‘I gave up my smartphone and social life for 2years’ says JEE topper

CHANDIGARH: Scoring an impressive total and getting listed under the top hundred of the JEE entrance Exam is surely not a piece of cake. A joint entrance exam of the Indian Institute of Technology tougher to crack but can only be aced if one works hard after it says 18-year-old Sarvesh Mehtani who gave up his social life and smartphone to ace the entrance.

“Mostly, you need to cut off socially,” says the teenager, who wants to study computer science at IIT-Bombay. He stayed off the social network for two years, believes dedication towards studies and one’s dreams will always pay off. His father is an IT officer and his mother is a placement officer at a university.

A student of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Mehtani scored 95.4% in his class XII exam. He says “I have no control over myself when it comes to social media. So, when I started preparing for this exam (JEE) two years ago, I gave up my smartphone. But if you have control, you can keep the phone and study”. To achieve the results he also stopped hanging out with his friends and added “I did not meet them but talked over the phone. You have to socially cut off and focus on preparations”.

Inspired by the hit movie ‘3 Idiots’ in class VIII which basically revolves around engineering students, says NR Narayana Murthy Infosys co-founder is Mehtani’s role model. “3 Idiots inspired me to become an engineer says elated Mehtani.

He says Phunsukh Wangdu (Aamir Khan’s character who championed the importance of understanding a subject, as against rote learning, and following one’s passion) and all the characters in the film inspired me to take up engineering”.

With his hard work the IIT aspirant was sure to crack the exam and break into top ten. He scored 55th rank in the JEE(Main).

Here’s what the young aspirant has got to say: “Work hard, stay calm and stay organised in whatever you do. I used to study for five to six hours regularly, besides school hours and the coaching centre. On holidays, I used to study for more than eight hours, and you have to be regular with your study hours.”

And how he dealt with stress while preparing for the exam, he says, “I used to watch cartoons and listen to music to beat stress. Also, since I had left social media, I used to go for morning and evening walks with my parents. This reduced my stress and kept me fit.” His hobbies are reading novels and badminton.

He has already cracked other competitive exams like the Physics, Chemistry and Maths Olympiad in Class XII, as well as the Regional Maths Olympiad, and reached the second stage of the National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) in Class X. An elated Mehtani says his teachers and his parents have helped him achieve his success, Times of India reported.