At 99.8%, this Shamli girl secures top spot in country without any tuitions

MEERUT: 15-year-old Nandini Garg would wake up early in the morning to start studying for her exams. She strongly believed in self-study and did not take any tuition. A voracious reader and a Harry Potter fan, Nandini had always expected 95% plus, but on Tuesday when she got to know that she had, in fact, topped the country, her happiness knew no bounds.
"I was in the train, travelling from Kota to my hometown Shamli when my father told me about the result.I couldn't contain my excitement and shrieked out of joy," said Garg, who has shifted to Kota to prepare for engineering. A student of Scottish International School, she wants to pursue engineering from IIT.
Nandini was as anxious as any other student waiting for her Class X board result, and this is why she planned to come back to her family suddenly on Tuesday morning. "I was really anxious and wanted to meet my family. All I am waiting for right now is to reach home and hug them tightly," said an ecstatic Nandini. Daughter of Rajeev Garg - an engineer and Shalu Garg, Nandini is from a well-off family of Muzaffarnagar. Her family owns a petrol pump, a movie hall and other establishments here.

She says that it will take time for the news of her securing the first rank in the country sink in and she has been speechless ever since the result came. Asked about her success mantra, she said, "I just believe in self-study so I did not take any tuition for any subject."
"We are very proud of her. She has made not only the school but also the district proud. She has a balanced approach towards studies and other co-curricular activities," said Ashu Tyagi, principal, Scottish International School.
Away from cell phones and social media - which Nandini consider as distractions - she studied with full focus and hard work. Talking about her hobbies, she said, "I like reading novels, my favourite being The Harry Potter. I also like dancing as it relaxes me." She plans to do her engineering from IIT and then become an IAS officer.