Success Story: Meet Boy Who Failed In Class 11, His Father Sells Panipuri In Mumbai, Now Secures Admission In IIT… | India News
Harsh Gupta, a 19-year-old whose father runs a small panipuri stall in Mumbai, has achieved the unimaginable. Even after failing his Class 11 exams, Harsh secured a seat at IIT Roorkee in Uttarakhand and now aims to become a civil servant.
Harsh, who had failed his Class 11 exam, chose not to give up and, with concentrated effort and support from his family, cleared Class 11 and 12 and enrolled at a coaching institute in Kota, Rajasthan.
Harsh scored 98.59 percent marks in JEE-Mains in his first attempt and qualified for JEE-Advanced. However, he did not get admission to the college of his choice.
With determined effort, he was able to earn an IIT seat on his second attempt.
“After failing the Class 11 exams, I decided to go to Kota. My family supported me in my decision… I always dreamt of clearing IIT and securing a seat in either IIT Mumbai or Roorkee,” NDTV reported, quoting him as saying.
Harsh, who is the first IITian in his family, has a message for other aspirants: don’t let failure define you.
“My message for other aspirants is that you shouldn’t let failure define you. I never gave up, even though I failed in Class 12. I am the first IITian in my family and my school,” he added.
His journey to securing an IIT seat was not easy. Harsh said that after he failed in Class 11, his classmates mocked him and doubted his ability, saying the son of a ‘pani puri’ vendor cannot clear IIT.
He ignored all negativity and focused on his studies, studying for 10-12 hours a day, including coaching and self-study.
“But I didn’t pay much heed. I worked hard,” he said, thanking his family and friends “for always supporting” him.
His father, Santosh Gupta, expressed his joy at his son’s achievement and said, “I may be a pani puri vendor, but I will go to any extent to support my children’s dreams.”
Despite limited income, he arranged funds from his savings for his son Harsh’s studies.
Santosh Gupta, who has two more sons, also wants his other two sons, Shubham and Shivam, to pursue higher education.
“I also want my two other sons, Shubham and Shivam, to pursue higher education,” he said.
