Since three years of age when Krishna Gupta learnt to read and write, only persistent persuasion with cogent arguments can change her mind. Anything less — coercion through baby talk or an unreasonable demand thrust on her — she would simply ignore.
On August 26, the resident of Lonara village in Khargone district took the third Class 12 open board examination, of Accounting, aged just 11, among the youngest to ever take a senior secondary examination in the State. Other students could only stare at her in amazement when the much-younger girl walked inside the exam centre accompanied by her father.
Even Home Minister Narottam Mishra on August 19 lauded her eligibility for the examination. “You have proven that talent is not dependent on any given condition. May the blessings of mother Pitambara and Saraswati always be on you,” he wrote on Twitter.
A psychometric test Ms. Gupta took in 2014 puts her intelligence quotient at nearly 150, classified as ‘very superior’, according to a report of Choithram Hospital, Indore. The psychologist advised she needed a structured and challenging environment where her “intelligence can be put to proper use”. Because of the “superior intelligence” she doesn’t find routine and mundane activities interesting and challenging and thus gets bored.
