TURA: ‘‘For success, the mantra is clearly hard work with a tinge of inspiration,” believes Chetna Bose of Sherwood School Tura, who topped this year’s Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) Examination.
“I have been inspired by previous years’ toppers from my very own school. Seeing their successes, I, too, wanted to be just like them; perhaps, better,” said a jubilant, Chetna, while speaking to The Shillong Times shortly after she found out that she had secured the state’s top position in SSLC examination, on Monday.
Eldest daughter of Chandrajit Bose and Duggirala Sesi, who are both teachers in colleges in Tura, Chetna advises young students about the perils of shortcuts to try and attain success.
“From personal experience, I can tell that last-minute preparations yield absolutely no results at the end. One has to study every single day so as to cover the syllabus efficiently without causing tension to themselves before the examinations,” she advised.
Chetna’s father, Chandrajit Bose, who is the HoD of English department in Durama college of Tura, for once, is at a loss for words.
“What more can I say? We have seen our daughter strive very hard in her studies and it has paid rich dividends for her. We are extremely happy,” says a visibly-moved Chandrajit.
A voracious reader of all genres (both fiction and non-fiction), Chetna reveals her interest for note-gathering and her love for jotting down her experiences on reading books and watching films as a means to analyse the subject. Her favourite recreational activity is playing basketball.
Fascinated with the various equations of Physics, the formulae of Chemistry and the theorems of Mathematics, Chetna is single-minded on joining the Science stream and making a mark in the world of science.
Her school principal, Tyrone D Brass, of Sherwood School attributed the success of his student to years of grooming by the school and its teachers and the important role played by family, particularly parents. “It was teamwork,” he says.
“All of them have contributed in some way to her success. Her success has been consistent all throughout her studies. The seed that was planted in kindergarten has borne fruit and she has rewarded us with her ultimate success in the SSLC,” an elated principal, D’Brass, tells us.
The Shillong Times was able to connect to the two other toppers from Garo Hills: 10th position holder, Vicky Seal of Sacred Heart Secondary School, Williamnagar, and Rakibul Hazarika of Janapriya Higher Secondary School, Bholarbita, who secured the 12th position.
Both position holders are sons of school teachers.
While Vicky Seal is the son of Trabadh Kumar Seal, a teacher in his own school, Rakibul Hazarika is the son of a retired school teacher, Abdul Gani Hazarika.
Vicky Seal, who believes that his success is the result of hard work, plans to be an engineer in the near future.
On the other hand, Rakibul Hazarika hopes to be a doctor one day.
Rakibul attributes his success to both his parents and teachers, especially his tuition teacher, Ishadur Mondal, and Mathematics teacher, Abdul Kalam.
Rakibul, who lives by the motto ‘No pain, No Gain’, in his advice to other students, has urged them to work hard and give the maximum effort.
Similarly, Vicky, who says that hard work is the secret to success, stresses on detailed preparation.
Another topper, Nilanjana Das, who secured the 19th position, was also from a private institution from Garo Hills.
However, she could not be contacted.