77-year-old set for 47th shot at Class 10 exam

ALWAR/JAIPUR: A 77-year-old Rajasthani villager is getting ready to take his Class 10 board exam, for the 47th time.

Shiv Charan Yadav, from Khohari village in Alwae, first took the exam in 1968.

To put it in perspective, that would have been about a month after The Beatles arrived in India, at Rishikesh, to attend Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation training course.

Yes, it was that long ago.

This year, on March 10, Yadav hopes to put behind him 46 years of having failed the Class 10 exam. He had vowed long ago not to marry until he matriculated and the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education's exam has been a tough taskmaster.

"Each time it so happens that I pass in some subjects, but fail in others. For example, if I get enough marks in mathematics and science, I fail in Hindi and English. This time, I hope to pass all," a confident sounding Yadav told TOI.

Yadav almost passed the exam, 21 years ago in 1995, but mathematics proved to be his undoing.

Last year, he managed to pass in one subject: social sciences. The year before that he failed in all the subjects.

"This time, I have taken classes from some school teachers," he said.

Yadav has been living alone in his ancestral home for 30 years now. His mother died when he was only two months old and he lost his father when he was 10. He uncle and extended family brought him up.

"The old-age pension from the government and the prasaad (religious offering) at a nearby temple help me get by," he said.

Some villagers make fun of Yadav's persistence, but some also admire his grit and help him with gifts of pens and books.

"Seeing him going for the examinations is a rare treat. He goes to the temple just like the other students about to take examinations. We hope he will be able to make it this time," said Ramkesh Meena, a native of the village.

If he does manage to pass the exam this year, he'll have his next job -- finding a bride -- cut out for him.

"This year, I will get married. I know I'll find a bride," the 77-year-old bachelor insists.