Poverty no bar, with one set of books Siliguri twins excel in HS class 12 exams - Make mom dad proud

Name: Sudip and Biswajit Singha

School: Baradakanta Vidyapith, Siliguri

Percentage in higher secondary: 84% (Sudip) and 81% (Biswajit)

Biswajit (left) and Sudip with their mother Nilima.

Pradip Singha, a plumber by occupation and a resident of Shantinagar in Siliguri, is a happy man today.

His twin sons have scored over 80 per cent marks in the higher secondary examinations, overcoming the financial constraints that the family faced over several years. Both were students of science stream.

"I do not have a regular or fixed income. Even then, I insisted that both my sons continue their study and today, they made me feel proud," he said.

The family's financial condition could be gauged from the fact that Sudip and Biswajit studied with one set of books.

"I used to work as a domestic help. But after they passed Madhyamik, I left the job to ensure that their studies are not affected as during my absence, they need to do some household works. Our family income came down but both my husband and me went ahead with the decision," Nilima, the twins' mother said.

While taking admission to Class XI two years ago, the boys did not have money to buy separate set of books. Later, Madan Bhattacharya, a social worker and a Trinamul leader, helped them with books. Two schoolteachers also helped the duo prepare for exams.

The brothers said they would study BSc with specialisation in mathematics. In future, they want to appear in state civil service exams.

Compiled by Subhasish Chaudhuri and Bireswar Banerjee for The Telegraph.