Raksha Gopal was always expecting an above average result in her CBSE class XII Board examination but there was a surprise in-store for her on Sunday morning. It was a call from Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakasha Javadekar informing her that with 99.6%, she was the all India topper.
“I just jumped with joy at that moment and kept shaking for a few minutes,” said an ecstatic Raksha who an hour later was still reeling with excitement as she entered Amity International School in Noida to meet her teachers and interact with scores of journalists and well-wishers pouring in to ask her what success tastes like.
Articulate and modest, Ms. Raksha who took up English, History, Political Science, Economics and Psychology scored 100, 99, 100,100 and 99 in the subjects respectively. She plans to study Political Science honours from Delhi University and hopes to get into either Lady Shri Ram College, Miranda House or Jesus and Mary College.
A pianist with a grade five certificate from the Trinity College of Music, London; a voracious reader, blogger and a keen linguist who is learning French, Ms. Raksha says she never took any tuitions and found time even while giving her exams to play the piano. A fan of John Grisham novels, she enjoys writing and even contributed in editing her school newsletter.
Her father Gopal. P. Srinivasan, from Tamil Nadu who has lives in Delhi and works as a Chief Finance officer in the Gujrat State Petroleum Corporation says there was never any pressure to perform in her studies and her mother Ranjani Gopal says that she always encouraged her daughter to pursue music as a hobby. Ms. Raksha's sister Prerna who is three years older than her in her third year, pursuing bio-chemistry honours from Institute of Home Economics, Delhi University.
Ms. Raksha's teachers describe her a diligent student and knew all along that she was destined to do well in her exams. Her Political Science teacher Urna Sharma says that in class, she showed exceptional clarity and always brought a new dimension to class-room discussion. “I always encourage students via class discussion to connect with what is happening in the contemporary world to issues that are a part of the CBSE syllabus. Raksha was always up-to-date, could relate the syllabus to current issues in the world and present it very well,” says Ms. Sharma.
Talking about how she plans to celebrate, the topper says she had not had time to sit and discuss it with her family but says a holiday abroad would be nice as she loves to travel.
