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| Edited By: Priya Ramakrishnan |Source: DNA |Updated: May 20, 2010, 01:10 AM IST
Most people would have cursed their luck for being unable to write with their ‘strong’ hand for almost a year following an accident. Ipsita Bhattacharya, 17, is different. The student of RN Podar School in Santacruz not only overcame adversity, but also secured 91% in the CBSE Std XII exams by writing with her left hand.
“I met with an accident while travelling in a rickshaw and injured my right hand last year. The doctors told me I won’t be able to use my right arm for a year,” said Bhattacharya. She refused to lose heart and practised writing with her left hand. Though it took time for her to write ‘legibly’, Bhattacharya was confident of writing the papers with her left hand.
“I have undergone therapy on my right hand, but I am unable to write with it for more than half an hour. So, I concentrated on becoming ambidextrous. But I needed an extra hour to finish the papers as I was slow with my left hand,” she said.
Bhattacharya was hospitalised four times during the last academic year and missed out on her classes. But her school stood like a rock behind her and even wrote to the CBSE board to grant her an hour more during the exams.
“The student had been in and out of hospital throughout the year and missed many classes and practicals. It is mandatory to have a 75% attendance to qualify for the exam. So, we arranged extra classes for her to make up for her attendance,” Avanita Bir, principal of RN Podar school, said.
She added, “She (Bhattacharya) was also in a lot of pain due to other injuries and had to take steroids and painkillers. Doctors had advised her bed rest, but she had to prepare for her engineering exams too.”
Bhattacharya is now awaiting results of her engineering entrance exams. “Since I pushed myself too hard, doctors had advised me to take it easy and rest my right hand. If I score well in my engineering exams, I will go ahead and take admission. However, in case my scores are not good enough, I will take a break and recover from the injury,” she said.
