Country toppers from Pune share passion for music

PUNE: It was all about finding the right balance between academics and extra-curricular and country toppers, Anika Agrawal and Simran Khanuja did it well. While Simran is trained in classical music and plays the harmonium, Anika is also a musician and plays the casio during the school assembly, besides having a keen interest in robotics.Simran, whose father works in a private firm and mother is a homemaker, said, "I made sure that my hobby (classical music) did not take a back seat while I was preparing for the exam. I continued to participate in events at school as well as locally. It helped me maintain the right balance with academics and extra-curricular." On the topper's impressive report cards, the missing marks could be counted on fingertips. Simran lost five marks in English, two in science and one in History and Geography. "I am good in English literature, but not so much in English language. So I'm satisfied with the marks," she said.Simran, who was initially unaware that she had topped the country said, "I was hoping to score 98%, but never expected I would actually do it. I'm extremely happy and satisfied with my result mainly because Maths is my favourite subject and I scored full 100 marks." Simran wants to bag a seat in the Indian Institute of Technology after Class XII and said she would now pursue computer science and choose CBSE board for class XI and XII.Sujata Mallic Kumar, school principal said, "Both the girls have been able to manage time very well. With active participation in extra-curricular activities, they have managed to top the country in rankings."While Anika was out of the country on vacation, Mallic said, "She is an expert in robotics. She took part in the robotics competitions and has an ambition to pursue a career in this field. Both the girls are extremely humble and offer community service and above all wonderful personalities."