As you near Karol Bagh metro station, you start seeing a peculiar change. The big advertisement hoardings start displaying about the various IAS coaching institutes in the region. The minute you enter the Old Rajinder Nagar market, spiral copies, Yojana and Kurukshetra are a common thing to see in most hands. People seems to be gossiping a bit to much. But if one look closely, one can sense that it is not over how Shahrukh did in Chennai Express or how Aamir’s Dhoom 3 is going to be! Its most probably on India’s foreign policy or judicial overreach or any such topics. This and hoardings of coaching institutes on every other building welcomes you to the market where dreams are sold! A place where people come with a dream to get out as a ‘neeli batti’ (the blue beacon), if you know what I mean!
I also reached here two months back, with the same dream obviously. Last two months have been full of doing what I loved, reading books I love, and discussing what matters! I have made few friends, talked to people from different backgrounds but similar dreams. The institute I attend have students coming from all parts of the country. As one teacher remarked, this place is like a ‘mini India’ in itself. You can take a sample survey of whole India in here. The starting question for most of us was this only… “Where are you from?”…
As with all educational hubs, here too, stationers know more about the latest trends in civil services than many new aspirants here. I don’t know whats with strange naming of institutes!!! ‘Taxzhila’…what the heck is that ‘zh’ doing there! ‘NIAS’… I couldn’t get myself to remember its full form. I can use it for something else (Duh!! I am an aspirant too! I have to remember many other things)! Some institutes are famous by the teachers only. Mazid Hussain for Geography, Baliyan for History, Ramesh Singh for Economy, and the list goes on… Vajiram and Sriram have different level, at least in aspirant’s minds. Ironically enough, they have classes on same building at different floors. God knows, why the two biggest rivals of the field have to be on the same building! Its not like there are not other buildings!
Some things are very peculiar to this place. For instance, its very difficult to find a girl drinking tea at a kiosk all by herself! But its a common sight here. Chai wallahs are abuzz of students all the time. So much so that they never wash there big pans for the whole day! But who cares and who has time! Aspirants are discussing even while sipping tea and eating matthi (a salty snack).
There have been some strange incidents too. Just on the third day, I had to file an FIR because I had lost my fee reciept of institute so they won’t allow me into the class. The reason they gave me was that if somebody finds it, he may try to enter into class with my credentials. I mean, do you really think people who come here to prepare for Civil Services look for lost fee receipts so that they can enter into there class!!! Please… People here don’t even have time (for good or bad) to look at there beard or hairs!
With all new experiences, I have come to the realisation that change is inevitable. It has to happen, and it will take its course. So, right now I am just following the path I always wanted to follow. Only time will tell if I really belong here. With best of hopes… until next time…
Beginning of a new Journey…
11 Wednesday Dec 2013
Posted Life
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