Bengaluru: Twenty-four-year-old Yamuna Menon is the first student of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), the prestigious law university in Bengaluru, to have won 18 gold medals.
Yamuna, who couldn’t stop smiling when her name was repeatedly called out, received the medals at the 28th convocation ceremony which was held virtually Sunday.
So what drove her to pursue law? It was the courtroom stories told to her by a retired Supreme Court lawyer during her Class 10 vacations, she said.
“I had just finished my 10th exams and during my vacation, I used to help E.X. Joseph who had served as a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court. He was writing a book of poems and I was helping him with some computer work. That is when he would tell me stories about the lives of lawyers, their cases and how they argued in the courts. I was hooked,” she told ThePrint over phone from her Kochi residence.
Yamuna, who hails from Udayamperoor in Kochi, initially couldn’t make it to the law university after the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) in 2014. But she never gave up and decided to take a year’s break and appear for CLAT again. She bagged the 28th rank in CLAT 2015 and was admitted to NLSIU.
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Higher studies
On being asked how she managed to sweep so many medals, Menon said she ensured she set personal goals each time she approached a subject.
She plans to continue her law education and is set to leave for England for her Masters.
“Two international universities have offered me scholarships. Oxford Law University and Trinity College, Cambridge. I have chosen Trinity College as it is very prestigious,” she said, adding that she intended to pursue international law.
“I would like to return to India after gaining international exposure and contribute to the country,” she added.
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congratulation. I am also the aspirant of law may i get your social media or any contact details so that i can be in correct way.
Congratulations
She dropped a year because she couldn’t crack the CLAT. LOL! I had the option of doing the same; of dropping out for preparing for CLAT but I didn’t because guess what? It fails the very purpose of CLAT! CLAT’s purpose is to save you an year. If you’re going to get your Law degree after six years of completing your schooling, then why BA LLB? Opt for the traditional BA and LLB path.