Bye Bye IIT-JEE!!

Six years ago, second Sunday of April, probably it was 8th April like today, and I was all ready to give the much hyped and so called exam of exams ‘IIT-JEE’. Like most of the people appearing for the exam, I just wanted the day to get over so that I could breathe in peace. Though I was quite skeptical of my chances of making it through the IIT-JEE, the exam mattered a lot to me as it did to many others. However, the exam happened and so did the results; many hopes were broken and many skeptical souls (like mine) climbed a sharp peak of happiness. I had achieved something which seemed a very big thing at that moment. And at the same time, I proved to myself and the world around me that I could do something. This success gave me the confidence to take up any challenge in life. Probably this was something which gave me a bigger pleasure than the achievement itself.

But when I look back, I don't find it to be something which was given larger than life importance (by people around me and, at times, me too). Probably, this is because I know the world better now. Now I know that there are bigger things in life which are to be done, many battles to be fought, many victories to be acclaimed. No, I am not a warlord or a barbaric fighter but yes, I am a fighter.  I fight against the evil inside me and at the same time, I fight against things around me which are not correct.

As high school graduates sit today for this exam across the country with hopes, dreams and anxious faces, I wish them all the luck in this world. At the same time, I am happy that this exam is going to be over for good as I think that it has taken away the joy of school life for many. It forced many to ignore and forgo the last few years of school life which are treasures for life time.

Life can never be made or shattered by one exam which is taken up with pen and paper in hand. Life, in fact, is a bigger exam with a few mind-boggling questions every other day. One needs to be an expert in solving the questions of life, and not worry too much about solving the questions which are kept in front in the printed form.

It doesn’t matter much whether one studies in the best college or the second or the third best college. What matters in the long run is your honesty, your sincerity towards work, your ability to take up risks and challenges. And no college in this world can teach this art better than the University of Life.

So here comes my bit of advice for the IIT-JEE aspirants today: Go enjoy the exam as you would like to enjoy the life. Don’t worry much about results; leave it on your destiny. Whatsoever happens, your destiny would never fail you. Best of Luck!!

P.S. I understand IIT-JEE would be loved by many and its demise would make them unhappy but there is, probably, another class of people who would love its demise. I belong to the second category. And hence, the happiness expressed on the fact that IIT-JEE won’t be there next year onwards!

One Year In Delhi & The Learnings Are...................

It has been a year today since I came to Delhi to become a resident/immigrant in this city. When I had left Delhi, I had left it forever, thinking that I would do something in my home state and would not come to Delhi to make a living. But didn’t some wise man say, “Man proposes and God disposes”? So, here I was, again, not being able to do much there in Bihar and returning to Delhi to find a living.

When I came back to Delhi, though I still wanted to work in the field of education at my heart, I just wanted a job and would have been very happy getting any, even if it was to wipe the nose of my boss every hour. The burden f unemployment had been too heavy for the last five months and I just wanted to ‘work’ now.

After coming to Delhi, I had my efforts in place to find a job, but as I was looking for one, opportunity came knocking in the form of Pratham-North India. So, I got an opportunity to do what I wanted to do in Bihar. Once again, the desire to work in the field of education became strong and left my aspirations for a job in IT/engineering. I joined Pratham and it was nice working there for almost one and a half months. Though I left Pratham to join PRS Legislative Research as a LAMP Fellow, I didn’t leave the field of education either through Pratham or Unlearn Formulae. And the time was fun, pure fun!!

Now if you have read this far, you must be wondering, “where is the learning in all this narrative?” so without wasting much of time and internet space, let’s talk about the learning:

·         At times, you might be very low in life and it would be difficult to hang on. You would be urged by the circumstances to choose the easier option and you might choose that. But if you hang on, you probably would come out of any situation.

·         You need to believe in your destiny or karma or whatever you call it. That is the only thing which is your pillar which will give you support at times. And to have faith in your destiny, the first requirement is to be a good human being.

·         You can’t always listen to your parents or the society. They might not let you do what you want to do and what you are meant for.

·         You should not worry about your market value. If you work in whatever field you want to for a considerable period of time, you will raise your market value to the level where you want it to be or where you would have been otherwise.

·         Your body and brain are something which will always remain with you whether you have a career or not, learn to have a connection with them and try to keep them charged and fit. You can’t be happy with a grand career if you are not fit physically and mentally.

·         Last but not the least, the universe always conspires to help you in what you want to do in life. At times, it might test you and the test might be a little harsh sometime, but if you stand by your conviction, you will come out with flying colours.

P.S. One thing which I learnt about this city is that this city is a little weird (may be all cities are with a certain pace to life) and, at times, I feel that I am in a different world when I compare it with my hometown. Sometimes I want to run away from this jungle but, at times, I just miss it!

Of Reading and Life

I am reading 'Keep Off the Grass' by Karan Bajaj for the last couple of days. The book is nice (for the first hundred pages I have read) in the sense that it captures the dilemma of a well settled young professional trying to find his roots, his purpose for existence. And this leads him to quit his high paying investment banking job with Goldman Sachs in New York City and come to India to do an MBA at IIM Bangalore.

Since I have not read any book about a B-school, it is giving me a nice insight about what goes on in an Indian business school. But at the same time, I am not liking the way the writer has kept himself overly obsessed with IITians. There is one character called Sarkar (an IIT passout) who befriends our protagonist Samrat. Though the  IITian is only bothered about getting stoned and spitting lofty philosophical statements after that, he is shown so intelligent (mathematically) that he aces all the exams and is in the run for the Presidential Gold Medal. Is an IITian really so smart or the writer is actually so obsessed about the people studying there. Karan Bajaj has also mentioned 'IIT' a few times in his second novel 'Jonny Gone Down'.

I am also reading '1984' by George Orwell these days in parallel. Though the book requires more concentration owing to its heavy language and a serious topic (communism), it looks like an interesting read till now. But I am sure that I am going to be bored somewhere in between as I am never ever comfortable with the idea of anti-communism. Accepted that communism is a failed system of governance and most of the countries are done with it but I generally have a liking for it, given the nanga naach of Indian politicians.

Life is going normal otherwise. I am getting very lazy in the absence of  any definite agenda for the day. I think I need to get on to a job very soon before I start getting really bored sitting idle. But will a job be able to quench my thirst for meaningful existence? And finally what is a meaningful existence? Is it only a mirage, a delusion? Am I thinking a lot? Or is it better to learn to except this emptiness of meaning?

Confused..as I generally am!