Undaunted by dad's loss to cancer, girl scores 96.4%

If being on the other side of the economic fault line was not enough, Aparna Amnerkar's life took a turn for the worse two years ago when his father Suresh succumbed to oral cancer. Left with no option, her mother started working as a maid to ensure no interruption in the education of Apana and her brother Anirudh.

With her daughter scoring 96.4% in the SSC exams, Suman from Nagpur could not have asked for more. The setback to the family, Aparna said, had only reinforced her will to do well in the studies. She scored a perfect 100/100 in Sanskrit. Anirudh too passed his HSC exam this year with 62%.

Following Suresh's death, the Amnerkar family had to leave their house and shift to her maternal home. Aparna, Anirudh and Suman stayed put at her uncle's residence that housed 13 members.

"I was in 8th grade when I lost my father. He was the sole earning member in the family. We had to move out of the house and stay at my uncle's place. My mother had no option but to take up the job of a househelp to fund our education," said 15-year-old Aparna.

Aparna said her mother had never worked outside the house. She said she was encouraged by Suman's steely resolve to educate her children. "My biggest challenge was managing study in a small house with 13 members. I could not stick to a fixed schedule. Sometimes, I would study late at night or early in the morning."

With both the siblings ready for further education, the family is in dire need of financial support. "It pains to hear my mother say that she would work in more houses to help us with our studies," said the teen, adding that she plans to join the science stream like Anirudh.

With the hope that help will come in her way, Aparna said she is keen to pursue law in future.

Apart from being an outstanding student, Aparna has excelled in sports too. She has played cricket, badminton and khokho at various interschool events. In her free time, the sprightly girl loves to read biographies of famous personalities, and novels.