Toppers share their Secrets:

Sri Kumaran Public School topper for Class X (ICSE), Shruthi Srinath is on cloud nine. But celebrations are muted at her residence in Shanti Park, Jayanagar, for she's already focused on the next destination - IIT. Maybe, she had an inkling of her results, for she was already "celebrating" her success even before the results were announced, when she was holidaying in Madikeri with her parents. For a few moments, she felt tense, waiting anxiously for the SMS from her friends in Bangalore. Eventually, the beep of her cellphone spelt music to her ears. The SMS read: 96.29% average, with centum in Maths. For her proud parents, Srinath and Vanitha, it was their Moment of Wow.

Like Shruthi, Supriya Suresh of Vijaya High School, Jayanagar, is another distinction student (96%) in the State syllabus stream. Both believe that there is no substitute to hard work, and are totally focused on what they set out to achieve. While her parents, HV Suresh, a bank officer and Sandhya, a teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya are thrilled, they expect more from their daughter in college.

What drives students to excel? What does it take to score upwards of 95-plus marks? Is TV harmful to young minds? Shruthi and Supriya tell us what makes these special talents tick and share with our readers the secret of their success, while reliving the indescribable joy of their experiences, in this interview with TWB:

• To what or whom do you credit your success?

Shruthi: I credit my success to my teachers, parents and hard work.
Supriya: I owe my success more than everything else to my parents who were more hardworking than me.

• Tell us about how you prepared for the exams. Did you start studying from Day One onwards? 

Shruthi: Yeah, I started preparing for the exam from April 2006.
Supriya: I didn't do that well in the first term and preparatory exams. So I put in extra hard efforts for the final exam. On an average I used to study for about 5 hours per day.

• What are your plans for the future?

Shruthi: I have joined IIT coaching in BASE and I intend to join IIT.
Supriya: To become an engineer and pursue higher studies in Australia.

• What are your hobbies, if any? Did they come in the way of your studies?

Shruthi: I like painting. But I stopped attending painting classes to ensure it didn't come in the way of my studies.
Supriya: Watching TV, listening to music, singing.

• A lot of people believe watching TV is injurious to studying. Do you agree?

Shruthi: Yes, it's true. It's true. It's true!
Supriya: My father was very strict and totally restricted my watching TV. But I don't agree that watching TV is injurious to studies. If you have to study, you have to study.

• The secret of excelling in studies, according to you, is ---?

Shruthi: Being attentive in the classroom and having confidence in yourself.
Supriya: It's all about focusing fully on what you want to do, about how use your intelligence.

• Many students say tuitions are more important than regular classes at school/college, to excel in studies.

Shruthi: According to me tuitions are only to supplement the regular classes.
Supriya: Tuitions are of tremendous use as they help you in many ways.

• Nowadays, there is a great pressure on students to score very high marks. Do you feel all this very

stressful and if so, how do you cope with it?
Shruthi: It is stressful and is a part of a student's life. We have to live with it and have confidence in ourselves.
Supriya: Stress is very much there. I used to console myself saying I had no other choice than to study!