For Shubodh H.M., a native of Kalaburagi and a student of Bishop Cotton Boys School in Bengaluru, physical disability was not an obstacle to showcase his mental calibre as he has scored 100 marks out of 100 in four subjects – History, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology – and 91 marks in English in the ISC 12th Board examination conducted by the Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) this year.
With History and Political Science being his favourite subjects, Shubhodh, who is visually impaired, wants to crack the UPSC examinations to become an Indian Administrative Service officer.
Shubodh has not just topped his school this year, but set a record by emerging as the all-time topper also as he was the first to score 100 marks out of 100 in four subjects. What is noteworthy of his accomplishment is that he was not a student of a school for the visually handicapped, but that of a normal one where he had to compete with the normal students. Nor did he take any special coaching.
Shubhodh completed Staandard VII at Raghavendra School in Kalaburagi and joined Tunbridge High School, Bengaluru, for Standard VIII. He was earlier trained in Braille language by Basavaraj from Tumakuru and Nagaraj from Bengaluru, under the aegis of the National Association for Blind (NAB). It was upon their advice that he shifted to Bengaluru. After completing his high school at Tunbridge High School, he joined Bishop Cotton Boys School for Class XI and Class XII in the Humanities stream.
Unlike most of the students coming from backward districts such as Kalaburagi who lack proficiency in spoken English and, hence, find it difficult to adjust with the environment at reputed schools in big cities, Suhbhodh took little time to stand on equal footing with other students.
“I studied in State Board till Class VII and joined an ICSE school where the syllabus was tougher. With the guidance of my teachers and support from my parents, I could overcome the problem,” he says.
Shubhodh believes more in quality of study with smart ways than long-hour studies. He feels understanding the basics of the subjects, learning the question paper patterns from the previous question papers and developing abilities and skills to solve all questions within the time-frame would help a lot.