Bihar girl who cycled 1200 kms with father receives praise from Ivanka Trump

Patna : The US President Donald Trump's daughter showered praise on Jyoti Kumari, a Bihar girl who cycled 1200 kms with her injured father as a pillion rider amid lockdown in India.

Ms Trump has described the 15-year-old's arduous effort to get to home her home in Bihar amid the nationwide coronavirus lockdown, as "beautiful feat of endurance and love".

"15 yr old Jyoti Kumari, carried her wounded father to their home village on the back of her bicycle covering +1,200 km over 7 days. This beautiful feat of endurance & love has captured the imagination of the Indian people and the cycling federation!," she tweeted.

From Gurgaon near Delhi, she cycled for seven days, going almost hungry for two of those, before she reached Bihar.

After learning about it, the Indian cycle federation has decided to invite Jyoti to trials next month, which gives her a chance to turn her life around.

In March, the teen from Bihar had gone to Gurgaon to visit her father Mohan Paswan after an accident left him unable to continue with his job of driving an e-rickshaw.

Then the country went into lockdown to fight the global pandemic.

With no job and money in hand, the duo was left with no option but to move back to their home in Bihar.

"I was able to buy some time. I promised the landlord I would take up whatever job I could once the lockdown was lifted, earn money and pay all his dues. I had to discontinue my medicines so we could afford one meal a day," Mr Paswan said.

Jyoti first borrowed some money to get a cycle then took her father, who couldn’t walk, and started cycling towards her home.

Mr Paswan says he tried to dissuade his daughter, telling her that riding a bicycle with a much heavier pillion rider was not easy. But Jyoti insisted and he gave in.

"I left everything to fate," he said.

Jyoti said they would cycle for 30 to 40 km a day and sometimes, an odd truck driver would agree to take them aboard.

"It was unbearably tiring. We would stop for food at places where we could see free food being distributed among people like us," Jyoti shared.

"It must have taken eight days... and then, here we were! Back home!" she said, forgetting details in her fatigue.