27 February,2017 02:49 PM IST | | Faisal Tandel
Nineteen-year-old from the Irani community, infamous for riding around on motorcycles and flicking chains, does family proud after getting selected to pursue MBBS in Tehran university
Abuturab Sayyed
Abuturab Sayyed
Diamonds can be found in the unlikeliest of places, and this 19-year-old is one such.
Abuturab Sayyed, belonging to the Irani community that is infamous for chain-snatching and other petty crimes, is showing that there are exceptions everywhere - he is all set to go to Iran to pursue his MBBS. And aside from the youngster, who worked hard and scored well to achieve this, the credit also goes to his father, who left the community area to shield his children from the anti-socials.
Dreaming big
The Sayyeds are residents of Baraw in Junnar taluka of Pune district. Abuturab's father Jabbar Husain, who sells spectacles in a local market, has four other kids. The teenager secured 86.5 per cent in SSC and 88.92 per cent in HSC exams, completing it in 2016 from Pune's Shri Shiv Chhatrapati College.
In August 2016, he applied to the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran, and on November 27, he was selected. On February 14, he got the visa and has finished all the required paperwork.
"Within a week, I will fly to Iran. Classes will start from March 25. It's a seven-year course, for which I have secured a scholarship of $5,800. The college is well known and also recognised by the Medical Council of India," he gushed, saying that he is excited and looking forward to fulfilling his father's dream of him becoming a doctor.
Abuturab said he had tried to get admission in Mumbai, but due to less marks, he couldn't.
"I gave the entrance exam and secure 155 out of 200; I needed 180 to get admission in the open category. So, the only option open for me was BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery), which I was not interested in. Hence, I applied to colleges abroad," he added.
Staying clean
The Sayyeds used to stay in Iranipada, the slums adjoining Ambivali station, where most of the chainsnatchers reside and are on the police radar. "When I was four years old, we shifted to Pune. My father always kept me shielded from the others in the community, as most of them are criminals," Abuturab said.
Jabbar Husain said his only dream has been to get all his children educated in English medium, and for that, he received help from the Shia community as well as relatives and friends.
"Our shift to Junnar, in 1997, was a good thing; it freed us from the bad people in the community. We own our room here; I have given it my all to ensure my kids study well, and have kept them away from the chainsnatchers in the community. It's not that all Iranis are chainsnatchers though; a number of them want a bright future for their children and are working towards that," added Jabbar.
"Whenever my kids visit Ambivali, Mumbra or Bhiwandi during festivals, I warn them to stay away from the other children; I tell them to not ride a motorcycle or even sit behind anyone. One never knows when just a few minutes of enjoyment can lead to landing behind bars."
