Beating odds, students shine in Class X exam

Tribune News Service

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, May 12

A genius mind will overcome all odds, even in the toughest of conditions. This is the life summary of the 15-year-old acid attack survivor, Kafi, who has secured 95.20 per cent marks in the Class X examination. She is the topper of the Chandigarh Institute of Blind, Sector 26, followed by Sumant Poddar (90.90 per cent) and Abhishek Kumar (90.00 per cent) second and third respectively.

While a majority of us have dim memories of our childhood, Kafi, clearly remembers the faces of persons who threw acid on her while she was celebrating the festival of colours at her native place in Hisar (Haryana) when she was just three. Her family fought for justice and later moved to Chandigarh. Her father works as a contractual staffer (peon) at a government office and mother is a housemaker. “I still remember everything. Those faces and what they did just for fun in the name of celebrating Holi. The next six years were pretty harsh on my family. My parents spent everything they had on my treatment at various hospitals,” said Kafi, whose smile hides her pain.

Despite facing such odds, Kafi has not let her moral down. She aims at becoming a civil servant, and if money becomes a hindrance, she will try to become teacher. “I have learnt that things won’t work as planned. We should have a backup plan. If not an IAS officer, I will become a teacher,” said an elated Kafi.

She added, “I never forget my past, as it gives me the strength to face the worse bravely. My father used to run a small business. The three male accused walked free after two years. I don’t know whom to blame, but I don’t want to waste my time in this dirty fight,” said Kafi, whose younger brother studies at a private school in Sector 7. “I have started my training in teaching and he is my first student,” laughed Kafi.

A genius mind

Kafi is a genius mind and can easily calculate big sums. “We don’t have maths as a subject, but I love it. I make sure to carry out multiplications, additions and other basics of maths every day to master it,” she added. For six years, Kafi’s family struggled for her treatment at the AIIMS, Delhi, and Hyderabad. They spent over Rs 20 lakh on her treatment. “The doctors were able to save me, but I became 100 per cent blind,” she said.

Garderner’s son wishes to buy home

Living in a one room set, son of a gardener, Amit Kumar Morya aims at buying a dream home. A student of Shishu Niketan School (Sector 22D), Morya has secured 92.2 per cent marks in Class X. What makes his achievement special is no one in his family knows about writing or reading. His father works as a gardener and the family stays in a one-room set on the school premises. Morya studies till late night in the reception area of the school, so that his family sleeps in peace. “I have limited resources, but I will bring the best out of whatever I have. My father can’t even sign my forms, but he feels proud whenever he watches me study. Today, he specially brought sweets for my teachers and I want to see him do the same when I buy a house for him,” said Morya.

Lost father, not hope

Kudrat Grewal, a student of Carmel Convent School, Sector 9, scored 98.2 per cent marks in the Class X exam. Her father, a former PCS officer, died of illness last year. She aims at becoming an IAS officer to fulfil his dream. “I am happy with the result, but my father would have been happier. My grandparents and my mother is an inspiration for me and there’s no way I am going to let them down ever,” said Kudrat.

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