At the age of six, Chennai lad U Gautham witnessed something no child should have to — his parents' deaths in an accident. But despite going through such a tragic incident, Gautham, now 17, just cracked the JEE Advanced exam and has secured an astounding All India Rank of 40!
Gautham was in Class two when he lost his parents to electrocution in his house. "The geyser wire had come loose and came in contact with the water. My mother got electrocuted and when my father went to save her, he got electrocuted too," recounted the boy, who was at home when the incident happened. In fact, he even tried to get in there and help but he was electrocuted too. "But I was saved somehow, I don't know how but I was," said Gautham.
Ever since, Gautham was brought up by his grandparents, "I was brought up by my father's and mother's parents, I would go back and forth. So they've done everything for me, my father's parents are both teachers," Gautham said. The 17-year old is a student of PSBB, KK Nagar and resides in the same area as well.
For Gautham, joining JEE classes was just something that happened. When he was in standard eight, Gautham's friend started to attend FITTJEE, "People were signing up for 3-4 years long courses but I just signed up for that year. I actually did like science and the fact that they were teaching more science here than in school, made me enjoy the classes more," he added.
So what turned out to be a one-time thing turned out to be a five-year course for Gautham,"The teachers here ensure that you know the subject in and out and only focus on mock tests and revisions when it is time for exams. Which is what I like, I understand the subject thoroughly so the test is always pretty easy for me."
Gautham said that his mentor at the institute always told him that he would do well in research which is something he has decided he would like to do eventually as well. But did he expect such a high rank? "I did expect a good rank but I thought I would get within the 200 ranks but I did not at all expect 40th rank, it was a big surprise. My grandparents were thrilled too, they knew I would do well but they didn't want to count the chickens before they hatched," the student said.
Gautham's immediate plan is to pursue a BSc in IISc but says that he might change his mind and choose to go to IIT-Madras. He sees himself either as a professor or a researcher in Physics in an IIT in the coming years. The 17-year old also plays the violin and been a part of small concerts as well.
