Vanisha Pathak, one of the city toppers in Class 10 CBSE examinations, had lost both her parents to Covid-19 in the second week of May this year.
Vanisha is a student of Carmel Convent, BHEL. In an interview, the 16-year-old girl said that she has to overcome her grief and move ahead in life for her younger brother adding that she wants to be in IIT or crack UPSC and serve the nation as that’s what her father wanted her to do.
“I am happy with my score. I want to become an IITian because it was the dream of my Mamma and Papa and it is my responsibility to fulfill their dreams,” Vanisha stated.
Her father Jeetendra Kumar Pathak was a financial advisor. Her mother Dr Seema Pathak was a government schoolteacher. She lost her mother on 4 May and father on 15 May. She said that she was informed about both her parents’ death after her father passed away.
When asked how she coped with tension, especially after her parents' untimely demise, she said that she used to write poems. "Once you put your emotions on the paper, you feel lighter," she said. She said that her teachers were very supportive of her. She credits her success to her teachers and the blessings of her late parents.
She has written one poem dedicated to her father.
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The brother-sister duo now lives with their maternal uncle Dr Ashok Kumar, a professor at Govt MVM College in Bhopal.