Prachi Nigam, a girl from Sitapur who topped the Uttar Pradesh Class 10 board exams, had a heartbreaking response to all the attention she was getting for her appearance. She scored an outstanding 591 out of 600 marks, coming up to 98.50%. For days following the results, the teenager received a slew of hateful comments because of her facial hair, followed by overwhelming encouragement to not pay heed to the trolls. In an interview with BBC Hindi, Nigam candidly opened up about her reaction to the sudden social media popularity that she never expected.
In a heartbreaking message, she said, "Looking at this attention, I think that it would have been better if I had gotten fewer marks and not topped the exam." She explained that she wants to be remembered for her hard work and not her looks.
Prachi Nigam Responds To Attention
On one hand, the teenage wunderkind received plenty of hatred for her facial hair, while on the other hand, netizens and several public figures came to her support and pushed her to continue making herself and her family proud.
Be it encouragement or trolling, the influx of media attention often took away the focus from her achievement and made it all about her appearance. Moreover, some brands took Nigam's ordeal as a distasteful marketing opportunity.
Nigam told BBC Hindi, "There is a lot of talk about trolling in every interview. For the last week, people have been asking me how I look. I will get my treatment done when I feel the need, but right now I want to focus on my studies."
Sharing her story with the globally acclaimed outlet, Nigam said that she is the eldest among two sisters and one brother. The aspiring engineer expressed that her schoolmates or elders never paid heed to her facial hair.
"I felt the long hair growing on my face for the first time in high school. It was the people who trolled who made it happen after topping the board," she expressed. Nigam added that she has taken time off social media to stay away from the negativity.
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"Wish I Didn't Top": UP Class 10 Topper Reacts To Unexpected Trolling
Prachi Nigam, a girl from Sitapur who topped the Uttar Pradesh Class 10 board exams, had a heartbreaking response to all the attention she was getting for her appearance.
Image Credit: BBC Hindi
Prachi Nigam, a girl from Sitapur who topped the Uttar Pradesh Class 10 board exams, had a heartbreaking response to all the attention she was getting for her appearance. She scored an outstanding 591 out of 600 marks, coming up to 98.50%. For days following the results, the teenager received a slew of hateful comments because of her facial hair, followed by overwhelming encouragement to not pay heed to the trolls. In an interview with BBC Hindi, Nigam candidly opened up about her reaction to the sudden social media popularity that she never expected.
In a heartbreaking message, she said, "Looking at this attention, I think that it would have been better if I had gotten fewer marks and not topped the exam." She explained that she wants to be remembered for her hard work and not her looks.
Prachi Nigam Responds To Attention
On one hand, the teenage wunderkind received plenty of hatred for her facial hair, while on the other hand, netizens and several public figures came to her support and pushed her to continue making herself and her family proud.
Be it encouragement or trolling, the influx of media attention often took away the focus from her achievement and made it all about her appearance. Moreover, some brands took Nigam's ordeal as a distasteful marketing opportunity.
Nigam told BBC Hindi, "There is a lot of talk about trolling in every interview. For the last week, people have been asking me how I look. I will get my treatment done when I feel the need, but right now I want to focus on my studies."
Sharing her story with the globally acclaimed outlet, Nigam said that she is the eldest among two sisters and one brother. The aspiring engineer expressed that her schoolmates or elders never paid heed to her facial hair.
"I felt the long hair growing on my face for the first time in high school. It was the people who trolled who made it happen after topping the board," she expressed. Nigam added that she has taken time off social media to stay away from the negativity.