Daughter of petrol pump attendant in Kerala bags seat in IIT Kanpur, netizens shower praise

Arya, who hails from Kerala, is the daughter of IOC customer attendant S Rajagopalan, while her mother KK Sobhana works at Bajaj motors.

Pic Courtesy: Twitter/@ChairmanIOCL

New Delhi: An inspiring tale came to limelight recently after Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya shared a picture of his employee along with his daughter who bagged a seat in IIT Kanpur for higher studies. 

Arya, who hails from Kerala, is the daughter of IOC customer attendant S Rajagopalan. Citing Mathrubhumi, the Indian Express reported that Rajagopalan has been employed at the IOC fuel station at Payyanur in Kannur district for the last twenty years, while her mother KK Sobhana works at Bajaj motors. 

Arya will pursue M.Tech in Petrochemical Engineering at IIT Kanpur, the report added. 

Sharing the news, Vaidya tweeted, “Let me share an inspiring story of Arya, daughter of Indian Oil’s customer attendant Mr. Rajagopalan. Arya has made us proud by securing entry in IIT Kanpur. All the best and way to go Arya.” 

Let me share an inspiring story of Arya, daughter of #IndianOil's customer attendant Mr. Rajagopalan. Arya has made us proud by securing entry in IIT Kanpur.

All the best and way to go Arya! pic.twitter.com/GySWfoXmQJ

— ChairmanIOC (@ChairmanIOCL) October 6, 2021

The post has received 14, 000 likes and 1,574 retweets. 

Soon enough, the tweet went viral with netizens applauding and congratulating Arya on her admission. Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri too took the opportunity to praise Arya’s hard work. 

Puri wrote, “Arya Rajagopal has done her father Sh Rajagopal Ji & indeed all of us associated with the country’s energy sector immensely proud.”

Heartwarming indeed.
Arya Rajagopal has done her father Sh Rajagopal Ji & indeed all of us associated with the country’s energy sector immensely proud.
This exemplary father-daughter duo are an inspiration & role models for Aspirational New India.
My best wishes.@IndianOilcl https://t.co/eiU3U5q5Mj pic.twitter.com/eDTGFhFTcS — Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) October 6, 2021

Have a look at some of the reactions here:

Stupendous achievement of a humble daughter of a hard-working father.
Heartiest congratulations! — Sharad Tonp (@SharadTonpe) October 8, 2021

The fuel inside fir https://t.co/jqzqXbRR5f — Manikantan T (@ManikantanT4) October 8, 2021

Not only the energy sector, she made the country proud. No dream is too distant if a will is there. https://t.co/zERyzTjRdM — SS (@soumyasarkar007) October 8, 2021

Even though Arya’s academic prowess went viral recently, as per Mathrubhumi, she has been a stellar performer throughout her school.