KOCHI: Malayalis cornered the top rank in the NEET 2021 entrance examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) in September. The first rank was shared by three candidates. Two of them, Mrinal Kutteri and Karthika G Nair who appeared from Telangana and Maharashtra, have roots in Kerala.
For Mrinal, maintaining a balance between studies and other activities was the key to success. Mrinal, a Malayali based in Hyderabad, scored 720/720 in the NEET examination. "I had till Class IX thought of becoming an engineer. However, in Class IX, I changed my career path after realising that being a doctor would give me ample opportunity to serve society," Mrinal told The New Indian Express. According to him, he was never a bookworm. "I did not set aside my hobbies and interests while preparing for NEET. I think that to do so would have been counterproductive."
So, his pattern of studying was to pore over the course matter for around 45 minutes and then take a 10 to 15-minute break that saw him playing video games or watching television. Though his family has been based in Hyderabad for many years, his parents hail from Kannur district's Koothuparamba. He has a younger brother who studies in class IX. His father Muralidhar Kutteri runs a business firm Conquisto Search while his mother Rathi Raveendran works as a consultant. Mrinal said, "I have not yet decided on the specialisation that I want to do after completing MBBS. I might arrive at it as the course pans out."
Cracking the top rank along with Mrinal is another Malayali Karthika G Nair who also scored 720/720. Karthika, whose family hails from Payyannur in Kannur, has been based in Mumbai for the past 20 years. "Systematic study was my mantra when it came to cracking NEET," said the youngster who wants to join AIIMS, New Delhi. For her MBBS has been the ultimate goal right from childhood. "I had a definite idea as to what to do after Class XII. As for the specialisation, I would like to take up oncology or neurology," added Karthika. Karthika's father K V Gangadharan Nair is with Technova while her mother Sreedevi is a computer science teacher at Pillai College of Education and Research in Mumbai.
In the case of S Gowrishankar, who stands first in Kerala, cardiology is the ultimate goal. A native of Vettiyar, he scored 715 marks out of 720 in the entrance examination. "I began thinking seriously about MBBS once I reached class VI," said Gowrishankar whose father Sunilkumar is an ex-NRI and mother Rekha Sunilkumar a homemaker. Gowrishankar completed Class XII from Placid Vidya Vihar at Changanassery.
Vaishna Jayavardhan from Thrissur is the state's second topper and female topper with an all-India rank of 23. Vaishna, who scored 710 marks, is the daughter of NRI businessman Jayavardhan and Rasmi. Nirupama P, who secured 60th rank, is among the top 20 female toppers nationally. Jonathan S Daniel, with a rank of 3,830, is the state topper in the ST category while with a rank of 18,235, Parvathy K N became the all India fourth in persons with disability (female) category.
Over 16 lakh candidates had appeared in the NEET exam which was held on September 12. Among them, 8,70,081 candidates from different categories have qualified for the exam.