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Young Achievers

by the time she was nine, Kaamya consistent preparation. Starting with
had completed several high-altitude participation in science Olympiads,
Himalayan treks with her parents regular practice tests and thorough
including Roopkund, Harki Dun and analysis of test papers by Allen,
Chandrasheela in Uttarakhand, and Kota teachers, parental support
reached the Mt. Everest base camp. and most of all, to the support of
In 2017, she scaled Stok Kangri peak grandfather R.C. Somani, a retired
(6,153 m) in Ladakh. engineer. “Much before I moved to
Kaamya has no regrets about the Kota, my grandfather used to help
time invested in her mountaineering me strategise and draw up balanced
expeditions. She believes it has en- study schedules which enabled my
hanced her academic performance. regular study habit,” acknowledges
However, the downside of her this young whiz.
climb-every-mountain compulsion is An academic topper throughout
the expense involved. “For instance, school (SICA Senior Secondary
Kaamya’s recent Mt. Everest expedi- School and Rankers International)
tion cost Rs.30 lakh. We drew Rs.17 in small town Indore, Ved believes
lakh from family savings and the there’s no substitute for a disci-
rest through sponsorship for which plined study regimen. “I was always
I’m eternally grateful,” says mother interested in computer science and
Lavanya. math while in school and determined
Kaamya is now bent on complet- to study in a top-ranked IIT. After I
ing her mission to climb every major completed the class X CBSE board
KAAMYA KARTHIKEYAN mountain worldwide. “I have drawn exam, my parents decided to enroll
up a plan to climb Antarctica’s Mt.
me in a two-year Allen Tutorials
Vinson Massif in December this year IIT-JEE test prep program. They
and become the youngest girl ever to believed that Kota’s highly competi-
class XII student of Mum- accomplish this mission,” she says tive culture would rub off on me. It
bai’s CBSE-affiliated Navy with élan. did. During my two years with Allen,
A Children School, Kaamya Go girl! I followed a daily schedule of 10-12
Karthikeyan (16) became the young- hours of rigorous study and restful
est Indian to scale Mt. Everest — Paromita Sengupta (Bengaluru) eight hours of sleep,” says Ved, who
the highest point on Planet Earth. has formally challenged IIT-JEE to
On May 20, she accomplished show cause why they deducted five
this eight-hour gruelling feat from VED LAHOTI marks in IIT-JEE Advanced.
the Nepal side for the first time Having set the stage for his future
after pioneer woman mountaineer at IIT-B, Ved intends to make a
Bachendri Pal four decades ago. t’s raining accolades for Indore career in AI and quantum physics
Conquering new heights is Kaa- teenager Ved Lahoti (17). A research. “India doesn’t have a good
mya’s mission. Since age ten (2017), Istudent of Allen Tutorials, Kota, reputation for deep, breakthrough
she has ascended Africa’s highest Ved chalked up an incredible 355 of research. I hope to change that,” he
Mt. Kilimanjaro (5,756 m); Europe’s a maximum possible score of 360, says.
Mt. Elbrus (5,642 m), Australia’s the highest ever in IIT-JEE (Joint Wind beneath your wings!
Mt. Kosciuszko (2,228 m), South Entrance Examination) Advanced
America’s Mt. Aconcagua (6,962 — held on May 26. IIT-JEE (Mains), Autar Nehru (Delhi)
m), and North America’s Mt. Denali the joint entrance examination of
(6,190 m). India’s globally reputed 23 Indian
Born into an adventure sports- Institutes of Technology (IITs), is
loving family — Western Navy reportedly the world’s toughest ad-
Commander S. Karthikeyan and her missions exam written by 1.4 million
mother Lavanya, an early child- higher secondary school-leavers of
hood educator — Kaamya developed whom 2.5 lakh qualified for IIT-
interest in mountaineering on Advanced, of whom 17,740 were
her father’s knee as he recounted accepted into the IITs. By virtue of
his several Himalayan mountain- his top score Ved has been admitted
scaling expeditions. “My father has into the top-ranked IIT-Bombay’s
been my role model, coach and in four-year B.Tech (computer science)
recent years, climbing partner as degree programme.
well! But it was my mother who ac- The younger of two children of
companied me on my first Himala- Yogesh Lahoti, a construction man-
yan trek,” she recalls. ager in Reliance Jio, and homemaker
Starting with weekend treks in mother Jaya, Ved attributes his
Lonavala near Mumbai at age three, extraordinary academic success to

40 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2024