Abhay Kumar Bothra: Doing his parents proud. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

A Howrah boy who left home after Class X to pursue his IIT dream in the country’s coaching capital, Kota, was on Friday rewarded for his diligence with the ninth rank among the 8,652 students who cracked this year’s joint entrance test.

Abhay Kumar Bothra, whose family lives in Howrah’s Rameshwar Malia Lane, had switched to CBSE after passing his ICSE examination in 2006 just to gain entry into one of the schools in Kota, Rajasthan, and enrol for IIT-specific coaching classes in the same town.

The former student of Don Bosco, Liluah, could not better his ICSE performance of 93.8 per cent in the CBSE Class XII examination, but finished in the top 10 in the test that mattered: IIT-JEE.

“I was awaiting the entrance test outcome more than the CBSE result, in which I aggregated 90 per cent from Padampat Singhania School. I knew from Class IX that I wanted to study computer science and I would not have settled for anything less than the best. Leaving the comfort of home was not that difficult because I knew what I wanted,” he said.

The second of Akhe Chandra and Manka Devi Bothra’s three children, Abhay drew inspiration and encouragement from cousin Pavan Lunia, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur. Regular homework, methodical revision and unwavering concentration were the keys to success for the Sachin Tendulkar fan.

Akhe Chandra, who owns two small shops selling petticoats and blouses, said he and his wife could not have expected more than what Abhay had given them already. “We are not that educated; so we are even more glad that our son has achieved such a high rank in one of the toughest competitive exams.”

Abhay wants to study in IIT Bombay and do his M.Tech from a foreign university or, depending on what the future holds, opt for an MBA degree.