JAIPUR: Adversity can bring out the best in you, if you have the will. Meet Prakash of Dhorimanna village in Barmer: he has scored 99.2% and stood second in the 12th standard exams of the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education. Poverty and absence of basic facilities in that remote desert zone has been his constant companion, as also his will to succeed.
He has some regret, though: he couldn’t get the full 100%. He secured 100 marks in Hindi and History, 99 in Hindi Literature and English, and 98 in Political Science. “I had worked hard and expected to score full marks in all subjects,” he said.
Prakash’s father, Chainaram Kamtha, is a daily wage construction labourer and hardly earns enough to feed his family. A paralysis attack in his leg recently makes it even tougher for him to work. The son’s grand success has given him new hope. “It’s all blessings of God… of course my son is very hard working.” The youngster and his four siblings have roughed it out no matter what.
“This success is the result of Prakash’s hard work. He studies a lot and has a sharp brain,” says his mother Santoshi Devi, a home-maker. “In our village, power cuts are a serious problem. My sister and I had to often study under the torchlight” says Prakash. He had scored 96.17 % marks in his 10th board exams. He continued to study in a government school and upped his study hours from 7 hours daily to about 9 hours. He stays away from TV, mobile phones and other distractions.