Taxi driver’s son scores 99.17%, eyes IIT

Bhubaneswar: For Ganjam-based taxi driver Akhila Sadangi and his wife Chandana, their years of sacrifice and perseverance yielded results on Wednesday when AHSE-2026 results were declared.Their son Anshuman (18) cleared the AHSE with an impressive 99.17%, scored 595 marks out of a total of 600 in the examination."Our prayers have finally been answered. All our struggles feel worthwhile today," said Sadangi, a resident of Polasara in Ganjam district, who earns a living by driving a rented taxi. His wife Chandana contributes to the household income through tailoring work. Despite financial hardships, the couple remained determined to support their son's education.A student of Nalanda Vidya Mandir, Anshuman earlier excelled in his Class X examination with a 92% marks. "He was always a bright child and endlessly curious about science. But we did not have the means to put him in a private school, so he studied at the Govt High School in Polasara," Sadangi recalled. The family's financial worries resurfaced after Anshuman's Class X results, when Nalanda Vidya Mandir approached them with an offer to admit him based on his academic performance. "At that time, the fee for the Plus II course with hostel facilities was more than Rs 1 lakh. We immediately refused because we simply could not afford it," Chandana said. "But the management insisted that Anshuman should study there. We somehow arranged Rs 10,000 for admission, and since then, the institution has supported him." For Anshuman, success came through discipline and clarity of purpose. He dedicated nearly six hours every day to his AHSE preparation. "The AHSE is considered the second major milestone in a student's career after Class X in Odisha, so I wanted to give it my best," he said. The teenager now dreams of pursuing engineering at an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Alongside preparing for JEE and JEE (Advanced) on his own, he is also gearing up for the entrance examination for admission to National Institute of Science Education and Research, scheduled on June 6. Anshuman believes understanding concepts matters more than spending endless hours with books. "I have always focused on concept clarity rather than just counting study hours," he said. His achievement has also filled his teachers and college authorities with pride.