This year may have shown the best results for Karnataka's class 12 students, with girls outperforming boys yet again this year, but it's a different kind of victory for 17-year-old Shalini A.
As the Science topper celebrated her 99.1 percent score in north Bengaluru, a few kilometres away this Mariyappanapalya resident quietly toiled away working as a domestic help in at least eight part-time jobs, and as a cleaner at an office. During her time off, she tended to her sick father, finished housework, and studied for her upcoming exams.
On Monday, she scored 84.8 percent in the science stream. Now, she's preparing for the Common Entrance Test, a competitive exam for admissions in medical, dental and engineering courses in professional colleges in India.
