DIGIT-ARC read-only archive · snapshot: July 23, 2026

Just 14, he is Delhi IIT-JEE topper

48 posts · originally from https://geek.digit.in/community/threads/just-14-he-is-delhi-iit-jee-topper.127391/

Rahim
Rahim Original post #1
May 27, 2010 at 1:59 PM
Fourteen-year-old Sahal Kaushik, who holds the 33rd rank at all-India level in the IIT JEE exam, emerged the Delhi region topper in the entrance examination. At the press conference to honour the toppers, Sahal, who was too shy to speak on stage, handed the mike over to his mother Ruchi Kaushik. But that was just for a while, off the stage, the boy giggled with his friend and answered media questions quite comfortably. *www.indiatimes.com/photo/4344505.cms
celldweller1591
May 27, 2010 at 6:19 PM
Human brain has got no limits. Simply owned !
Rahim
Rahim #3
May 27, 2010 at 7:21 PM
^kisi kisi ke ghutne ke neeche hote hain!!!! :clap2:
gagan007
May 27, 2010 at 7:25 PM
at the age of 4 this guy could recite tables upto 100 :|
today's newspapers are in awe with him... :)
Liverpool_fan
May 27, 2010 at 8:01 PM
Credit should be given to his mom especially :)
azzu
azzu #6
May 27, 2010 at 9:41 PM
Credit should be given to his mom especially :)

Yes
for hijacking his head and stealing away all his fun matter , Sports and making him a musiem item

jokin
skeletor
May 28, 2010 at 6:03 AM
He was home schooled till the age of 10. :)

---------- Post added at 06:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:03 AM ----------

Credit should be given to his mom especially :)
+1
W
Jun 2, 2010 at 10:31 PM
he is just teen like us but says that IIT JEE IS NOT A BIG DEAL
saurabh_1e
Jun 3, 2010 at 12:43 PM
ya all this is just matter of chance

just a little bit of here an there in human body and the results are extraordinary

thrice intelligent than us but cannot enjoy life like all of us
furious_gamer
Jun 3, 2010 at 2:41 PM
Yes
for hijacking his head and stealing away all his fun matter , Sports and making him a musiem item

jokin

Agree to this, but not fully. Her mother want him to be intelligent, but she never wanted him to be a child, of his own, who enjoys life just like other kids. Thats too sad.
harryneopotter
Jun 3, 2010 at 2:51 PM
kids these days .......sigh !
furious_gamer
Jun 3, 2010 at 4:21 PM
kids these days .......sigh !

:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen: I feel good in that way. I never be over-smart or a dumb guy. I was just a ordinary kid who likes to play a lot, and study less. :D and i am happy as hell.
G
Jun 3, 2010 at 5:22 PM
poor boy may be studying from 1st class for iit,,,
thewisecrab
Jun 18, 2010 at 2:30 AM
TBF, that kid pwned us all.

While we rant about the kid "not having a perfect childhood" or "we played when we were kids", that little yutz has made it to the biggest and one of the best institutes in the country.

Who gives a crap about childhood? That kid's life is set now. Kudos to him :) (unlike mine, which is in utter disarray :( )
furious_gamer
Jun 18, 2010 at 10:36 AM
@thewisecrab

Do you think settling in a top institute and study the current top course would make one feel happy? Nah, atleast not for me. I even had a chance to get into a good school for XIth. But i rejected that and preferred to stay with my mom. I never regret that and i feel happy on what i did and what i am doing now. The only thing is i am happy as hell. :D

I appreciate that kid though,but what we said earlier doesn't mean that we're ranting that kid, but we feel sorry for him for losting his childhood. You know how beautiful it is. Did you sacrifice that just for namesake and getting into top institute @ age of 14? Nah, we need to do certain things at certain age and that means we're moving gradually.
gagan007
gagan007 #16
Jun 18, 2010 at 10:41 AM
completely agree with you rajkumar_pb...children should not be burdened with studies when it is time for them to grow (I am talking about primary education). Later they should get to decide what do they want to do in life and parents should help them choose the course related to it accordingly.

It is just my thinking that in this case the mother of the kid had already decided that his son is gonna be in IIT the moment he was born (or maybe much before than that) because usually (not in all cases) parents want their kids to become what they failed to achieve in life.
nileshgr
nileshgr #17
Jun 18, 2010 at 10:50 AM
This is something really mind blowing :shock:

TBF, that kid pwned us all.

While we rant about the kid "not having a perfect childhood" or "we played when we were kids", that little yutz has made it to the biggest and one of the best institutes in the country.

Who gives a crap about childhood? That kid's life is set now. Kudos to him :) (unlike mine, which is in utter disarray :( )

Yeah true, I don't know what to do now that I have flunked in all three exams; well IIT wasn't for me anyway, but AIEEE and MHTCET ? :(

Agree to this, but not fully. Her mother want him to be intelligent, but she never wanted him to be a child, of his own, who enjoys life just like other kids. Thats too sad.

Yeah true. Childhood is meant for enjoyment and of course some study :D, not just the IIT stamp !
But who cares about childhood these days (as @thewisecrab said) ?
Its just the IIT bandwagon to get the B.Tech/M.Tech stamps !
furious_gamer
Jun 18, 2010 at 11:13 AM
Yeah true. Childhood is meant for enjoyment and of course some study :D, not just the IIT stamp !
But who cares about childhood these days (as @thewisecrab said) ?
Its just the IIT bandwagon to get the B.Tech/M.Tech stamps !

Well, atleast i'm not that kinda person. I love the way i am now and i never regret for that. Opinion differs but still, i emphasize childhood is where we enjoy a lot than any stage of our life.
nileshgr
nileshgr #19
Jun 18, 2010 at 11:15 AM
Well, atleast i'm not that kinda person. I love the way i am now and i never regret for that. Opinion differs but still, i emphasize childhood is where we enjoy a lot than any stage of our life.
Me neither.
thewisecrab
Jun 18, 2010 at 11:56 AM
@thewisecrab

Do you think settling in a top institute and study the current top course would make one feel happy? Nah, atleast not for me. I even had a chance to get into a good school for XIth. But i rejected that and preferred to stay with my mom. I never regret that and i feel happy on what i did and what i am doing now. The only thing is i am happy as hell. :D

I appreciate that kid though,but what we said earlier doesn't mean that we're ranting that kid, but we feel sorry for him for losting his childhood. You know how beautiful it is. Did you sacrifice that just for namesake and getting into top institute @ age of 14? Nah, we need to do certain things at certain age and that means we're moving gradually.

No, I'm not mentioning about happiness. Thats relative to a person. Yes, I too had a great childhood.

I would have sacrificed my childhood if it meant getting into IIT tbf, reason being that only now, I realise how messed up I am, and that I'll get a crappy college in the bargain. Whats better? being set for life, or running around like a headless idiot (as I am now) ? :(
furious_gamer
Jun 18, 2010 at 12:05 PM
No, I'm not mentioning about happiness. Thats relative to a person. Yes, I too had a great childhood.

I would have sacrificed my childhood if it meant getting into IIT tbf, reason being that only now, I realise how messed up I am, and that I'll get a crappy college in the bargain. Whats better? being set for life, or running around like a headless idiot (as I am now) ? :(

That depends. For some of us, life is not so hard but its not for everyone. What i said is purely from POV. I feel sorry for you and ofcourse i dont get into a top institute but i myself learned programming languages well and now i got my job only because of what i know. Anyhow past is past and nothing gonna happen. So try your best to push yourself up in the foodchain. :D
gagan007
gagan007 #23
Jun 18, 2010 at 12:11 PM
moreover some of the guys here who are not in any job yet think that all IITians get extraordinary pay or jobs which is not true at all. My own brother passed out from IIT KGP (and currently finishing MS/PHD from NUS) and he told me that only the toppers get those meatier jobs while others get at-par treatment which is given to BE graduates. It is not the degree that matters but the education we receive from these institutions...and which is what is asked in the interviews also.

Moreover, coming back to topic, I seriously hope that this kid doesn't lose it all one day but continue to bring laurels to India, no matter wherever he works or lives after completing his education.
nileshgr
nileshgr #24
Jun 18, 2010 at 12:39 PM
moreover some of the guys here who are not in any job yet think that all IITians get extraordinary pay or jobs which is not true at all. My own brother passed out from IIT KGP (and currently finishing MS/PHD from NUS) and he told me that only the toppers get those meatier jobs while others get at-par treatment which is given to BE graduates. It is not the degree that matters but the education we receive from these institutions...and which is what is asked in the interviews also.

Moreover, coming back to topic, I seriously hope that this kid doesn't lose it all one day but continue to bring laurels to India, no matter wherever he works or lives after completing his education.
I don't agree with your view completely.
B.Tech Metallurgy from IIT has anyday greater value than a B.E. in Comp Engg when applying for an IT industry (there are many such samples :D).
The stamp makes the difference. If you're applying for a job in the field itself, for example you are Mechanical and apply in a automobile industry then the knowledge may matter, not the institute, but still...IIT is an exception
gagan007
gagan007 #25
Jun 18, 2010 at 12:48 PM
if you are saying it so confidently perhaps you would have seen cases in practical life. I commented based on what my brother told me who himself is an IIT product. Plus there are couple of "friends" (not friends exactly but I know them) who have passed from IIT Roorkee and Chennai. They failed to get decent jobs. One is working at lower sal than me (passed out from Civil,same year as mine. I am a govt engg college passout) and other one started his own coaching class. Haah!
Liverpool_fan
Jun 18, 2010 at 1:00 PM
IIT brand matters, a LOT, however if you fail then rather not.
And btw this kid didn't really prepare for IIT brand but just for knowledge. I rather doubt a mother pushing for *that*. Perhaps this kid enjoys studying more than playing or idling? Not sure he had a "bad childhood" in that case
T
The Conqueror #27
Jun 21, 2010 at 4:55 PM
Its good but I doubt if he , you know , randomly ticked answers in IIT-JEE. Yes, I know it will be difficult but it can be done..Because consider the statement from the source "This topper scored a modest 76 percent in Class 10 and 73 percent in Class 12 board exams" (From the source)
Just a thought, I appreciate his hardwork and dedication.
nileshgr
nileshgr #28
Jun 21, 2010 at 5:57 PM
Its good but I doubt if he , you know , randomly ticked answers in IIT-JEE. Yes, I know it will be difficult but it can be done..Because consider the statement from the source "This topper scored a modest 76 percent in Class 10 and 73 percent in Class 12 board exams" (From the source)
Just a thought, I appreciate his hardwork and dedication.
I know many people who have been average scorers in 10th and 12th but university gold medalists.
thewisecrab
Jun 21, 2010 at 6:32 PM
10th = lol-iest exam known. Sorry if I offend anyone, but if that marksheet didnt have my DoB on it, its as good as toilet paper.
nileshgr
nileshgr #30
Jun 21, 2010 at 9:00 PM
10th = lol-iest exam known. Sorry if I offend anyone, but if that marksheet didnt have my DoB on it, its as good as toilet paper.
:lol:
But the government sees all your details: bdate, father's name, mother's name in the marksheet / sslc only :p
furious_gamer
Jun 22, 2010 at 11:44 AM
10th = lol-iest exam known. Sorry if I offend anyone, but if that marksheet didnt have my DoB on it, its as good as toilet paper.

:grin::grin:

Well the XIIth mark sheet either worth the same. :lol:
furious_gamer
Jun 22, 2010 at 2:41 PM
^^
Ah, thats really dumb. A friend of mine who is just having 58% got placed in HCL at our college-on-campus, though i dont have contact with that guy, i still remember how brilliant he was in programming. Why these companies always filter us with the marks.(God, at least i got above 60% :D)
Liverpool_fan
Jun 22, 2010 at 3:44 PM
^^
Ah, thats really dumb. A friend of mine who is just having 58% got placed in HCL at our college-on-campus, though i dont have contact with that guy, i still remember how brilliant he was in programming. Why these companies always filter us with the marks.(God, at least i got above 60% :D)
They filter people because these "filtering" jobs are done by the dumb HR guys who have absolutely no idea on how to judge talent or skill and do a lazy task of filtering in that way claiming "consistency" in education or other such crap.
Some companies even ask for 70% above in graduation, and that's really retarded IMO (anyone who has done/doing Engineering knows how difficult it is to score marks and how it is more dependent on attendance/rote ability/closeness to teachers than knowledge or intelligence).
gagan007
gagan007 #37
Jun 22, 2010 at 4:07 PM
Down south specially in Bangalore when a lot of candidates show up for a particular job test/interview, the cutoff has reached upto 90% too. I think they did it just to reduce the crowd. None of the universities in north give such obscene marks, even to toppers!
nileshgr
nileshgr #38
Jun 22, 2010 at 6:44 PM
^^
Ah, thats really dumb. A friend of mine who is just having 58% got placed in HCL at our college-on-campus, though i dont have contact with that guy, i still remember how brilliant he was in programming. Why these companies always filter us with the marks.(God, at least i got above 60% :D)

There are always some exceptions.

They filter people because these "filtering" jobs are done by the dumb HR guys who have absolutely no idea on how to judge talent or skill and do a lazy task of filtering in that way claiming "consistency" in education or other such crap.
Some companies even ask for 70% above in graduation, and that's really retarded IMO (anyone who has done/doing Engineering knows how difficult it is to score marks and how it is more dependent on attendance/rote ability/closeness to teachers than knowledge or intelligence).

+1, its all about the numbers you get out of 100, very few number of people see the talent.
A
Jun 23, 2010 at 12:03 PM
:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen: I feel good in that way. I never be over-smart or a dumb guy. I was just a ordinary kid who likes to play a lot, and study less. :D and i am happy as hell.

IMO early success is not as good as it seems, because often the person may not be able to repeat the same performance due to various factors as time passes and then he or she may get depressed.

When I was 14, I knew VB and C and was doing voluntary beta testing and preparing bug reports all day for many software firms in the security industry. I made a lot of contacts, etc. and a few enemies too (come on, it's the internet :D). I got a lot of praise too.

However, my marks were never great. The media, the people, our society, they only care about success in exams, not about people's abilities. I got to meet entire development teams of companies and chat with them, yet, my immediate peers didn't really care about that. My 75% "low marks" in 10th mattered more to them than my success with these "unnecessary activities". I stopped my internet activities and testing later to concentrate on studies, and due to a lack of time.

The thing is that there are many, many kids who do wonders even at age 14 (or even less). Some compete at national level in sports. Some win international swimming tournaments. Some win computer gaming parties. There are countless things I can go on about.

But our media and society cares much more about marks in exams than such things and that is plain wrong!

As time passed and I saw this, I used to feel a little depressed......but now, I am older, I am wiser. I do not care much because my abilities are out there and anyone can see it. And that is the same for all of you - I always believed that every person is really, really good at something that no exam or test can ever prove.

So, while I must applaud this boy's success at this exam, this is also a time where he should be careful - because if he doesn't continue repeating such success, people will begin thinking badly of him and he can fall into depression.

And remember, there are other kids doing various other things at young ages.....very talented people whose talent is ignored by the country. Remember them too when you read these things! :)
gagan007
gagan007 #40
Jun 23, 2010 at 12:10 PM
I can understand your feelings AcceleratorX, what you said is absolutely correct.
A
Jun 23, 2010 at 12:26 PM
I can understand your feelings AcceleratorX, what you said is absolutely correct.

Thank you.....

To be honest, today I'm a happy guy too because skills like these stay with you forever. Topping the exam, however, is just a one-time joy that lasts a few days! :)

(Even playing football, for example, is a skill as it makes you physically strong - and physical strength is always useful no matter what work you do and how old you are!).
furious_gamer
Jun 23, 2010 at 12:35 PM
They filter people because these "filtering" jobs are done by the dumb HR guys who have absolutely no idea on how to judge talent or skill and do a lazy task of filtering in that way claiming "consistency" in education or other such crap.
Some companies even ask for 70% above in graduation, and that's really retarded IMO (anyone who has done/doing Engineering knows how difficult it is to score marks and how it is more dependent on attendance/rote ability/closeness to teachers than knowledge or intelligence).

Well said. Even when Infosys came to our city, the percentage to attend the funeral(thats what we call interviews as.) was whooped to 70% from 60%. B'coz the number of applicants is around some ~800 and they want to filter them and after announcing this, number of candidates become 250:?:!!! Yep, even i left as my percentage was 68 at that time. :-x I feel dumb and thought, if this is the case, then why the heck they announce as 60% in first place.

There are always some exceptions.

Ofcourse, but what i want to emphasize is getting more marks doesn't mean he is good at everything. The companies must consider everyone and review them for their skills.
nileshgr
nileshgr #43
Jun 23, 2010 at 1:19 PM
AcceleratorX, the media dumbidiots need to see such examples.
Actually interviewers who always see marks will realize only when such things happens to their sons and daughters.

I also agree with your point about short time joy that you get with high marks in exam.

@rajkumar_pb, the companies "should" consider as per skills. but they don't ! :evil:
skeletor
skeletor #44
Jun 23, 2010 at 2:25 PM
The thing which really pisses most people off is, to take CS in IIT, and you'll have to expertise at PCM.
nileshgr
nileshgr #45
Jun 23, 2010 at 4:04 PM
The thing which really pisses most people off is, to take CS in IIT, and you'll have to expertise at PCM.
which even pissed me off like anything lol
furious_gamer
Jun 23, 2010 at 4:09 PM
The thing which really pisses most people off is, to take CS in IIT, and you'll have to expertise at PCM.

:D :D :D

Are they made of clay? :p
T
The Conqueror #47
Apr 15, 2011 at 4:59 PM
The thing which really pisses most people off is, to take CS in IIT, and you'll have to expertise at PCM.
And for the first year in IIT you have to take PCM + One or two humanities subjects :-x:-x
W
way2jatin #48
Apr 16, 2011 at 9:15 PM
The thing which really pisses most people off is, to take CS in IIT, and you'll have to expertise at PCM.

well said gagan