Shubham: The Best There Was, The Best There Is and the Second-Best There Will Ever Be

DPS, R. K. Puram is pejoratively known as a factory. I believe that is because we churn out excellence in such numbers that it is difficult for others to keep track. In other schools, the same guy who goes for a quiz will go for a debate and so on; but in DPS, R. K. Puram, most of those on top are specialized guys. Akshay Kohli can’t do what Shreshth Singhal can and vice-versa. So, it really becomes very difficult to find out one guy and say “Oh, he’s the star of this batch.” But I have an answer. Shubham Prakhar.

When I think of all that could have been, I think of people whose lives were directly affected by Shubham’s ICG triumph. First on the list is, of course, Shubham Prakhar himself. Imagine, Shubham keeps on winning quizzes, but he really would not have come to DPS, R. K. Puram and he would have been quite a different person then. His three years in the hostel is a feat I stand up and solute. I used to be envious of all the attention that got him from the teachers, but I now fully understand and I am quite ashamed of my thoughts earlier.

The next on the list is yours truly. Before Shubham came, I was your regular curriculum-obsessed nerd. I took the Olympiads often but I never got a rank. I took part in debates and all, but I performed miserably. And quizzing was the last thing I did on the face of Earth. I was a typical wannabe. I had the ambition, but it was all a juvenile thing. And then that day – April 2, 2005. Shubham Prakhar entered the class and my juvenile attempts became ambitions. I worked very hard for JSTSE. Though I didn’t qualify (no one till date can explain that), I churned out top-50 ranks in all national Olympiads (school rank 1 or 2 mostly). I was initiated into quizzing (which I really developed in class 11) and I got this very new confidence. Me and Shubham have the most interesting rivalry this school might have ever seen. These complex emotions don’t really come easily.

And then there were a lot more. I myself spread the benefits I received to others. Kritika Bajaj is an example. Whatever I took from Shubham I gave to Kritika. And in this way, Shubham Prakhar is the true Godfather of this batch of DPS, R. K. Puram because his presence created many many new talents. In a way, a lot of us came from Shubham’s ICG win.
Me and Shubham lost the Heritage India Quiz today in the pre-finals. I thought that me and Shubham were the best team possible. Not arrogance, but a reality. We were the only competition that each of us had in history. But we lost. Actually, it was a very good experience for me. All teams in the national pre-finals were so damn good that it was all left to luck. Luck did not favour us today, but let me assure you that a person of Shubham’s brilliance is bigger than such quizzes. When I saw people come up to him and say “Hey, you are Shubham Prakhar, Mr. ICG, right?”, I no more felt jealous. I felt very very happy. My friend, my mentor, my guide Shubham Prakhar deserves all this and much more. Maybe what the Heritage Quiz did was break the ice between Shubham and I. We both had common ambitions and we gave our heart and soul for it. Shubham, let me assure you that our hardwork will never go waste. I felt very depressed after my JSTSE results. But as Tanya had told me then, the results of my hardwork will come. Sometime or the other. And it came next year for me when I qualified NTSE without having studied 25% of what I did for JSTSE. Destiny, my friend. We are destined.

A lot of people do not like Shubham. I believe they’re just plain jealous. You can be Asia’s Child Genius or anything, but you can never be Shubham Prakhar. You can defeat Shubham in a 1001 quizzes, but no one will ever remember you. Even the CBSE woman in the Heritage remembered Shubham by name. This Is what Shubham Prakhar stands for. So, all you whiners, go back and pour your jealousies out. Because Shubham Prakhar is infallible. He’s not King IC and not even close to that. But he’s bigger and better. I have had the privilege of sharing the stage with him several times. Truly, it was a privilege.

I know Shubham better than any of his friends. Because I have been his most spiteful enemy and his thickest of friends. Despite the frost in our relation, he (like a true pro) came to ask me for the Heritage Quiz. And that is why we got the highest marks in any zonal all over India. I believe not in winning, but in making a mark. And that we did.
Cheers!