From a girl who travelled 20 kilometres from her village to college, to a boy who lost his father to COVID – 19 and yet emerged on top, this year’s II PU toppers come with stories of determination and hard work.
“My rank is the result of my hard work. I am one of the two daughters of a poor farmer who cultivates two acres of bagair hukum land. My mother toils as a tailor to supplement the family income. Owing to poor bus connectivity to my village, I used to rise early in the morning and help my mother with household chores before taking a bus at 7.30 a.m. to my college, which is around 20 km away from my village. I took the evening bus to return home by 7 p.m. as there was no bus to my village before that,” said Kavitha B.V., who was among the three students who shared the first rank in Arts with 596 out of 600 marks.
A student at Indu Independent PU College, Kottur in Vijayanagara district, she said she used to study till late in the night. “I would like to join Karnatak College, Dharwad, for my degree before going for preparations for the KAS examination,” she added.
Vedant Jnyanuba Navi, a native of Bagalkot, was in class 8 when his father Jnyanoba, a barber, died during the pandemic, leaving no assets behind. After finishing high school, his maternal uncles admitted him to S.S. Junior College in Vijayapura and put him up in a government OBC hostel.
Master Vedant also secured 596 out of 600 marks in Arts and surpassed the expectations of his village. “My uncles could afford only Arts. But I don’t regret not joining a Science college,” he said.
Speaking about his exam preparations, he said: ”There is no secret behind my success. I studied daily and I never carried forward the day’s studies for the next day. My strategy was to understand, introspect, and recall.“
He wants to pursue a degree course in Arts and aspires to become an IAS officer.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also expressed his appreciation for Master Vedant’s result. “I was happy to hear that Vedant’s family benefited from the Gruha Lakshmi scheme,” he said on X (formerly Twitter).
Commerce topper stayed in hostel
Gnanavi M. secured the first rank in Commerce with 597 out of 600 marks. While she is native of a village in Mandya district, she studied at Vidyanidhi Independent P.U. College in Tumakuru and stayed in a hostel. Her hotelier parents, who have three children, said that their hard work had paid off and that they were proud of their daughter.
“The key to studying is just being consistent and trying to go over everything covered in class every day, but I learnt the most from sitting in classes. I studied hard the day before the exams, and for the preparatory exams,” Ms. Gnanavi said.
While she has already gotten admission at Vidyavahini First Grade College in Tumakuru, she plans to become a chartered accountant.
Set timetable, parents support
A. Vidyalakshmi, from Vidyaniketan Science PU College, Hubballi, stood first in the Science stream with 598 out of 600 marks. Stressing on the importance of a regular study routine, she said: “I had set a timetable and I studied accordingly. I always had the support and cooperation of my teachers and parents. We were provided with various modules to prepare for the examination, and we followed the same. After my college hours, I used to dedicate four to five hours daily for my studies. On an average I used to study around 17 to 18 hours daily.”
A similar study routine was followed by the other Arts topper Medha D. (596 out of 600) from NMKRV PU College in Bengaluru. “I used to get up at 4 a.m. and study. I used to complete the college syllabus on the same day after coming back home. I had a very good, structured timetable, which I used to follow. You need to enjoy studying and not just study to pass your exams,” she said.
Ms. Medha plans to pursue a career in psychology with a focus on positive psychology. “It is a very unique field,” she said.
