Gaurab Das, a student of Narayana E-Techno School at Sahakara Nagar in the city, is among the 18 All-India toppers in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2021, the results of which were announced on Wednesday.
Gaurab, who shared the top rank with 17 others with perfect 100 percentile in session 4, is the only student from the state and one among the 44 students across India to have scored 100 NTA score (percentile). Even during session 3, he had scored 100 percentile.
Gaurab is pursuing his degree in Computer Engineering from Purdue University in the United States of America. He, however, has decided to write JEE Advanced in India with an aim to join an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
A student of DPS North in Bengaluru till grade 10, Gaurab joined Narayana E-Techno school for class 11 and 12 (CBSE), “I participated in Model United, explored subjects in Humanities and other things before I zeroed in on science and mathematics subjects,” he says.
With his father Gautam Kumar working as a project manager at a Chicago-based company, Gaurab lived with his mother and twin sisters, who are in grade 9, in Bengaluru.
“Pandemic and staying away from my father were the biggest challenges, but constant motivation from my parents and siblings and a clear focus helped me to achieve the feat,” he said.
“My mother, Barnali Das, a teacher in a city school, played a major role in keeping me motivated,” he added.
He suffered a ligament sprain in March while playing his favourite sport basketball. But that did not stop him from preparing. “It was just before my practical exams and my teachers helped me a lot during that phase. They physically supported me to reach my exam rooms,” he says.
Barnali Das said, “Narayana E-Techno School’s student-friendly schedule and giving the children the space to prepare without any pressure is the secret to success.”