Making The Most Of A Wrong Choice!

We are defined by the choices that we make. Most of the times, these choices are made under a lot of uncertainty and hence there is no easy way of determining their outcome. Moreover, we are left in a catch-22 situation when we realise that the decision we made, wasn’t the best and all we are left with is to rue the situation and keep contemplating about the ‘what if’ scenario. However, every dark cloud has a silver lining. And once we start looking beyond our disappointments, we might just be able to figure out how to make the most of such ‘bad decisions’ that we make. For me, ‘Engineering’ was one such bad decision and following is the story of how I created the silver lining amidst my dark clouds.

 

AAP – Flash in the Pan or a Wonder of its Age ?

November 26, 2012 marks an important date in the political discourse of our country. In a lot of ways, after sustained decadence and years of turmoil, the political class finally realized the winds of change and woke up to this elephant called the ‘Aam Aadmi Party.’ Framed and formulated with the intention of addressing the single largest issue facing the common man – corruption, the party was launched with great exuberance and jubilation and promised to ‘sweep’ away every malefic practice that has crippled the political system since long. It laid the foundation for an interesting political season which started with the Delhi assembly elections and will conclude with the 2014 general elections.

 

Chapter 1: Ordered Cheese Delivered Chalk

Chapter 1: The Arrival

 “Bhaiya, utho. Stop aa gaya hain (Mister, wake up. Your stop has arrived).” A harsh voice woke me up from my deep slumber.

Undertaking your first journey alone; moving out of the comforts of your home for the first time in your life is scary enough in itself. To be forcibly woken up from your deep sleep, on an unknown land by a rough voice, with the ugliest of face, is definitely good enough to send a chill down the spine of even the bravest of novices. So I guess ,I could be pardoned for the frightened expression I gave to the bus conductor upon his “God  forbidden” act of waking  me up from my sleep.

My fear notwithstanding, it took me two minutes to regain my senses, and realize my whereabouts. During my recuperation, a thought suddenly came across my mind, “Finally, I have arrived in Kota. I am here for real.”

 

Joint Entrance Exam – the Confusion prevails

The only component of the education system that had managed to escape the clutches of the politicians for decades has been the Joint Entrance Exam to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-JEE). For decades, the exam, regarded by many as the toughest entrance exam in the country, has filtered a few thousand students from lakhs of aspirants, and deemed them qualified to study in the most reputed and prestigious institute in the country – the IITs. But as fate would have it, the luck has finally run out on IIT-JEE, and if the honourable HRD minister, Mr. Kapil Sibal, has his way, it will be scrapped away altogether.