For months, every morning began with the same prayer at the gurdwara for sisters Prabhjot Kaur and Veerpal Kaur, “Sada ghar bach jaave, asi padh laiye” (May our home survive, may we be able to study).
Today, the two daughters of a struggling farming family from Rampur Gaura village have given their village a reason to smile amid devastation. Students of Government Senior Secondary School, Tibba, Prabhjot and Veerpal cleared the Punjab School Education Board examinations with remarkable scores. While Prabhjot scored 88.2 per cent in Class 12, Veerpal got 88.7 per cent in Class 10.
The sisters studied while watching their world collapse around them.
Rampur Gaura was among the worst-affected villages in the devastating floods of August 2025, when the Beas river changed its course, swallowing acres of farmland and pushing families into uncertainty overnight. Among those destroyed were the 17 acres owned by their family. Their standing paddy crop was wiped out completely. The fertile land that once fed the family was reduced to ruin, leaving nothing behind for the next sowing season.
Even their dream home — that was built with years of hard work just three years ago — now stands on the verge of collapse. Parts of the walls, washroom and structure have already crumbled as the river continues to erode the land beneath it.
The pain is still fresh in the voice of elderly family member Milkha Singh. “Halle saade ghar di reejh vi poori nahee hoyi si,” he says quietly. “We had not even fully lived our dream of this home.”
The emotional and financial blow forced the family to shift to an older house in Passan Kadim village. For over two months after the floods, the sisters could not attend school regularly as the family struggled to come to terms with the loss.
Yet, amid anxiety, displacement and sleepless nights, the girls kept studying.
While the adults worried about survival and debt, Prabhjot and Veerpal sat with their books, preparing for board exams in a house where everyone’s heart was heavy with fear about the future.
Their father, Gursahib Singh, once a farmer on his own land, now works as a labourer on other people’s fields to support the family. “Meri majboori hai, I wanted to my elder daughter to study further, but, I don’t think it is possible now," he said. His younger daughter has taken admission in Government School Tibba in Class 11.
The burden of reality now threatens to cut short Prabhjot’s education despite her excellent performance. The bright student dreams of becoming a teacher and wanted to pursue a BA degree, but the family says they can no longer afford higher education.
“Paise nahee hai, agge nahee padha honi beti,” says her mother helplessly. “It has become very difficult to earn. Her father is working extremely hard on others’ fields. Even managing daily expenses has become difficult.”
Prabhjot says sadly that she may now have to give up her dream and take up a computer course to find work quickly and support her family.
“Fees nahee taar honi. There seems no other option,” she says with a low, heavy voice.
What makes her struggle even more extraordinary is her academic brilliance despite the circumstances. Prabhjot scored an impressive 94 marks in Economics. Her class in-charge and Economics lecturer, Amita, calls her one of the most hardworking students she has taught.
“Even when she could not come to school for a long time, she remained in touch with me constantly,” Amita says. “She would call and ask me to explain topics, and I did. She is incredibly dedicated. She shared with me how deeply her family suffered during the floods.”