Kids brave mental & physical hurdles, fly high

Kolkata: While many students celebrated high scores as CBSE declared Class X and XII boards results on Friday, there were some who deserved to be celebrated for their performance despite the hurdles they faced ahead of the tests. Archita Dey (17), a Class-XII arts student from South Point, has been dealing with severe anxiety and breathing trouble, especially since the pandemic. But she did not let her anxiety affect her performance as she scored 81.4%. “The breathing problem started during Covid and my anxiety had peaked. I was not in a position to even appear for the exam, let alone do well. At one point, we thought I would have to drop out,” Archita said. Her parents were “spellbound” on hearing her marks. “She worked really hard despite her condition. Her anxiety comes from her fear of scoring poorly. We are genuinely happy,” said her mother.

DPS Ruby Park science student Sahil Akhtar (17), who suffers from Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological condition in which the immune system attacks the nerves, has scored 96% in his XII boards. His condition now is better than that in his early teens. Sahil, who has appeared for JEE Mains and KVPY as well as international competitions, pointed out attending school regularly led to thigh pain, necessitating assistance. But, he said, the pandemic provided some respite as he did not have to venture out. “I did not think I was unequal and I did not let it become my main identity,” Sahil said. “I have a good support system and the people around me are accepting.” His school let him use the lifts when needed and sit out the mandatory march past duties. Sahil wants to study astrophysics. “Things are changing and people have become more accepting. I might need assistance from time to time but other than that, I don’t think it will pose great difficulties for me,” he added.Piyush Raj, a Class-X student from Abhinav Bharati High School, scored 76.4% despite facing various challenges. Two years ago, he fractured his leg and had to undergo multiple surgeries, which came with a series of complications. He had to drop a year. “I couldn’t believe I had actually scored these marks,” Piyush said, adding it was difficult to study while being in constant pain. “Travelling to school would make the pain worse, but I focused on studies as I had lost a year,” he said, thanking his family, friends, teachers and principal. The South Point students from Jangal Mahal have scored exceptionally well in Class XII. Principal Rupa Sanyal Bhattacharya said, “They have been included in the mainstream. They competed with all and scored high. That’s our biggest achievement.”