Shravan Kumar’s story is a widely known story. He carried both his parents on his shoulders. But who knew we would get to see a Shravan Kumari in this 21st Century, when almost every child is busy disagreeing with their parents, this brave girl from Bihar carried her father home on a bicycle. 

15-year-old Jyoti Kumari of Darbhanga, Bihar brought her ailed father home from Gurgaon on a bicycle.

When her father was rendered jobless and couldn’t find a way to return home, eight-grade pass Jyoti Kumari said, ”Chinta na kare main hoon na(Don’t worry, I’m here)” and carried him on a bicycle.

The 15-yr-old pedaled for 12,00 kms from Gurugram to Darbhanga, with her father sitting on the rear side carrier of the bicycle.

She said, “I remembered God just for a few seconds and set off with my ailing father on the bicycle.”

She covered the distance in a span of seven days and reached Darbhanga on Tuesday. The first 100 to 150 kilometers of her journey were covered in a day.

"Whenever I felt exhausted, stopped, washed my face, ate some biscuits and again pedalled towards my destination – Darbhanga,” she said.

She mentioned that her father’s trust in her kept her going. Whenever she would get exhausted from pedaling, she stopped and sat on the road to get some rest. This Shravan Kumari brought her father home fighting fatigue, hunger and thirst.

Tears welled up in her when she recalled that she had to remain hungry for two days but fed her father with whatever she had.

She recollects,“In many places,people were moved by our miserable condition and came forward to help with water and food,” but then her father Mohan Paswan was a source of constant strength to her who made the journey possible.

For now, she has been quarantined along with her father. When the DM of Darbhanga, Dr. Tyagarajan SM heard about her tale of determination, he sent an official to the house of Jyoti Kumari at Siruhulia and made sure every kind of help was provided to her. 

Jyoti informed her family members that they would be at home by night, after reaching Muzaffarpur but as locals in Siruhulia were scared of getting infected they were not letting any outsiders enter the village. As a result, her mother advised them to go to her maternal grandmother’s house. But Jyoti did not agree.

“I told the village mukhiya that my daughter and husband are returning to the village,” Phoolo Devi, Jyoti’s mother said. “Incidentally, a few other people had returned that day on a truck and the locals had allowed them to enter the village. So, when my daughter and husband returned, no one opposed .”

To mark her determination and resilience Jyoti was felicitated with the title of “Virangana Mithila ke” by a local social organization namely Dr Prabhaat Foundation .