Technology is a tool to make things better in and for India, believes A Jithendar Reddy, a native of Warangal district in Andhra Pradesh, who topped the recently-announced IIT-JEE results.
“I will opt for electronics and communication engineering,” he said, adding IIT-Bombay is his destination. He also wants to pursue his higher studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The top rank in the IIT is a result of early planning and execution. Jithendar put the initial seeds for his IIT preparation when he was in Class VIII. It took two years for the abstract — to get into an IIT — to turn into a concrete plan of action and, thus, began the grind for the big test.
He endured a 10-to-12 hour grind daily at the college for vesting the top slot. “Being thorough with fundamentals is key for success. Once you know these, no question is difficult,” he said, adding he relished the challenges of mathematics and chemistry. Of course, he found time to unwind, watch IPL matches and chat with friends. He is an avid follower of the national religion — cricket.
And can anyone preparing for IIT not relate to 3 Idiots? Jithandar said he endured long hours of preparing, as Chatur did in the movie. At the same time, like Rancho, he stayed away from some classes where the proceedings were dull.
On being asked where he sees himself after a few years, he said, “I will return to India (after masters) to work for my country by harnessing new ideas in electronics and communications.”
Motivation was never a problem for Jithendar because of his parents background. His father A Ramachandra Reddy teaches physics at National Institute of Technology in Warangal and mother Sobha is a teacher in a government school. “We never forced him to take the IIT-JEE exam. We encourage him to do what he likes,” says Ramachandra Reddy.
Jithendar will not miss his roommate Uday Shah, for he is the second ranker at IIT-JEE, and also aspire to join IIT-Bombay. “I want to opt for electronics and communication engineering or computer science,” said a bespectacled Uday, who prepared for IIT for four years. As roommates, they both respected each other’s efforts and cherished results. “We know he had this capability to come out in flying colours,” said Kantilal, Uday’s father.
Uday got the tempo going for IIT preparation after his Class X results. He was among the top five during first year of his intermediate, but his rankings fell to 100 in the second year. “It looked he was bored for some time. He remained in this phase for about six months. But, we all knew his capacity to come back strongly,” recalls Kantilal, who runs a hardware business. Some pep talk around February from his principal and other peers brought him back to the serious groove and there was no looking back, he added.
Did parents make any adjustments? “Staying away from him is the biggest sacrifice the family has made,” said Kantilal. Uday’s mother Meeta, a homemaker, and sister Treeti, an animation student, allowed Uday to stay at the hostel after a lot of coaxing.
Students from Andhra Pradesh bagged seven of the top-10 ranks in IIT-JEE. This is the first time in 20 years that a student from the state has secured the first rank in the IIT-JEE open category.
About 30 per cent of the 50,000 students who have written the IIT entrance from the state have cleared it this year. About 500 of them have made it to the top 2,000 ranks in the open category. The state secured over 50 ranks in the top 200 among reserved categories including SC, ST, OBC and physically handicapped.
