Bihar's Jyoti Kumari showed the world what grit and determination can do. The 15-year-old pedalled her way from Gurugram to Bihar amid the COVID-19 lockdown.
She covered more than 1200 km by cycle. All this with her injured father riding pillion.
Jyoti had gone to Gurugram with her mother and brother-in-law at the end of January to look after her father, Mohan Paswan, who had broken his leg in an accident while driving his e-rickshaw. Her mother and brother-in-law went back to the village, but the class eight student stayed back to look after her father.
During the extended lockdown, without any source of income, their landlord asked them to vacate their room. The duo bought a cycle with whatever money they had.
They manage to hitch rides on trucks and tractors for stretches across Uttar Pradesh, but Jyoti cycled for long hours on the seven-day journey to reach home.
Ivanka Trump took to Twitter to praise Jyoti, Calling her act a “beautiful feat of endurance and love.” The Cycling Federation of India invited Jyoti to appear for a trial after the lockdown.