Moving! Auto rickshaw driver sells his house to make grandchild realise her dream; his story goes viral

The heart rending story of Desraj, an auto-rickshaw driver in Mumbai which was shared by ‘Humans of Bombay’ went viral on social media on Thursday.

Even after losing lost both his sons, Desraj’s spirit to stand up and survive left many netizens in awe.

Six years ago, my oldest son disappeared from home; he left for work as usual but never returned, Desraj said in an interview to ‘Humans of Bombay’.

Desraj further revealed that the body of his elder son was found after a week. He was shattered but had no time to mourn as he had responsibilities. So, the very next day he was back on the road driving his auto rickshaw

Just after two years of the demise of his elder son, Desraj’s lost his younger son to suicide.

"It was the responsibility of my daughter-in-law and their four children that kept me going," says Desraj.

After two tragic incidents he had to work even harder for his family- leaving home at 6 AM and driving his auto till midnight to earn around ₹ 10,000 a month.

"On most days, we'd barely have anything to eat," Desraj shared.

Of the total earning in a month, ₹ 6,000 went into paying for the education of his grandchildren, leaving ₹ 4,000 to feed a family of seven.

Desraj sold his house for his grand daughter, as she wanted to travel to Delhi for a B.Ed course.

“I had to fulfill her dreams... at any cost. So, I sold our house and paid her fee," he revealed.

Desraj's wife, daughters-in-law and other grandchildren were sent to a relative's home in their village, while he continues to drive his auto in Mumbai.

This heartbreaking story of the auto-rickshaw driver moved many on social media users and help started pouring in for him.

A Facebook user named Gunjan Ratti started a fundraiser for him, which has collected more than ₹ 5.3 lakh from 276 donors, a report in NDTV stated.

Congress leader Archana Dalmia also shared Desraj’s story on Twitter. Sharing the auto driver's phone number and she appealed to Mumbaikars to help him.

‘Humans of Bombay’ is perhaps the largest blog which shares stories of people’s struggle and survival.