The indomitable journey of Ashutosh
If everything goes according to plan, Ashutosh Nath would be heading towards the US soon. Ashutosh works as an office assistant at the attorney general’s office. Ashutosh is going to University of Massachusetts Boston to do PhD in Medicine and Synthetic Organic Chemistry.
He has been acquainted with need and financial crisis since his childhood. He completed his graduation under the National University from Haji Muhammad Mohsin College in Chattogram.
He was brought up in a poor family
Ashutosh Nath was born in a remote village in Chattogram’s Fatikchhari area. His father Milon Nath moved to Manikchhari in Khagrachhari in search of a better life. However, life was not easy there either. The only source of income was a mobile rice threshing machine.
Ashutosh has one brother and three sisters. None of them crossed the higher secondary level. He was the youngest among them. His elder brother Paritosh Nath had a special place in his heart for him. Paritosh used to sew and spent a large part of his income on Ashutosh's studies.
This sacrifice of Paritosh encouraged Ashutosh to move forward. Ashutosh said, “I tried my best to study only for my brother.”
Although he could not always concentrate on his studies as he had to help his brother and father in their work, he had an urge to do something good. He passed SSC with GPA 4.19 from Rani Nihar Devi High School in Fatikchhari and HSC with GPA 4.50 from Manikchhari Giri Moitri College from the science group.
Started working at a local shop
After passing SSC and HSC, another struggle began in Ashutosh's life. He said, “My elder brother used to pay for my education. He went to Dubai in search of work, but he had to return as he could not adapt there. After that, I did not dare to get admission in any good educational institution because of the excessive costs.”
Later, he took admission in the chemistry department at Haji Muhammad Mohsin College in Chattogram. Even, the cost of his education was more than his family could afford. He took up a job at a shop in the Chawkbazar in the city. He used to work on computer composing and a little bit of graphics. He bore his own expenses from the earnings he made from this. He also used to send some money to his home from his earnings.
From Chattogram to Dhaka
When Ashutosh was in third year in 2014, he applied for the post of assistant cum computer operator at the office of the attorney general. He got a job and moved to Dhaka in 2016. But his earnings were not enough. Therefore, he started freelancing as he had the necessary skills.
Ashutosh said, “I learnt about outsourcing when I was a student. I earned more than Tk 200,000 in 2018 from freelancing. Apart from my work, I also continued my studies.”
He passed honours with CGPA 3.16 and started to dream further. Out of an indomitable interest in higher education, he decided to do his Masters in chemistry from Dhaka College. He even attended classes there for three days. At this time, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) published a circular for admission in post-graduation in chemistry and Ashutosh applied for that.
And after passing the viva-voce, Ashutosh got chance in BUET. His campus was near his office which gave him some advantage in coordinating between his studies and work. He passed the Master’s examination with CGPA 3.08.
Interest in research
He developed an interest in research while studying at BUET. At this time, his research papers were published in three international journals. Later, he saw people around him applying for admission in different universities of the world and decided to apply himself.
And after arranging all the required documents, he started applying. At the end of March of this year, the University of Massachusetts Boston verified his papers and accepted his application as a PhD researcher after taking virtual viva in phases.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Ashutosh said, “Everything seems like dream to me. I never thought I would come this far. But my concentration, perseverance and dreams helped me. I have got my visa already. My classes will start in early September. And I hope to go to the United States by August.”
He further said he has already got a part time job as an teaching assistant. Ashutosh said, “My academic results may not be good. However, my research papers published in different journals helped me a lot. My supervisor at BUET, prof Md Wahab Khan helped and supported me the most. I am grateful to him.”