Uddeshya Sachan, a teacher from Kanpur who runs a free school for underprivileged children, won ₹12.5 lakh on Kaun Banega Crorepati 18 before choosing to quit at the ₹25 lakh question. His appearance drew attention because of the unlikely story behind his school’s beginning.
How the school started
Sachan said he began teaching a small group of children under a tree after borrowing ₹250 from his mother. Over roughly eight years, that effort grew into a free school that now serves about 400 children in a built facility.
Why quitting can be the rational move
KBC is structured around escalating risk: after certain stages, a wrong answer can cost a contestant a significant portion of accumulated winnings. Walking away can therefore be the financially sensible choice when confidence in an answer is low.
The television moment carries a larger message
The prize money is meaningful, but the story that resonated was long-term community work built from almost no starting capital. National television gave visibility to a local education project that would otherwise be easy to miss.
What happens next
The next question is how the school uses the attention and whether it attracts sustained support beyond the episode. For grassroots organisations, one viral moment helps most when it becomes recurring funding or volunteer capacity.
Bottom line
Sachan did not win ₹25 lakh — he stopped at that question and kept ₹12.5 lakh. The more remarkable number may still be the ₹250 with which the school began.
Source: The Indian Express
