In India, IITs are way too much hyped. I especially don’t like the society’s point of view of IITs – “Secure future wala Husband provider”.
Most of the people who are sending their children into coachings have one thing in mind “Bas beta set ho jaye ji, aur kya chahiye !”. It is considered to be a 4 year training to get fat cheques.
Well, it might appeal to the most but what I think of this place is completely different. To me this has been the place you meet Believers. Yes that’s it.
I just want to make one thing clear, I am not at any point saying that these are the traits only found in IITs, and I do not intend to say that they are the highest intellectual breed as well. Because I personally do not believe that a single exam of physics, chemistry and maths can judge you. Different people are good at different things.
But there is one thing which makes these students different. All of them know that at some point of time in their life, they decided that they want to enter the gates of IIT anyhow. They knew it was not easy. They knew that they will have to work their ass off and they did it.
So most of these people who clear this exam have no idea of what actually engineering is like. They did it because their parents wanted them to or because they said “Beta bas ye karlo phir life main kabhi padhna nahi padega”. (This is my personal experience and I could spot out only 1 guy in 100 who has got “the love for engineering”.) But one thing that gets instilled in them is the I am superman feeling.
“Zarurat padi toh hum kuch bhi kar sakte hai”
Even though they are not the highest intellectual breed on earth, they start believing they are. I should rather say that they start believing in the fact that “If I decide something, I am going to achieve it”.
Ek bar jo maine commitment kar li toh main apni bhi nahi sunta. (Thoda zyada ho gaya :P).
So after 3-4 years in IIT, these guys have forgotten what they knew at the time of JEE.
Seriously, just give them a simple parabola problem and enjoy the look on their face when they try to solve it. ( Yaar, ye simple parabola ki equation kya thi)
And they have also not learned anything much in the last 3 – 4 years in the IIT. ( Dude, you can’t learn things just one night before the exam. You don’t study, you just survive.)
So most of these intellectual breed have nothing but only one thing left in them. Confidence.
They know that in past they have done something they decided to do. They can do it again if needed.
Main superman hoon, main kuch bhi kar sakta hun.
You can call it overconfidence, but this is something which helps them to push themselves to the limits and sometimes way beyond them.
And I will want my children to clear JEE as well someday, not to secure his future and for fat cheques but to make him believe in himself.
And nowdays, as the debate is going on about JEE with the 'actual most intellectual breed Mr. Kapil Sibal.' ( I really don't think my son/daughter will be able to give it.)
I want to say one thing about the JEE on behalf of my IIT colleagues. ( And I hope they will agree)
I love JEE.
I love it because it was once a challenge for me for which I had worked hard day and night. Although because of it I could not date girls for that time, neither could I do awaragardi with my dost log and neither could I watch and play football (love of my life)for that time.
I love it for its not so simple question. (Agar ek question galti se bhi bahut easily solve ho gaya toh 3 baar check karte the ki ye koi trick question toh nahi).
And I love it because I never had to be a teacher’s pet to get through this exam.
I love it because it made me who I am right now.
In last 50 years, we have learned not to expect something good from our politicians.
But seriously, at least don’t ruin something beautiful that already exists.
Vriti Edustore
