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The Finish Line

Thursday, July 7, 2011


“Where is it? How does it look? What is it? How can I reach there?” - All useless questions. Take my word, The finish line is inexistent. And those who believe in the contrary are decieving yoursleves.

During the period of Primary School, you lead life as a routine dictated by elders. Music class, Dance class, Cricket coaching, Tennis coaching, Arts class, Crafts class, Martial Arts, and the list goes on. Life consists of school + classes. And why all these classes? Simple. You need proper exposure to everything in the world to make a clear and wise choice about what you are passionate about and want to pursue. Result? You are a Jack of all trades, and a master of none. Amidst this too you may be lucky enough to find a passion. “Mom, I want to grow up to be a cricketer”. And mom, “Wah, mera beta Sachin Tendulkar ban ne waala hai!!”. Dreaming of becoming the next big sensation in Indian sport, you enter middle school. You think, “The struggle is over. Let the fun begin.”

You are wrong. And, it is middle school. “Dekho beta, ab tu bada ban gaya hai. It is time to leave you playfulness behind and get a little serious.” Class five. It is time to take the entrance tests to enter into the coaching institutes. Institutes that train you to take other entrance exams that are to be taken only 6 yeras down the lane. If you do not do well in them, life is hell. “Abhi isa hai tho bada banke kya karega? Future tho gaya bhaad main. God save him.” If you do well and get an admission into one of the institutes, life is worse than hell. “Sachin bhi ho tho kya, IIT ka degree tho zaroori hai.” School, coaching class, school, coaching class, school, coaching class!! Oh no, I forgot about food, and the famous dialogue, “You both sit in the same class. How come you do so badly, and X does so well? He always tops the class. What does he have that you do not?” You live through all this without realizing your early childhood is almost over. Your teens are nearing and you think, “The struggle is over. Let the fun begin.”

You are wrong. Along with the word “teen” comes the word “high school”, and along with that come “Board exams”. Who cares about what you need to learn for the 9th grade? Start preparing for the boards. An early start gives better results. The adolescence and teen age is proved to bring with it a lot of changes. And it sure does. Cable connection is cut, telephone is wired off if possible, cricket bats are put into the loft, relatives and friends are cut off, books are now your true love. You mug all day and night and ultimately secure 2nd rank in school. So what? You are still one amoung the (total – 1) number of students who did not secure the first rank. The majority does not always win my son!! Bygones are bygones. You leave the “ghosts” of the past behind and decide to move on, thinking, “The struggle is over. Let the fun begin.”

You are wrong. 11th and 12th are not the years to enjoy the last moments of school life. They are the moments to freak out about what the future will be like. This is the time you will hear the biggest lie in the world being told over and over again. Parents, Teachers, Everybody. “Two years of hard work, aur phir life settled, Bindaas”. Well that statement is the best advertisement to the two years. Everyone believes it. But there is one positive in this too. Board exams are not the central concern anymore. Thank God. Thank God? Only if you think the competitive exams are a better bet. 2 years of dating the books, coffee on notes, dreams about theorems, inhaling equations, exhaling definitions, and there you are. Ready to compete in the world's biggest contest. The entrance test. 3 hours, and the next 30 years of your life is sealed. At last the exam is over and you think, “The struggle is over. Let the fun begin.”

You are wrong. A month can never go by so slowly. Waiting for the results in anticipation is a struggle of life and death. Your schedule is even tighter than that of the preparation holidays. Early morning Ganesh temple 3 rounds; Shiva temple 9 rounds; Vishnu temple 11 rounds; Devi temple 18 rounds. And, a break for lunch. Not because you need it, but because the Gods are not as active as you are. Come evening and Muruga temple 41 rounds; Hanuman temple 108 rounds. In between if time permits, speak to all aunties and uncles possible about how you have done, what you are expecting, what they are expecting, future prospects, blah blah blah. The results arrive. AIR 1001 in the JEE. After a few tears and hard feelings of not being in the top 1000, you are willing to let that go. After all the sweet distribution and pampering that follws, you heave a sigh of relief, “The struggle is over. Let the fun begin.”

You are wrong. College. Clothes of your choice, ragging you will get past easily, naach gaana, fun, hanging out, best friends for life, boyfriend, girlfriend, fun lectures of Romeo and Juliet, etc etc. Well there is a lot more to college than you see in “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”. Firstly, good looking girls in mini skirts... nooooooooo. (Sometimes the concept of girls itself is a no, but we will deal with that later!!). Secondly, handsome guys,..... NOOOOOOOO. When you get past that initial shock, assignments, dead lines, mis sems, quizzes, surprise tests, practicals, end sems and all the torture begins. In the first two years, all these matter. They sure do. At least till you learn the art of lying to your parents. “I got good grades (a C in everything is not that bad)”. “Come on mom. I do not drink (28 times is pretty neligible, Oh no 29)”. Once this is mastered, you think the coast is clear. Now you are the senior and it is the turn of the Juniors to face the wrath. “The struggle is over. Let the fun begin.”

You are wrong. Come third year and it is a repeat performance of the 11th and 12th again. Prepare for your GATE, CAT, GRE, GMAT, or anything else with more fancy expansions. Papers presentations, conferences, interships, and any other embellishments to your resume are a necessity. Attend placement training. Write the exams. Get the results. Dress formally. Sit for placements. Aptitude tests. Group discussions. Interviews. And at last, score cards or call letters. You have reached it. Now you sit back and say, “The struggle is over. Let the fun begin.”

You are wrong. At least, I am sure you are.

As I write this I am all of 21 years of age, good to finish college in a year. I do not know what the future has in store (which is also the reason why i have stopped writing this beyond the stage of college life). But I know one thing for sure. If i ever sit back and think, “The struggle is over. Let the fun begin”, I will be wrong.

There is no end to expectations in life. Things you expect of yourself, and things others expect of you. There is no finish line you can reach and raise your hands high up in exhilaration. You finish every lap only to know there is another lap to finish the race. As you near the finish line, the line moves farther. You have no choice but to move on.



3 comments:

  1. Shravan said...

    An eye-opener indeed! I just read the whole thing and only one thing popped up in my mind....after every stage in life, its more of "The fun is over, let the struggle begin!"

    At every stage in life, you work towards having the so-called 'better life' not because we know what is in store, we are made to believe that its going to be carefree.

    I assume(safely) that human desire is to be blamed. Like you pointed out, there is no limit to desire(either yours or your parents') and it is this desire that drives the expectations.

    But then at the end, you would still look back and wonder, "Was it worth all the effort?", the one question to which i have no answer right now...

    PS: loved the last paragraph! :D

    July 10, 2011 at 11:46 AM  

  2. Chithroobeni said...

    @Shravan: I agree

    July 11, 2011 at 2:32 PM  

  3. akshay said...

    well, a pretty good blog though I feel, that when u work towards crossing a barrier, u r having more fun than one can possibly have.But as you said needs and desires are unlimited and hence there is never the Utopia that one so eagerly wants, but then I also feel that it is the struggle that defines a human being more than the success he/she might have got. Anyways these are vague random thoughts maybe totally uncorrelated with your blog or maybe there is a slight correlation.

    P.S:-loved Shravan's comment, both of you are excellent with the use of her majesty's English.

    P.P.S:- Noted the capitalization when you spoke about handsome guys from pretty girls (the NOOOO as compared to noooo..:D).I thought it was a guy dictating his woes(mera beta sachin banega) but then again with certain laws introduced,It still fits the context well :D....

    March 20, 2012 at 2:52 PM  

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