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Setting his sights high

PUDUCHERRY: He is just 17, but has decided what he wants to do in life. Jayanta Mazumdar plans to do mechanical engineering at IIT, write a book by the time he is 40 and set up a centre where he can tap the potential of rural people.

The runner-up at the Race for Awareness and Knowledge Award (Rank Award) at the national level for 2006-07, he received the award in July from former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

A resident of Puducherry and the son of Alak Mazumdar and Manjari Mazumdar, he is currently preparing for IIT JEE on his own. “Even if I get good marks and can get IT or computer science, which are good fields now, I will still take Mechanical engineering since I like Physics,” says the quiet boy with a disarming smile.

Jayanta won the Rank award at the Tamil Nadu State level, which made him eligible for the national-level competition. “I was asked to send two projects. One was the same thing that we sent to the State-level contest, in which we had to design a national flag for an imaginary country, the fundamental duties of that country and explain the significance of the flag we made. I also had to select a country other than India and give seven reasons or more as to why I would like my countrymen to visit that country. I chose China for the State award and it was Greece for the national award. I chose Greece because it has done remarkable progress and it is the birthplace of many civilizations and cultures. But they have kept in touch with their past and haven’t let go of it,” he explained.

In his project for the national award, he had to discuss his goals in life and his achievements.

More than the award, Jayanta enjoyed his 45-minute conversation with Dr. Kalam. “He asked me what I was planning to do. It was wonderful to be with him,” said Jayanta.

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