Their physical conditions test their grit and determination every single day. They might not be the highest scorers in the ICSE and ISC exams but have emerged toppers in the test of life. Metro highlights their achievements:

 

Sohini Malakar
Adamas International School, Belghoria

She suffers from cerebral palsy, cannot use her right hand, has undergone four surgeries on her feet and needs a walker to move around. All these odds have failed to cripple the spirit of the 16-year-old, who has scored 52 per cent in ICSE.

Sohini uses her left hand to write but struggles to hold the ruler or draw diagrams. In the class she could not take down notes as fast as her friends.

Cerebral palsy is a condition brought on by brain damage. "In its severe form, the condition can affect physical and mental faculties. Some need speech therapy. There are many who take the challenge head on and overcome the disabilities with sheer grit," said Subhra Chatterjee, the deputy director of the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy.

Sohini, father Subrata said, has 75 per cent cerebral palsy. "The condition has affected her movements and her capacity to memorise and recollect. She might study 10 hours a day but when she gets down to write she cannot recollect most of what she has studied and mixes things up."

What keeps Sohini going is her faith in herself and her determination to move ahead. "There were times when she would feel low when other students are going for sports or taking part in other outdoor activities while she is sitting quietly in her classroom," her father said.

"She, however, did not let her resolve slacken and made all of us proud by her success."

 

Ayush Agarwal
The Heritage School, Anandapur

He could not write for more than 15 minutes at a stretch and suffers from a constant tingling pain in his hands and feet, caused by a condition called polyneuropathy.

The 17-year-old was diagnosed with polyneuropathy - triggered by damage to peripheral nerves, leading to malfunction of multiple nerves throughout the body - when he was in Class XI. He could not attend school for almost six months after that.

"I could not write my first terminal exams. I managed to sit for the final exams but had to take the help of a writer as I was not in a position to write," Ayush said.

As Ayush developed difficulties in walking, sports and other extracurricular activities proved out of bounds for him. In school, when his friends would go to the canteen Ayush would eat alone in the classroom.

"Because I could only write very slowly, I was not sure whether I would be able to complete my papers. I thought I might not be able to sit for my boards. But I kept motivating myself and was determined not to let the limitations get the better of me," he said.

The result? 92.7 per cent in ISC. Ayush scored 94 in English, 97 in mathematics, 94 in accounts, 86 in economics, 86 in commerce and 83 in Hindi. "I've scored lower marks in the papers in which one has write long answers," Ayush said.