Delhi boy wows Kolkata with 98%

Updated on: Saturday, May 23, 2009

Kolkata: When the Bhadras of Garia’s Patuli, on the fringes of Kolkata, received a call early on Friday from their son’s school principal in Delhi, they prepared for the worst. On the day when the results for the Class XII CBSE examinations were released, it could mean only two things: that their ward, Shubhashish, had performed exceptionally well — or the opposite. Thankfully, it was the former.

As it happened, the younger of Asim and Banani Bhadra’s two children, who had taken the exam from Delhi Public School RK Puram, pipped over six lakh other students — or nearly so — to take a place in the higher echelons in this year’s CBSE school-leaving exams with a whopping aggregate: 98%. Till late evening, one thought he was the country-wide topper, but the CBSE website finally threw up two other names who finally may have beaten this boy by a fraction.

Shubhashish managed a cent percent in his weakest subject — mathematics, 98% in both chemistry and English and 95% in physics. In economics — the subject he wants to pursue further — he missed maximum by a mark, scoring 99%.

Despite the superlative score, Shubhashish claims he hadn’t purely concentrated on studying for CBSE for most of last year.

“I wasn’t really preparing for this exam last year. Although I studied steadily and kept abreast of what was happening in class, there wasn’t an overt focus on the boards. I really started studying only around December. I put in at least six hours of study every day then,” he said.

Shubhashish had spent a substantial part of last year living by himself at the Defence Institute at Dhaula Kuan after his parents moved to Kolkata. In spite of this — and not having a tutor for any subject — he notched up an exceptional tally.

Though not caught completely unawares, his parents were pleasantly surprised by their son’s national ranking. “I was in Delhi during his exams. After each paper, he would discuss it with me. I knew that we had performed solidly, but all this was unexpected,” his mother Banani said.

“Shubhashish hardly ever topped at school, so it was unimaginable that he would do this well. We all knew that he would score well in this exam, but not this high,” father Asim added.

But what makes Shubhashish’s performance even more special is the fact that he never cut down on his extra-curriculars.

“I consistently took part in debates and quizzes at school, apart from being the co-president of the economics society. Because of my asthma, I couldn’t take part in many sports, but I played table tennis. I also write poetry and have been able to publish a small compilation of my poems,” the ardent admirer of Tagore said.

Now, he is aiming for the top rung of colleges in Delhi University to pursue a degree in economics.
“Although history is my favourite subject, I didn’t want to take it up beyond a point. Now that I’ve become completely hooked on economics, I want to study that further. A degree in economics from St Stephen’s would be my first choice,” he revealed.

And subsequent to an undergraduate degree from India, he is more than willing to test the waters abroad. But even here, only the best will suffice. “After St Stephen’s, I would like to pursue a masters degree in economics from Harvard University. Though I haven’t decided exactly, I’d be looking at concentrating on macro-economics with a possible specialisation in international trade

Educationtimes

Delhi boy wows Kolkata with 98%

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