Joyous tidings for mechanic’s family
Gograj Khadda, a mechanic’s son at an ironworks in Jaipur, has cracked the entrance exam for the Indian Institutes of Technology, securing an All India Rank of 5,033 in the IIT-JEE Advanced, results of which were declared on Sunday.
Khadda did not know about the IITs until he was in Class 10. “I learned from people that IITs were very good colleges and as I had interest in mathematics and science, I decided I’ll prepare for the entrance test,” says Khadda, a resident of Kabron Ka Bas village, about 70 km from Jaipur.
More than 15 lakh students wrote the IIT-JEE Mains this year, out of which more than 2.2 lakh were eligible to appear for the IIT-JEE Advanced.
Candidates, who cleared the JEE Mains or the first phase of the two-phase exams, were eligible to sit for the JEE-(Advanced) exam on May 21 for more than 11,000 seats at the IITs.
For the past two years he had been staying in Jaipur and preparing for the exam at Resonance Coaching Institute. “Kuchh mazdoori karke, kuchh udhar karke kharcha nikala (I managed a part of the expenses from my wages, and a part by taking loans),” says Khadda’s father, Bhagwan Sahai, who spent more than ₹ 5 lakh for his son’s coaching and stay in Jaipur for two years.
Khadda says it was his uncle, an information technology engineer, called to inform him about his result. “I haven’t yet seen the result myself. I don’t have an android phone,” he says. His father and neighbours did not give a enthusiastic response, as they know little about the IITs, says Khadda. “In villages, people acknowledge you only when you get a job.”
About his ambitions, he says he has not given much thought to it. “Abhi to bas yahi course karenge (I’ll just pursue my engineering degree for now).” A student of a government school till Class 10, Khadda secured 211 marks out of 372 in the IIT-JEE Advanced exam.