The Girl Who Sold Her Cycle to Learn Coding

Every morning in the quiet town of Baramati, 13-year-old Niyati pedalled through narrow lanes on her old blue cycle. It was a hand-me-down from her cousin. The bell was broken. The seat had a small tear. But to her, it was freedom.

Niyati’s father worked as a mechanic. Her mother stitched clothes at home. They valued education but never had enough for anything extra. So when Niyati saw a poster about a summer coding bootcamp, her heart fluttered with excitement. And then dropped when she saw the fee: ₹4,000 for six weeks.

That evening, she went home and asked her parents if they could manage it. Her mother gave a tired smile and said they could barely afford her school books next month. It was better to wait till next year.

That night, Niyati couldn’t sleep. She stared at the ceiling fan and imagined writing her first line of code. She had read about how websites and apps were built. She had watched videos on coding basics during her library visits. Something in her said: this is what I want to do.

The next morning, she quietly wheeled her cycle to a second-hand shop near the market.

“I want to sell this,” she said. The shopkeeper looked up and recognised her. “You ride this every day. Why are you selling it?” “I need money for a class. Coding class.”

He looked at her for a long moment. Then, without asking anything further, he handed her ₹1,500. “That’s all I can give for this model. But good luck.”

She gathered the rest by helping her mother stitch buttons on school uniforms and skipping her favourite snacks for three weeks. By the end of the month, she had ₹4,000 and sore fingers. But her heart was steady. She had made it.

The bootcamp wasn’t easy. Most students had laptops. She only had a notebook and a borrowed smartphone. She copied every syntax by hand. She stayed late to clear doubts. She revisited every topic online, using free WiFi zones after class.

On the final day, the students were asked to present a project. Niyati built a simple weather app using public tools. The trainers were stunned.
“You built this without a laptop?” She nodded.
“Just a borrowed phone and notes?” She nodded again.

The organisers offered her a full scholarship for their advanced year-long course. A local sponsor also donated a second-hand Chromebook to help her continue.

Eight years later, Niyati works as a software developer in Bengaluru. She doesn’t own much. But she mentors young girls at a nearby community centre every Sunday.

One afternoon, a student asked, “How did you start coding?” Niyati smiled and said, “With a notebook, a borrowed phone, and a lot of hope.”

Flash: In every workplace, we meet people who do not have the best tools or degrees. But they carry something powerful — grit. Like Niyati, some professionals start with almost nothing. Yet they outlearn, outwork, and outgrow expectations. The real game-changer is not always access. It is attitude. And those who make the most of what they have often become the most dependable teammates we have.

Moral: Success does not always come from having more. It often comes from single focus, staying undistracted, and using what you have with intent. Those who begin with clarity and keep walking with courage eventually find their way.

Success is rarely about what you start with. It is about what you stay with!!