Son Of Mumbai Pani Puri Seller Overcomes Class 11 Failure, Cracks IIT

Supported by his family, he excelled in JEE exams after coaching in Kota. Now at IIT Roorkee, he aims for civil service, proving perseverance triumphs over setbacks.

Harsh Gupta, son of a pani puri vendor, overcame Class 11 failure to achieve his IIT dream.

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Harsh Gupta, a 19-year-old from Maharashtra, is proving that perseverance can rewrite even the bleakest chapters. After failing his Class 11 exams, Gupta refused to surrender to despair. Instead, with unwavering determination and the support of his family, he retook the exams, cleared Class 12, and secured a coveted spot at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

Gupta hails from Kalyan, one of the founding cities of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, where his father runs a modest pani puri stall. Despite financial constraints, the young student set his sights on a bigger dream. He enrolled in a coaching institute in Kota, Rajasthan — a city renowned for producing engineering aspirants — and eventually earned admission to IIT Roorkee in Uttarakhand.

Speaking to NDTV, Gupta shared that he now hopes to join the civil services, seeking to serve the country through public administration.

The journey wasn’t smooth. Gupta scored an impressive 98.59 per cent in JEE-Mains and qualified for the JEE-Advanced, India’s highly competitive engineering entrance exams. Yet, despite his high scores, he fell short of securing admission to the IIT campus he initially desired. Undeterred, he attempted the exams again and clinched a seat on his second try.

His message to other students resonates with hard-earned wisdom: “Don’t let failure define you. Never give up.”

“After failing the Class 11 exams, I decided to go to Kota. My family supported me in my decision… I always dreamt of clearing IIT and securing a seat in either IIT Mumbai or Roorkee,” Gupta said.

He credits much of his resilience to his father’s encouragement. “He said, ‘couldn’t study, but you should pursue your dreams.’”

Gupta also shared a personal milestone: “My message for other aspirants is that don’t let failure define you. I never gave up, even though I failed in Class 12. I am the first IITian in my family, and my school.”

From a small food stall in Kalyan to the lecture halls of IIT Roorkee, Gupta’s journey stands as a powerful reminder that setbacks don’t have to determine one’s destiny — perseverance can.