Ankita lives with her two sisters, younger brother, mother and grandmother. She has a twin sister who was studying along with her, but who took a gap after grade nine due to illness. This year her elder sister also passed her HSC examination in the second class, and is now planning to opt for a course in nursing.
She was in standard eight when she lost her father Bhagwan. This year, Ankita Gade, 15, honoured his memory by doing well in the SSC board exams. The daughter of a housemaid residing at the Wadala slum of Mahatma Phule Wadi, Ankita has scored 79.2% marks in her boards. Gade is a student of Meenatai Kurude Night High School.
Ankita lives with her two sisters, younger brother, mother and grandmother. She has a twin sister who was studying along with her, but who took a gap after grade nine due to illness. This year her elder sister also passed her HSC examination in the second class, and is now planning to opt for a course in nursing.
Ankita said that after her father's death, her mother initially found it hard to adjust to a menial job. "My mother never did a maid's job in her life. But after my father lost his life due to diabetes, it forced her to work as a housemaid. My father was the lone earning member in our family. Now my mother is. She works from 8am to 3pm."
She said her mother was the source of inspiration who kept her from worrying about her future. "When I lost my father, I wondered whether we, his daughters, would get to study further. But my mother, who took up a job for our survival, gave me the hope that I could complete my education. Not only her, even my school principal encouraged me in every way to study hard."
Gade's school helped her by holding extra classes for the SSC batch students. The classes started at 4pm and got over by 6pm. That was when her night school began, and ended at 9.30 pm.
About her study schedule, she said, "Early in the morning, I would get up for studies at 5am. After that I would do household work, and then rest for a while. I would study at least least nine hours a day to prepare for the SSC boards."
Ankita has now taken admission in the Arts section of the junior college attached with her school. She said, "I wish to be a forest officer in future. I don't know how to go about it, but I will definitely research about it, as I love nature."
In her free time, she reads the poems included in her Hindi and Marathi textbooks.
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