Chandigarh boy Sarvesh tops IIT-JEE Advanced

Watching cartoons on TV, listening to music and playing badminton were the stress- busters for Sarvesh Mehtani, a student from Chandigarh, who topped the IIT-Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) test, the results of which were announced on Sunday.

Mehtani, whose father is an officer in the Income Tax department, said it was always his aim to break into the top 10 in the highly competitive examination.

Asked if he had thought that he will emerge as the topper in the exam, Mehtani said, "I always wanted to be in the top 10."

About the activities which worked as stress-busters for him, Mehtani said, "I watched cartoons on TV and listened to music. Reading novels and playing badminton also helped me stay calm and focussed."

Mehtani, whose elder sister too is pursuing an engineering course, had secured 95.4 per cent marks in the Class XII Board examinations.

"I scored 95 per cent in physics and mathematics and 97 per cent in chemistry. My favourite subject is mathematics," he said.

Asked about his success mantra, Mehtani said, "Hard work, staying organised and being focussed on the goal. My message for my juniors is to stay calm, organised and work hard."

Several Chandigarh students have made the city proud this year. Three of them, including two girls -- Bhumi Sawant, Mannat Luthra and Aditya Jain -- featured among the toppers in the CBSE Class XII examinations. All the three had earlier said they achieved success through hard work, dedication, commitment and by keeping themselves "off the social media".

Asked how many hours he devoted to studies on a daily basis, he said, "In addition to the school hours and the private coaching class I took, I used to study for five-six hours. On a holiday, I would study for 8-10 hours." Mehtani was also inspired by the Aamir Khan-starrer Bollywood film, '3 idiots'.

"The film released when I was in Class 8. Most of the characters in it inspired me," said the student who considered Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy as his idol.

Happy at his son's success, Parvesh Mehtani said, "He was always focussed on his studies."

He also had a word of advice for parents who put pressure on their children to achieve academic success.

"Putting pressure on the children does not help. One should rather help them achieve their dream," he said.