Mumbai: The Maharashtra HSC results declared on Saturday brought a proud moment for R A Podar College of Commerce and Economics, where student Ruparel Devanshi emerged as one of the notable performers in the commerce stream with 97.17 per cent.
For Devanshi, the result was both reassuring and deeply personal. “I am very grateful and over the cloud. I was not expecting that much. This is like a stepping stone towards success. It has motivated me to achieve my goals,” she said soon after checking her marks.
She added that the result has strengthened her self-belief. “I am believing in myself more now. I feel more confident about it.”
A calm approach, not an exhausting routine
Unlike the image often associated with board toppers, Devanshi said her preparation was not built around long, exhausting study hours.
Her classes ended in December, around the same time as college prelims. By then, she had already covered nearly half of the syllabus. The more intensive phase of preparation began in January.
“My board exams stretched for almost a month. Usually, commerce exams get over earlier, but mine went on till March 10 because of two extra subjects. That gave me a little more time to study,” she said.
Even during the exam period, she did not isolate herself from daily life. “I was very chill about it. It was not like I was studying the whole time. Even during exams, I used to go out for dinners and meet friends. I was not at home constantly studying, but the time I was studying, I would be very focused,” she said.
Her birthday also fell close to the examination period, but that did not change much. “I was out the whole day and enjoyed my birthday. It was not that I was stopping myself from enjoying things because of exams.”
No social media break, only focused study
For many students, board exams often mean stepping away from social media. Devanshi chose otherwise. “No, no, no. I was there on Instagram the whole time. I did not even deactivate my account,” she said.
What mattered more, she explained, was not cutting off distractions entirely but making the hours spent studying count. That balance, she believes, made the preparation less stressful and more sustainable.
Devanshi preferred to keep her plans broad for now, and she did mention that she is going to pursue a professional course.
College credits teamwork and student support
Principal Prof. Vinita Krishnakumar Pimpale said the result reflects months of collective effort by students, teachers and parents.
“I would actually want to tell my teachers and my students to put in a lot of effort, and they really come to college; they study. There are a lot of tests which we take in between mentoring sessions,” she said.
She also pointed to the support systems available on campus, especially for handling academic pressure.
“We have a free counselling centre also in Podar for everybody; whoever is a student of Podar and even their relatives also come in. Twice a week, a Disha counsellor comes in. For our students, it is free. It always helps our students to grow. If there is some stress, they will come and talk to them,” she said.
The college also conducts stress-management sessions and regular parent-teacher meetings. “All this helps the child to grow. Our teachers are really very good, and that has helped in getting good results for our students,” she added.
