'Their Memory Kept Me Motivated': CBSE Topper Recalls Losing Parents to COVID

Vanisha Pathak, hailing from Bhopal, recalls the tragic demise of both her parents within days of each other in May.

A 16-year-old Bhopal girl, who has topped Class X CBSE exams with lofty scores in all subjects, reels from the recent loss of both her parents to COVID-19 even as those around her celebrate her achievement.

(Photo: PTI)

A 16-year-old Bhopal girl, who topped Class-10 CBSE exams with high scores in all subjects, is reeling from the recent loss of both her parents to COVID-19, even as those around her celebrate her achievement.

Vanisha Pathak emerged as a topper in the class X CBSE exams, whose results were declared recently.

(Photo: PTI)

Vanisha Pathak, who attained 100 marks in her English, Sanskrit, Science, and Social Science exams, and 97 in Mathematics, recalls the tragic demise of both her parents within days of each other in May.

"The last thing my mother said to me was 'just believe in yourself... we will back soon'. The last words of my father were 'beta, himmat rakhna' (stay strong, my child)," Pathak told NDTV in an interview.

With exams right around the corner, the teenager, though shaken with the tragic loss, had continued to persevere in her studies at the time.

"My father wanted to see me study at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) or crack the UPSC and serve the nation. His dream is my dream now," she told NDTV.

Vanisha Pathak (R), who emerged as a topper in the class X CBSE exams, along with her brother shows a photograph of her parents on a laptop, at her residence in Bhopal on Thursday, 5 August. Pathak lost both her parents to COVID-19, a few months ago.

(Photo: PTI)

"(The memory of) My parents obviously kept me motivated and will motivate me throughout my life (but) he (her brother) is the biggest source of motivation right now... I am all he has and that keeps me going. I need to do something," Pathak said in an interview with the news channel.

Vanisha Pathak, who emerged as a topper in the class X CBSE exams, helps her brother with his studies in Bhopal.

(Photo: PTI)

Pathak's mother was a teacher at a government school, and her father worked as a financial adviser.

(With inputs from NDTV)