Tamil Nadu school topper’s family struggle to come to terms with boy’s death before results

Chennai: When the Class X board examination results were announced on Wednesday, relatives, neighbours and teachers gathered at the home of B Abishek in Ariyathurai village in Tiruvallur district to console his family and honour an achievement he did not live to see.

Abishek, 15, a student of Kavarapettai govt High School, had scored 495 out of 500 marks, emerging as the topper of his school. For his family, the result brought not celebration, but a fresh wave of grief.

On April 2, the day he finished his last board examination, Abishek went with friends to a nearby river for a swim. He got caught in a slushy stretch and drowned. His death cut short the life of a boy his parents had hoped would lift them out of hardship through education.

Inside the house, his father, Babu, a painter, and his mother, Chella, sorted through the trophies and certificates he had won over the years. Teachers said he was not only strong in academics, but also active in extracurricular activities. An all-rounder, he never returned from a competition without a prize.

“He studied day and night to become a topper like his sister,” said his brother, Ruban, struggling to contain his emotions. Sridevi, his class teacher, remembered him as “disciplined, humble and always smiling.”

For his elder sister, Monica, Wednesday’s result was inseparable from the loss that came before it. Standing beside his photograph, she spoke of the future the family had once imagined for him.

“I dreamt of becoming a doctor, but I was ready to sacrifice it for my brother, so he can become an engineer,” she said. “He never missed any trophies. He was good in everything. After finishing his last exam, he went for a swim and drowned. My brother is not alive to see his success,” Monica said.

Neighbours said Abishek often spoke about studying well and easing his family’s financial struggles. His parents had imagined marking the results with sweets and visitors. Instead, the mark sheet lay beside his framed photograph, a painful symbol of a brilliant future cut short too soon.