Old Martinians
Labore et Constantia
KOLKATA: For a daughter of doctor parents and with golfing skills that Annika Sorenstam would be proud of, economics was an unusual choice for Mahima Khanna, the 23-year-old Kolkata girl who won Stevension Award, one of Cambridge University's highest honours. Everyone in the family had thought she would follow in her parents' footsteps. Her mother Gauri Kumra is a well-known gynaecologist and her father, Manoj Khanna is a reputed plastic surgeon.
But Mahima's heart lay elsewhere - it was the intricacies of numbers and logic rather than those of the human body that interested her. After her schooling in Loreto House and
La Martiniere for Girls', she cleared the medical joint entrance examination, but eventually took admission in St Xavier's College.
When she graduated in 2009, she had topped in economics in Calcutta University. Mahima went to Cambridge on a Commonwealth scholarship for her postgraduate degree. She excelled there, too, ranking second, and stayed on for her MPhil. Interestingly, seven out of the 125 students in her class were Indian, though none from Kolkata. There were five from Delhi and one from Mumbai. When she isn't cracking mathematical puzzles or solving economic riddles, Mahima
loves to tee off. While in Kolkata, she played amateur golf at the RCGC and Tolly Club. She went on to play in golfing events in the UK, UAE and Kenya. But the focus remains firmly on her career. Mahima attributes her success to grandfather Swarn Kumra. An engineer who studied in London University, it was he who instilled the love of numbers and logic in his granddaughter.
"The day after the JEE results were out and I got the chance to study medicine, I held his hands and went and took admission in economics at St Xavier's, chucking medicine. He remains my pillar of strength," she says.
Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey, TNN Nov 10, 2011, 03.12AM IST
Mahima Khanna from Kolkata recently became the third Indian to win accolades at Cambridge, bagging the prestigious Stevenson Prize.
Twenty three-year-old Mahima Khanna has became the third Indian to receive the Stevenson Prize at Cambridge University, following in illustrious footsteps -- Professor Amaratya Sen was the first Indian to win the award in 1956 and Sir Partha Dasgupta won it in 1967 (interestingly, both were Kolkata natives, as is Mahima). The Stevenson Prize is awarded to students of the university who perform exceptionally well in academics.
Khanna was a student of MPhil in Economic Research and sought her specialisation in International Trade and Advanced Econometrics at the university, where she topped a class of 120.
She currently works as a consultant with Mzaya Private Limited, a Mumbai-based start-up that is into helping young entrepreneurs develop business opportunities in India and has also served as an intern with the Planning Commission.
Mahima completed her ISC from La Martiniere College for Girls, Kolkata and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from St Xavier's College in Kolkata.
Her mother Gauri Kumra, who works as a gynaecologist at the Bhagirathi Neotia Woman & Child Care Centre in Kolkata, describes her as a 'quiet girl' who has made her proud.
"Mahima has always been a quiet young girl. I have raised her as a single parent. Together, we have faced a lot of challenges, but she has sailed through them with such grit, which makes me feel proud of my daughter," she says.
"All those years of hardship have finally paid off with this honour. She's suffered a lot, but she is a sweet child. She has never complained to anyone about her problems. I can only be happy for her at this moment," Kumra told us.
In the following pages, Mahima Khanna talks about success, what the Stevenson Award means to her and the Cambridge experience. .
KOLKATA: Rachit Parasrampuria of Kolkata's La Martiniere for Boys school scored the highest-ever in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) - 2400 out of 2400.
Though his admission to an Ivy League college in the US will be easier now, he has to live up to his reputation at the ISC exams in March. At 5.30 pm on Monday, 18-year-old Rachit was still in his school uniform. He had just returned to his Alipore home after a hectic schedule of tuitions after school. He will spend the rest of the evening solving mathematical problems.
Rachit had always been unassuming and shy about his academic achievements. He scored 96% in the ICSE examination. He has always been among the top three boys in his class.
Rachit said, "I was plain lucky. If you make me take the exam (SAT) once again, the score could be a little lower. Scoring full marks is a matter of luck. All those who get beyond 2200 are in the same merit bracket."
Though his admission to an
Rachit had always been unassuming and shy about his academic achievements. He scored 96% in the ICSE examination. He has always been among the top three boys in his class.
Rachit said, "I was plain lucky. If you make me take the exam (SAT) once again, the score could be a little lower. Scoring full marks is a matter of luck. All those who get beyond 2200 are in the same merit bracket."
School principal Sunirmal Chakraborty was happy. "We are extremely proud of him for this rare score. Rachit has always been a good student and this was perhaps expected. We are following up on the admission of all the boys in the US who have managed good SAT scores," he said.
About 50 boys from the Kolkata school took SAT this year and most scores have been good, teachers said. Most of these boys have applied to US institutions. Some of them will use the SAT scores to go for higher studies in Singapore.
The 2400-marks SAT exam that Rachit wrote had two papers -two papers in English for 1600 marks and an 800-mark mathematics paper. "I was happy writing my maths answers because I love the subject and only elementary level questions were asked. The English questions were tougher. You have to write critical appreciations and essays. It is tough to score here and I was certainly not expecting my results to be this good. When the results were mailed to me, all of us at home pinched each other to see if it was a dream," Rachit said.
About 50 boys from the Kolkata school took SAT this year and most scores have been good, teachers said. Most of these boys have applied to US institutions. Some of them will use the SAT scores to go for higher studies in Singapore.
The 2400-
Rachit wants to study computer science in the US. He is expecting an offer from the Stanford University by the middle of next month. He has also applied to other universities, including Cornell, Harvard and Princeton. "Since I have applied for aid (scholarship), it makes my case tough. But paying Rs 30 lakh annually is not easy when you are doing a four to five year course," Rachit said.
His father Ashok Parasrampuria owns a tea estate in Assam. "He is an extremely hard working and disciplined boy. I am very happy," he said.
Rachit prepared for SAT on his own with help from his school teachers. He did not go to any coaching centre. "I set my sights on going abroad after school. So, I have not coached for exams like IIT-
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