Failed Class 11, now has an IIT seat: Mumbai panipuri seller’s son says, ‘don’t let failure define you’

Failed Class 11, now has an IIT seat: Mumbai panipuri seller’s son says, ‘don’t let failure define you’

Harsh Gupta, a 19-year-old from Maharashtra, failed his Class 11 exams but chose not to give up. With steady effort and the backing of his family, he retook the exams, cleared Class 12, and earned a place at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

Harsh Gupta, whose father runs a pani puri stall, has cracked IIT.(Videograb )

Gupta, whose father runs a small pani puri stall in Kalyan, one of the founding cities of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, enrolled at a coaching institute in Kota, Rajasthan, and eventually secured a seat at IIT Roorkee in Uttarakhand. He now aims to enter the civil services, NDTV reported. 

Harsh scored 98.59 per cent in JEE-Mains and qualified for JEE-Advanced, the engineering entrance exams for admission to colleges including IITs. However, he did not secure admission to the college of his choice.

Determined to join IIT, he tried again and earned a seat on his second attempt.

His message to students is clear: “Don’t let failure define you. Never give up.”

“After failing the Class 11 exams, I decided to go to Kota. My family supported me in my decision... I always dreamt of clearing IIT and securing a seat in either IIT Mumbai or Roorkee,” the report quoted him as saying. 

Harsh said his father always encouraged him to keep studying. “He said, 'couldn't study, but you should pursue your dreams'.”

“My message for other aspirants is that don't let failure define you. I never gave up, even though I failed in Class 12. I am the first IITian in my family, and my school,” he added.

Throughout his journey, Harsh said his classmates teased him and doubted his potential after he failed Class 11, saying a ‘pani puri’ vendor's son could not crack IIT. 

But he ignored the naysayers and focused on his studies, dedicating 10-12 hours a day to coaching and self-study.

“But, I didn't pay much heed. I worked hard,” he said, thanking his family and friends “for always supporting” him.

His father, Santosh Gupta, expressed pride, saying, “I may be a pani puri vendor, but I'll go to any extent to support my children's dreams.” 

“I am very happy. He has always been good at studies, but we had financial constraints,” Gupta added. 

Despite limited earnings, he arranged funds by withdrawing from his savings. “I also want my two other sons, Shubham and Shivam, to pursue higher education,” he said.