Rajasthan's septuagenarian hopeful of matriculation on 39th attempt!

By Lokendra Singh

Khori (Bahror) (Ajmer), April 2 : It's been about four decades of struggle but Shiv Charan of Rajasthan's Alwar district is still in no mood to give up in life, as he is taking up standard X exams for the 39th time!

And, one can meet this 74-year-old struggler at his residence in Khori village under Bahror Tehsil of Rajasthan's Alwar District. These days he is engrossed in studies ahead of his exams being conducted under Rajasthan Board.

Shiv Charan came closest to being successful in 1995 but mathematics remained his Achilles' heel. He had made his first attempt for the same exams in 1964.

"In 1964, I appeared for the first time in the tenth Board exams. But when I appeared for exams in 1995, I had cleared all subjects except mathematics. I could not pass because of my irregular routine. I eat too much which makes me sleep a lot after that. And I did not manage my time well," said Shiv Charan.

His determination to succeed reflects from his vow not to marry till he clears his matriculation exams.

As any normal student Shiv Charan also has a private tutor who would come to his residence daily to teach mathematics and assist him in his studies.

According to the Shiv Charan's private tutor, he is quite sincere in studies, listens and tries to grasp all details carefully.

"He approached me in 1997. From then onwards I started teaching him. But now I feel his IQ level has gone down owing to his old age. But his memory is still strong and another thing is that studying gets harder compared to the earlier days. That is his draw back but he is still intelligent," said Mehtab Singh, the tutor.

Shiv Charan is religious-minded and does his cooking, cleaning and washing clothes all by himself. He wishes to marry after clearing exams, provided the bride is not over thirty years of age! Perhaps he received some inspiration after watching the recent Bollywood movie "Cheeni Kum", which showed marriage between Amitabh Bachchan and Tabbu despite a big difference of age.

ANI