through tutoring and afterwards he would rejoin the course. Then, as if, a miracle happened. “It had been nearly a month that I had not gone to the college. In those days, my college had been preparing a team for inter-college quiz competition. My principal Dr Subhash Sharma was well aware of my skills such contests as I had won in the north-zone youth festival as a DAV College student a year before,” he says.

The St Soldier team was selected in the presence of Dr Sharma and his college chairman Anil Chopra. “Upon seeing my performance they were impressed and asked me about my studies,” he adds. He then narrated his ordeal and the principal met him personally after that and told him not to worry as he will be recommending his case for a complete fee waiver with the college management. “But only If I continue to perform in the same manner in the future contests. Ever since then there has been no looking back,” says the youngster hailing from New Vijay Nagar here.

Using his own hard-earned tuition fee money and help from Dr Sharma, Sambhav went ahead to complete his LLM from Guru Nanak Dev University. Seven years on, he is a lawyer, a professional quiz master and even takes General Knowledge classes for candidates trying for various competitive exams. He has not forgotten his past in this bright future. “I have earned enough money to sustain my family in the past seven years. Both my parents are retired. One of my sisters is married,” he shares.

Even today, when he sees a bright child in his institute in need of help, he never backs off. “Recently, a gifted child of a street vendor sought free coaching from me. I knew the caliber of the child and immediately agreed,” he tells.

How does he have such tight grip on GK and current affairs? Well, he has a childhood

Originally from Bihar, when his parents were transferred to Jalandhar in 2000, he was admitted in class IV at Parvati Jain School. That’s where the first glimpse of his brilliance surfaced. “In the initial days, I faced a lot discrimination from Punjabi students here. In the same class, I participated in the inter-school quiz and won,” Sambhav says. His name appeared in a newspaper the next day. “And everyone in the class were all praise for me all of a sudden,” he quips.

It was then it dawned upon him this was indeed his most prized asset and needs to work on it to have an edge. “Since that day, I have been regular with reading newspapers and magazines and remained on a spree till my postgraduation,” he says.