According to The Times Bureau, a 28-year-old girl from Mumbai, India, who used to sell flowers with her father has been accepted to the University of California for a PhD programme.

Sarita Mali is the youngest scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Indian Language Center, where she is completing a PhD in Hindi Literature. She earned all of her previous degrees from the same institution.

Mali used to go flower-selling with her father during festivals such as Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Dussehra.

According to Jani News, she grew up in a slum outside Mumbai’s Ghatkopar neighbourhood, where she and her father sold flowers for only three hundred rupees a day.

Mali’s father was born in the Uttar Pradesh district of Jaunpur, where his caste was classified as Other Backward Classes (OBC).

“Everyone’s life has ups and downs, in my opinion […] I was up in a society where issues were a constant presence in my life “Mali explained.

She would make flower garlands for her father in addition to her education.

Mali’s father is the family’s sole breadwinner, supporting Mali, her older sister, and two younger brothers.

“JNU was a watershed moment in my life,” Mali remarked.

“I’m not sure where I’d be if I hadn’t gotten into this institution,” she continued.

Mali wants the government to build additional publicly funded universities to help students afford education.

While some people were motivated by her, she claimed that others were taught that her father was only doing a “little job.”