Topper has a varied plan

Entrance first rank holder has his heart set on mathematics

An ardent fan of Jackie Chan and a black belt in karate, who later fell in love with pure mathematics, N. Shafil Maheen, who emerged topper in the engineering entrance test on Tuesday, is different on his own terms.

This is the second time he is bagging top honours in a State-level exam for admission to engineering courses, but he is not going to join any engineering college. He was among the first 10 rank holders in two national-level exams for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology and National Institutes of Technology too. He is not joining them either.

“I am not planning to study engineering. Mathematics is my passion. I want to do research in maths.” He is planning to join the B.S. course at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. The counselling session was held recently and he has been asked to attend another session there on July 24.

Role model

“German mathematician Friedrich Gauss is my role model. When he wrote

Disquisitiones Arithmeticae , Gauss was just 21. His contributions in the fundamental theorems of arithmetic are interesting.” Shafil says he developed an interest in mathematics in Class 9. “I decided then that this will be my profession,” he says.

“I used to be a big fan of Jackie Chan and I got a black belt in karate. I learnt the piano for a while. But now, my interests are confined to mathematics.” Shafil, a student of Ray’s Public School, Kozhikode, scored 587.13 in the entrance test. Hailing from B.P. Angadi in Malappuram, he is the son of K.A. Niyas, lecturer, SSM Polytechnic, Tirur, and Shamjitha, a government doctor.