Doraemon magic helped JEE (Advanced) topper Sarvesh Mehtani keep stress levels down

Believe it or not, Panchkula boy Sarvesh Mehtani, who topped JEE (Advanced) 2015, made it a point to watch animation films on TV ( Japanese manga series Doraemon was a favourite) to “control stress” while studying for the tough exams.

In fact, Mehtani included cartoon films (TV) in his daily routine after joining Class 11 in the non-medical stream and making IIT JEE his number one goal.

On why Doraemon was a favourite, Mehtani, who turned 18 last month, said that it was better to watch cartoons than other “worthless” serials on television and “It worked well for me.”

A student of Panchkula-based Bhavan Vidyalaya School, who planned to pursue computer science in IIT Bombay, Mehtani said it took serious effort to keep distractions at bay and study for seven to eight hours daily in spite of attending school.

His father Parvesh, 48, an income tax officer posted in Chandigarh, said Mehtani willingly gave up his smart phone used a basic phone just for making calls. Mother Raj Bala, also 48, who works with the Haryana government’s industrial training department, said her son did not consider studies to be a burden and made sure he revised what was taught in class every day before going to bed.

Swanky phones and Whatsapp chats had to be sacrificed to remain organised and focused as “I found these to be a diversion from my main goal.” The friends who used smart phones for studies “had a lot of self-control” in using the gadgets which “I did not, that is why I had to give it up,” he said.

Mehtani also gave credit to his teachers for his achievement and said most of what they taught was from NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) textbooks. A majority of JEE questions are based on NCERT publications.

In his message to budding engineers, Mehtani says he refused to give up hope even when his motivation levels were down. “Hard work is the key. Whenever I had doubts in any of the subjects, I cleared them and then and never left it for other day. Being organised is what is required to be a topper,” he said

Mehtani scored 95.4% in Class 12 and a perfect CGPA 10 in Class 10.

He was also all praise for his teachers who encouraged him to take the non-medical stream to try for admission to India’s finest institutions.

He secured AIR with 339 marks out of 366.

Mehtani’s parents, who live in Sector 17, Panchkula, and belong to Hisar in Haryana, say today is the happiest day of their life. Sunday can’t be better than this, they added, smiling.