Shillong, Feb. 17: Not many would have expected the 22-year-old Rani Ranabhatt to rise to the summit of success, as she hailed from one of the slums in the city.
It is not the run-of-the-mill blockbuster where somebody from a poverty-stricken family performs extraordinarily well to come out with all guns blazing. It is a story, which inspires.
Hailing from the slums of Paltan Bazaar here, the life of Rani is a real struggle, but whose determination and hard work took her to a high-level of excellence in the academic world with 27 medals, mostly gold ones, to her name.
Yesterday, Meghalaya Governor R.S. Mooshahary presented Rani with a memento at Raj Bhavan on behalf of the Shillong Press Club to recognise her achievements in spite of the odds heavily stacked against her.
Rani completed her matriculation from the Nepali Kanya Pathsala Secondary School, Garikhana, here, while she attained her Higher Secondary School certificate from St Anthony’s Higher Secondary School.
Through the state general quota, she then went on to pursue her studies at the King George Medical College, Lucknow, in the department of dentistry.
She completed her four-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme in 2012 where she emerged the topper in the college.
She also ended up with 27 medals, 12 of which came last year. On October 12, 2012, President Pranab Mukherjee presented Rani with a gold medal on her college campus to recognise her brilliant result.
“Yours is a story that will inspire many youngsters of Meghalaya and Northeast to excel. It is a proud moment for the Nepali community in the state and Meghalaya in general,” Mooshahary said after felicitating Rani.
On her part, Rani narrated how others looked down upon her at the college, as she was from the Northeast.
They said: “You all have come through government quota, but we are here on merit.” It was the common refrain from the others.
To prove that she was meritorious enough, Rani bagged 27 medals in four years, including the medal presented by Mukherjee.
Her parting shot came with a promise to come back and serve the state.
