Meet Nikhilesh Mukherjee! Bengal topper with AIR 6 in CLAT; Edugraph 18 under 18 winner

It was an overwhelming moment for 18-year-old Nikhilesh Mukherjee as he checked the recently concluded Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) Undergraduate results on his laptop. His joy knew no bounds as his name flashed on the screen. With an All India Rank (AIR) 6, Nikhilesh has topped West Bengal in the prestigious examination.

A winner of The Telegraph Online Edugraph 18 under 18 Awards 2024, Nikhilesh will be appearing in his ISC examinations in 2025. An avid reader, Nikhilesh never devoted any specific number of hours during his preparation for the exam and balanced his preparation for the board examinations an

"I never had any fixed schedule during my preparation. I only devoted as much as I thought necessary. Since I am a student of the Science Stream, I had to prepare separately for CLAT as well as my board examinations which I managed to balance pretty well and never faced any pressure while preparing for both of them together," said Nikhilesh.

So, what prompted Nikhilesh, a student with a science background to take up a legal career?

"A legal profession is a public profession where I would get to explore the subject both intellectually and directly involve myself with various legal structures that are affecting the society and give back to society," says Nikhilesh.

"Legal education opens up many doorways. You can either become a litigator or an advocate or even appear for the UPSC Civil Services Exam," he adds.

Nikhilesh credits his parents and teachers at La Martiniere for Boys for his success.

"My parents inculcated a reading habit in me since childhood. This has helped me not only in the broader spectrum of like as well as CLAT. My school has also helped me a lot with the numerous activities which in turn helped me in dealing with the pressure situation," he said.

Nikhilesh's parents too are proud of his achievements.

"The hard work and commitment that Nikhilesh has put in over the years has finally brought results. We are extremely proud of him. Apart from studies, his participation in other co-curricular activities like debating, watching good films, reading books and going to exhibitions have also helped him a lot," said Suman Mukhopadhyay, his father, a renowned film director.

A student of La Martiniere for Boys, Nikhilesh wishes to take up law at the National Law University, Bengaluru where he wishes to delve deep into various legal aspects and broaden his perspectives and get a better idea on the subject. For the time being he is keeping his career options open.