India: Man pays 120,000 for 12 mangoes to poor girl to help her continue studies online

Patna: In a heartwarming incident, a benevolent businessman paid Rs120,000 for just a dozen mangoes to a poor girl to help her buy a smartphone and continue with her online studies.

Eleven-year-old Tulsi Kumari, a resident of Jamshedpur locality in Jharkhand state, had been collecting mangoes from trees planted in government quarters and selling them on a roadside pavement so that she could buy a smartphone to continue her studies.

Tulsi, who is enrolled in Grade five in a government school, required a mobile phone, with classes going online as a result of coronavirus-induced lockdown. But the wait for it got much longer as her father lost the job due to the lockdown.

Meanwhile, someone recorded a video of the little girl sitting along a pavement and selling mangoes. The video went viral and the news caught the attention of the local media.

The news reached Mumbai-based businessman Ameya Hete, managing director of Valuable Edutainment Pvt Ltd, which facilitates virtual classes, and he reached out to the girl. The businessman bought 12 mangoes from the girl for Rs120,000 — each mango for Rs10,000! He also announced to bear the full cost of her education.

The businessman said he was particularly impressed by the girl’s fighting skills. “She didn’t blame her fate or seek alms. This is why I said we have bought her mangoes and not done any charity work. This is to not just encourage her and acknowledge the dignity in work but also to encourage others not to give up,” Hete told the media.

Tulsi is happy to get help from the businessman and wants to become a teacher. “I have bought a smartphone and will study hard,” the girl said, adding she never imagined that her mangoes would attract the Mumbai businessman to Jamshedpur. She said she would not have to sell mangoes anymore.

Her father Srimal Kumar thanked the businessman for lending help at this critical time when he lost his job and it was extremely difficult for him to arrange study materials for his three daughters.“He [Hete] appeared like a deity at this critical time and credited Rs120,000 in my bank account for my daughter’s studies. This will help her achieve her dream of becoming a teacher,” girl’s father said.