: For M Gayatri, the all India topper of CBSE’s Class XII examination, scoring 99.2 per cent marks came as a bit of a surprise. The 17-year-old girl who sings Carnatic music and creates Tanjore paintings as a hobby, affirmed that time management and being regular in studies is what got her to the top.
A student of New Green Field School, Saket, Gayatri does not believe in taking tuitions. Speaking to The Hindu about her performance, she said, “I had expected 95 per cent, but never 99.2 per cent. Ironically, for hours I couldn’t see my scorecard as there was no electricity at our home and the website was also down. I got to know that I topped in the country from a teacher who phoned us from my school.”
A student of commerce, Gayatri plans to go for a course in Chartered Accountancy. Talking about her preparation, Gayatri said, “I studied for not more than 5-6 hours a day. My mother prepared a weekly subject-wise schedule for me. I stuck to studying from 4 am to 6 am in the morning and from 4 pm to 8 pm in the evening. I don’t think studying for 10-15 hours at a stretch really works as you tend to get mentally exhausted.” She added that her parents advised her to devote at least two hours in the morning hours to studies “as memory retention is best during that time.”
She scored full marks (100) in three subjects — Mathematics, Business Studies and Accountancy, while 98 each in English and Economics. “The question paper for Mathematics was tough, I expected around 95, but got 100, whereas for Economics I was hoping for 100,” she added.
Hailing from Tamil Nadu, Gayatri would be the first one to take up CA in her family, although her mother Lakshmi Mohan has done her M. Com while her father S. Mohan is a B. Com graduate and works with the Ministry of Rural Development.
