Tishan — sound mind, healthy body

THE ADAGE that a healthy mind resides in a healthy body is aptly demonstrated by Tishan Maraj, who recently received a Further Additional Scholarship, in the Cambridge Advanced Level Examination. Tishan, son of Guyana-born parents Dr Youtradeo Maraj and Bassomattee Maraj, of Faralon Drive, Bel Air, La Romain, is a former student of Presentation College, San Fernando. He will be pursing studies in medicine from  September 2004 as he is presently taking a rest from studies and will teach at his alma mater for the next year. Maraj was the captain of the Under-15 West Indies team which won the Costcutter World Cricket tournament three years ago in England. They beat Pakistan by two wickets in the final at Lord’s in London, England.

He was also a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Under-15 Team which won the regional title in Trinidad in 2000. Maraj showed excellent leadership qualities during the regional tournament and it was on that basis that he was given the captaincy of the West Indies team for the world tournament. It was while playing for the Under-19 team in Guyana a fortnight ago, where TT won both the knockout title and the League Cup, that Maraj  heard that he had gained four As at Advanced Level in General Paper, Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology. He celebrated with scores of  110 vs the Rest of the Americas; 54 against Barbados and 73 against the Windward Islands in the final. And as fate would have it he was adjudged the “Man of the Match” in the final against the Windward Islands. Tishan started playing cricket at the age of nine, attending a coaching school run by Raphick Jumadeen, a former West Indies legspinner, at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre.

Tishan has three other brothers all doing well in their studies. They are Jitin, 21, a Second Year student in Environmental Management, at UWI, St Augustine; Hardeep, 15, a Form 5 Student at Presentation College, San Fernando; and Somant, 14, a Form 4 student at Presentation also.
He attended San Fernando Boys’ RC School and later Presentation College, San Fernando after being successful in the Common Entrance Examination. At the Ordinary Level examination in 2001 Tishan got eight distinctions —- Mathematics, Chemistry, Geography, English Literature, English Language, Computer Studies, Additional Mathematics and Physics.

He was a Sixth Form Prefect at School and an outstanding performer at the Maths Olympiad placing third as both a senior and junior. He was also a member of the Drama Society and president of the Indian Cultural Club of the college. His major hobby is playing musical instruments like the tabla, the violin, and the keyboard, which he pursues with a relentless passion to get away from his books at times. He advised young students  aspiring to achieve excellence to be “well focussed, committed,  work hard, and pray hard for eternal guidance.” Maraj thanked the teachers who helped shape and mould him through the years.