Inspiring Indians : Shalini From Bangalore

[JANASENA]

 

She has scored 84. 8 per cent in the science stream in the second PU exam and dreams of bigger academic goals. But that doesn't complete the picture. This high-scorer cleaned bathrooms and scrubbed utensils, cooking and nursing, while juggling studies. That's 17-year-old Shalini A, whose life story is more like an obstacle race.

Shalini had studied in Tamil medium from class one to seven, when she was shifted to Kannada medium till tenth standard. She then shifted to English medium for her PU studies at SGPTA-Deeksha College. If coping with frequent changes in the medium was not daunting enough, there were bigger challenges on the home front too.

Just before the II PU exams, another tragedy struck the family. Her younger brother was diagnosed with third stage blood cancer. Shalini would often be in hospital with a book in her hand. "If I had not put in so much time in the hospital, I might have scored better. But my brother is more important to me than marks," says the gritty teen who has been thrown into another tough situation now. With her mother spending most of the day tending to her brother, Shalini had to take up her mother's jobs.

 

[BillMarkSteve]

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