Remember the 15-year-old Jyoti who cycled from Gurugram to her village Sirhulli in Darbhanga, Bihar?
That was in May, 2020.
And even though it seems like yesterday, quite some time has passed since then. So how is life looking for the girl who made headlines internationally, with the courage shown in the face of adversity?
Very different. And for the better.
After her unfortunate but incredible feat made news, many politicians came forward to extend help. Some gave them money, some gave her cycles.
On the financial front, she has received help of ₹120,000 till now.
While a former Chief Minister has promised to take care of her education and marriage.
Apart from this, an NRI sends her some money so that she can buy whatever food she likes.
All this has helped Jyoti and her family build a 4-room house.
Jyoti has also received cycles and an invitation from Cycling Federation of India, which she plans on pursuing when things get better.
And further, in good news, 2 filmmakers have approached the family to make a movie on them. One of whom has already given them the signing amount.
However, the good stuff aside, her father Mohan Paswan, an autorickshaw driver who had injured himself and hence decided to ride pillion in May, says that the government has to give him a job as they will run out of money sooner or later.
And for Jyoti, the missing media attention is something she doesn’t particularly like. In an interview given to Vice, she said:
I used to love the attention. The village was full of people back then.
All this has completely turned life around for Jyoti’s family, who are now associated with Bhim Army, an organisation working for Dalit rights.