Rank: 1st

Chandrachur Mandal

Chandrachur Mandal did not appear for any entrance exam other than West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination and (WBJEE) All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT). “We did not let him take the All India Institute of Medical Sciences or Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER) even though he had collected forms,” father Raghav Chandra said. “Taking leave to accompany him out of town would have been a bother,” he smiles a tad apologetically. 

His parents’ confidence was not misplaced. Their son topped the state medical entrance exam. 

Chandrachur himself was confident of cracking the test but what had taken a toll was the uncertainty over the whether the state would be allowed to hold a separate entrance examination for its medical colleges at all. “At first, JEE got delayed from the second week of April to May 17 for the Assembly election. The medical entrance got delayed even further to July 20. In other years, the result is out by May. This time, it came out in end-August. Frankly, I did not study after May 17 when the engineering entrance was held.” 

Chandrachur supports a uniform medical entrance test, as has been ordered by the Supreme Court. “Even the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is supposed to be held in seven regional languages, including Bengali. So that should take care of students wanting to write in the vernacular medium. As it is, the syllabus is the same for WBJEE and NEET, only the stress points are different.” NEET, he says, focuses on botany and zoology while WBJEE does so on physiology — just as the chemistry paper that is common to the state medical and engineering entrance papers is more application-based than that in AIPMT though the syllabus is the same for both.

While his parents are relieved to have Chandrachur do his graduation from home, the 18-year-old pass-out of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Education rues that he would not be able to enjoy college life as much as he would have liked to. Both his parents work at Calcutta Medical College, where he has taken admission. Raghav teaches nuclear medicine and mother Sucharita biochemistry. “Word will reach Ma if I bunk a single class,” he says, glancing at her.

The Bidhan Abasan resident is a Hollywood action comedy fan, with Will Smith and Jackie Chan being his favourites. A synthesiser player, he is also into rock music and listens to Linkin Park and Green Day in his spare time. At the same time, he is deeply spiritual, having been initiated by his parents’ guru Sri Sadhanananda Giri at the age of 10. 

His favourite subject is chemistry and he dreams of inventing a cure for cancer. “If research infrastructure improves in India, I do not want to go abroad.”
 

Rank: 3rd

Saptarshi Ghosh

Bidhan Abasan seems to be a fertile ground for producing quality medical students. Other than the topper, the third ranked candidate is also a resident of this government housing estate. “I spend a lot of time at my grandparents’ in AD Block when my parents are away at work. But this is my home,” says Saptarshi Ghosh. 

For the last one month, he has been attending classes at Jadavpur University, studying electrical engineering. He had got in, thanks to his rank of 680 in WBJEE (engineering). But he has no regrets about quitting the course. “My focus was on medical all along.” The 18-year-old got a decent rank of 282 in NEET as well. He got a call-up from Armed Forces Medical College in Pune. But it is Calcutta Medical College that he is heading for. 

The student of Calcutta Boys School was not that keen on biology. “Because he was inclined towards mathematics, we thought he would go for engineering. His preference changed in Class XI-XII,” says Sanat Kumar Ghosh, a head of the department at Dr BC Roy Post-Graduate Institute of Paediatric Sciences. His parents are delighted to have their only son follow in their footsteps. Saptarshi’s mother Mousumi is a paediatrician at Calcutta Medical College. Both were students at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Comparing WBJEE during his parents’ time and his own, Saptarshi feels the syllabus has become bigger now. “They wrote descriptive answers. We have to tackle multiple choice questions,” he says.

Saptarshi did not expect to make it to the top three. “I learnt of my result on TV. Initially I had got very excited. Then as the congratulatory calls started coming, I calmed down.”

He has been to his parents’ workplaces a few times. “The sight of people in serious conditions lying on stretchers outside used to give me a jolt,” he admits. 

He is aware of the pros and cons of choosing medicine as profession over engineering. “On one hand is the satisfaction of curing a patient. On the other, there is immense pressure with little margin for error.” 

Painting and tennis used to be his pastimes in school. “I gave it all up once I reached Class X.” Since then, he has only been listening to music — mainly Hindi film songs, both old and new. “Shreya (Ghoshal) and Shaan are my favourites.”

He has had little scope to go watch films in theatres, his last big screen outing having been for PK. “I mean to catch the Dhoni biopic,” he says.

His classes start on September 13. Before that, the Rafael Nadal fan wants to enrol at the Bengal Tennis Academy again.

Rank: 6th

Anirban Deb

Anirban Deb has no regrets about not putting to use his high rank (6th) in WBJEE. He is already enrolled in JIPMER, Pondicherry, where classes are on in full swing. “Since it is a post-graduate institute, he can do an MD from there,” reasons father Amaresh Chandra Deb, who has a business in homeopathy medicines. “And there is so much uncertainty still over the WBJEE ranks,” Anirban points out.

The IB Block boy who had topped the state in CBSE with 98.2 per cent (and had featured in The Telegraph Salt Lake on May 27) is no stranger to academic success and accolades. Since he is out of town, his parents — Amaresh and Mukta — are going around collecting the prizes on his behalf — a laptop, a wristwatch and books from education minister Partha Chatterjee, a cash reward from governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on behalf of a private institution, and an iPad Mini, a medal and cash from the coaching institute where he was enrolled. 

The last occasion is the only one he would have been upset to have missed had it not been for a chance meeting at Chennai airport. 

Deb is a huge cricket fan and could even have taken a shot at a career in cricket had his parents not asked him to focus on studies once he reached Class IX. So for him, to meet and receive his prize from cricketer Irfan Pathan, who came down to Calcutta for the purpose, would have been a thrilling experience. “But on my way to  Pondicherry, I met Jonty Rhodes in Chennai. I even got a picture clicked with him. He is a cricketer of a far higher stature than Pathan. So I have no regrets,” he smiles.

Rather, he is waiting for his parents to come visit him next month and bring the iPad Mini. 

Of course, he would be missing the Pujas. “The pandal in our block was already being built when I left town,” he sighs. 
Though he is very happy with the discipline and systematic approach to studies at JIPMER, the one peeve point about life down south is the food. “Even the vegetable dishes are sour. And sooji is the only dessert option,” he grimaces.

He has his Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan schoolmate Sankhadeep Saha for company. “There are half a dozen Bengalis here,” says the boy whose dream is a career in neurology.