A Comet's Voyage

Sometimes you arrive at a critical juncture of your life when you try to look back at your past. The mistakes that you have made while making your way to this point. Those never-fading memories which will always remain with you. I am feeling that I have reached such a juncture. The time is set for me to dip down to my past memories, may be some of them will not be as glorious as others. They are not tailor-made memories and that's why they have played a pivotal role in shaping my life to become a responsible human being.

Time is not far away before I am going to start my career as a software engineer. But is this profession I dreamt when I wrote an essay 'Your Ambition in Life' in my school days? No, is the answer because at that time I didn't had the capacity (or the free-hand, what ever you think) to portray my inner feelings. Going with the thoughts of my mother I wrote 'I want to become a Doctor'. This may be due to the fact that my mother had an ambition to practice medicine in her career or she just wanted me to score good marks in the writing? I cannot clear the confusion at this time because I have neither guts nor intentions to ask this type of 'Sach Ka Samne' question to my beloved mother.

School days passed by writing answers prepared by mother, solving maths by implementing techniques taught by her, playing football and cricket in past time, doing all sorts of racing's with cycle and falling in a love. Madhyamik came and I cleared it. Father took me to employment exchange to issue a card against my name. Thus, I became eligible to do a job though I latter came to know passing Class VII was also worthy of getting a clerical job. Do you feel vomiting tutor's notes, solving problems with techniques acquired from others had I learnt anything at that time? I don't have the answer may be you all have.

Madyamik examination result and parents decision made me to take science stream. No body never bothered to ask me which subject I like to read or on which field I want to build my career? Whom I can blame? The examination system? Or the parents? The examination system gave me marks which made worthy of joining science stream. And what's the procedure for that by taking exams on eight various subjects and no one can gurantee if those answer scripts were evaluated by other invigilators there will be a great difference of marks obtained by me. And banking on those marks parents admitted me in science stream. Do they took that decision only just banking on my marks or do they really know me?

After that higher secondary came. That examination had no value at that time. Confused? Yes, because JEE is far more important than HS for science students. Because cracking JEE will help you to become doctors and engineers and you will become cream of the society. You will reach the topmost height of the society and due to this parents will forget to ask you 'Do you really want to sit for JEE or not?' Here also you cannot blame them because it is a cat and mouse race.

Here also an in-transparent examination system will decide whether you will be an engineer, doctor or others. After you completed your graduation, then only you have the power to decide what next? And at that tie you can realize how HS and Madhyamaik examinations were important in your life. But at those exam times you have no power to decide? It is the examination system which decides your career. Not you and me. Yes, parents are responsible to certain extent but what else they can do?

May be I am lucky enough to get my favorite stream or course. Are all of us in India are lucky enough? Is this examination system worthy enough to decide our career? And reaching this juncture of my life I cannot rewind back and start altogether from scratch. So, we have to accept this. This is the fate. Yes, it is true the career I am going to start, I really love it but who can guarantee me that a slight change in marks in any of my examination will deviate my life in some other direction?