I stood at the entrance with my luggage waiting for the train to reach its destination. And my destination was not so far. I heard a group of passengers insisting me to avoid keeping my luggage close to the door as the luggage could get vanished in no time. It was Dhanbad, so I had to be little careful about it. We all had heard about a place named Wassseypur from the movie “Gangs of Wasseypur”, Dhanbad being close to Wasseypur had a different notion in my mind. But these two years of my stay had managed to subdue all the existing notions quite well.
I stepped out of the train around 3:30 AM and reached the guest house of IIT(ISM) within half an hour. I couldn’t sleep that night as the journey was quite hectic and I had to report to Student Activity center for admission next day around 7:30 in the morning. I reached the venue in time the very next day. Later I realized that I was also among one of the students waiting for their turn to complete the formalities of admission as soon as possible. The arrival of dawn settled down all the formalities and let myself relax so that I could proceed to the allocated hostel for accommodation.
This is how a new phase of life commenced. Opal hostel was like a centroid connecting three main parts of campus such as Central library, canteen and Penman Auditorium. Canteen always came to my rescue when I missed my lunch especially during days of summer. The mess menu had to be mouthwatering and equally tasty when the cooks were from West Bengal. There was an advantage of getting a variety of dishes along with tempting deserts to add on the list. Grand dinner at the end of every semester was like surprises from Mess authorities with lots of additional dishes and decorations to keep you moving towards Mess before the actual dinner time.
The first year of the postgraduate program was packed with lots of classes and lab sessions which were held in the second half of the day. The interesting thing was to prevent one from falling asleep during the lab hours. As it became quite difficult to resist from taking a nap (maybe of millisecond) during those crucial hours. Submission of assignment and lab records before the deadlines were enough to make us busy for one year and mid-sem and end sem examinations did not let us in peace. Preparation for examinations from notes and books would be fuelled by the idea of scoring a good grade. Celebrating birthdays together was one of the exciting memories followed by throwing parties at the restaurant.
Although returning from home to reach hostel used to be painful yet I would always receive a warm welcome from my friends who would be waiting desperately to discuss what had happened in those days and what I had missed actually. The arena of friendship extended more in the second year with the closure of mess during summer when we had to stay at the hostel for the purpose of the minor project. We created a mini mess with a group of people by ordering food (catering service) for lunch and dinner. This was the best part of the day when we shared some quality time free from project stuff by beating the outdoor scorching heat.
The second year was dedicated to project work which provided a wide angle to the world of research. Research is a systematic way to investigate a specific area of interest by gathering information or relevant facts to come up with some innovation in technology by implementing your ideas. End of the year opened up the door to present my work at different conferences which also boosted up my spirit to move ahead. Remaining five months proved to be very much hectic with a bunch of tasks to be accomplished. Sometimes those hours of anxiety, fear and dilemma of future would make my vision blurred for long. But I always had a group of influential people who would elevate me and kindle a new hope to rise again. Those phone calls from my parents would make me realise my true potential and push me hard to come out of the cobwebs of negativities. But it was like I had to wait for “hard work would pay-off moment” in each venture of life then. Sometimes, my hobbies would accompany me up to a great extent in dealing with the uncertainty of future. When nothing moves according to your plan, just believe that God has a better plan for you. Being a theist, I would chuck out all the possibilities to rise up again by beating the defeats. Sometimes adversities make you explore different versions of yourself by letting you know what extra you can actually do which may not have experienced in past. This season of frustration gripped me for a short span. And the line from PB Shelly’s poetry was applicable in my context as well: “if winter comes, can spring be far behind”. I was successful in unlocking the doors with my placement and higher studies. Success would never have delivered a pleasant effect if you have not experienced failures. And yes, without failure, success is just hypothetical.
Then arrived the most critical point of these two years: when each one of us had to defend his/her Master’s thesis through a presentation. We had already spent many hours at laboratories to conduct experiments and analyse the data. It was just the convenient time to give justice to our work. Everyone would be fired by a series of questions by panel after the presentation that would assess the thesis work. It ended up quite well. Department bided us farewell by arranging a dinner. I am indebted to all the faculties of the department for their generosity and expertise that I received from them that helped me to improve my understanding of important aspects of chemical engineering.
I must say that I am grateful to the almighty for providing me an opportunity to not only taste each and every flavor of these two years so minutely but also strengthen my conviction.
This place was so serene that unknowingly attracted me towards it like a magnet. Destiny always has a better role to play. If I would have not spent two years of my academics here, I would have definitely missed a chance to meet wonderful people and at the same time miss a chance to weave a lot of memories which would always remain in my heart forever. When I browse the folder containing photos captured displaying memories of past, I still feel relieved to come across with so many genuine souls who are not only beautiful by face but beautiful by heart also. Even after being away from the place for the last three months, there is still a sense of connectivity which is invisible.
I would end up this article with a note that, “These two years of journey displayed me an improved version of myself and I would always remain indebted to those who encouraged me to move forward.”
Review: It’s a non-fiction book based on the concept of
stoicism and ideas associated with it. This 60-page PDF has been segregated
into 11 chapters which are short yet interesting. The writer has made sure that
he is able to express the main ideas behind this psychological assessment in
simple language. The organisation of the chapters is well appreciated.
Sharing some of the lines from the book which
appealed me the most are;
Emotions create most of the
problems while logic solves most of them.
You were a liability to a woman’s
body before you opened your eyes on this earth.
The less you expect the more you
rise above disappointments and other harmful emotions that render you hopeless.
Past kills you with guilt and
future buries you under the pressure of your unfulfilled dreams.
Ask yourself “what worries you the
most?”
Instead of replying “I’m good”, “I
am fine”, try replying with a big smile, “I’m awesome!”, “I’m great!”,”I’m
amazing!”
My
experience: I came across this PDF
from one of the fellow writers at Quora and I appreciate the very idea of
discussing some of the important aspects which are always taken as granted. This
forms the 7th book of my reading list of goodreads.I feel blessed to
have come across this book at the right hour. I liked the simple illustrations that
substantiate the subtle ideologies associated with stoicism. I liked the
concept of approaching the solutions of the problem through algorithm which
paves a way for simplification. I took away the concept of writing down the
problem on the paper and working out the solution for it. Even though it’s a
book with limited pages yet it encompasses wisdom of many ages and books. No
doubt, the writer has done his research well in giving shape to this one. I
would certainly recommend it to others who are looking for a way to their problems of life.
How am I going to be Remembered once my Tenure of life gets over? Will I ever be remembered For the deeds I did or Become the forgotten part Of someone's innate memory? This level of thinking puts Me into a state of contemplation The depth of analysis then Arises from a condition of urgency As if the time is running out Like the particles of sand falling Down from the chamber of an hour glass I realise that it's I who Has only been procrastinating On something that was need of the hour I take a new birth the next Moment of my realisation The realisation that I'm a being So perishable and I woke Up from a deep slumber.
It has been seven years that I’ve come closer to this inanimate thing called Diary
which I regard as a prized possession. There’s a very thought provoking piece
of article that I found in one of the pages of FB dedicated to IAS aspirants
and thought of translating it in English to as to make it accessible to a wide
range of readers. I hope that all of you should get immense motivation out of
it. The real credit always lies with the writer of this original post which was
written in Hindi for obvious reason. A big round of applause to the original
writer [ I’m unaware about the writer of the original piece. I will update
about him/her once I get an idea]
When
you don’t feel like studying then just try to recall the face of your parents
who keep announcing in the locality that my child will become a collector one
day.
Your
biggest wish, your real happiness, life, world are your parents; they are your
first love. How can you ever think of cheating them? Remember, the one who’s
loyal to his first love is the one who deserves his second love.
Friends! Whoever has helped you to dream, put
their hands over your head in every adverse situation, who has helped you to
walk and those eyes which never cease to dream that one day my child will do
wonders, what I couldn’t do, he’ll/she’ll do . They have happily forgotten all
reasons of their sadness just by glancing at your face.
When
they have trusted in your abilities then tell me why aren’t you trying to step
forward to make your dreams come true?
Oh!
my friend, when you don’t feel like studying , just recall the face of your
father who keeps on repeating that my child will never degrade the glory of my
family. Recall your mother who has made countless sacrifices but has never let
you know about it because she didn’t want you to be sad. She kept sacrificing
so that you should get what you want the why are you quiet about working hard?
Why do you forget that for all our happiness,
they’ve sacrificed all happiness of theirs so that you suffer no deprivation.
Enough
said! The right time has come for dedication, hard work and sacrifice,
willingness to do something and to fulfil those dreams to bring smile on the
lips of your parents.
Then
pick up your books and put your heart and soul into it. Read history,
geography, politics and everything you want. Don’t worry about the electricity
as you’re the source of electricity.
Spread
your identity on the cover page of every magazine; work hard the way that your
result will create the loudest noise and thousands of journalists with cameras
will die to get a glimpse of yours. Needless to say many media persons will be
anxious to converse with you about the journey of your success. Everywhere
there’ll be discussion on you and every parent will give the example of you to
their kids.
Friends!
We can never repay the debt that we owe to our parents but we can bring smile
in their faces.
Then
pledge today to do immense hard work whose result will create a noise and your
parents will say, “I wouldn’t have got a better child than you.”
Then
pledge for the thing that “your parent’s dignity will be greater than your wish.”
It’s Mother’s Day. So wishing
every motherly figure a very Happy Mother’s day ! There’s absolutely
no concept of life without you all, be it a mother, sister, aunt, grandmother,
friend, aunty, teacher. All of you hold an important part in my life. I just
can’t imagine my life without the presence of even one of you. I don’t know if I
can ever express my gratitude to you all for everything that you’ve done for
me; a single life won't be enough for it.
Is interchanging perceptions an easy task? I mean to
put ourselves in the shoes of others to analyse the situation. For that we need
to have knowledge about the conditions that the other one is into. I’ve been
the elder one in my family and apple of everyone’s eyes. My parents have worked
very hard to meet all my requirements. I always take care that I maintain an
economy of my expenditure so that I don’t burden them with my expenses.
Let me do an experiment of interchanging the souls (like
one of the stories of English book of school days where Mrs.Fritzgerald
exchanged her soul with her neighbour) to place myself in their positions for a
while. What I see now are the loads of responsibilities on their shoulders; the
activities of their workplaces, household chores and discussing the issues of our
lives. They have other responsibilities and tasks to perform with many
important duties as parents to discharge.
I wonder if
it’s the patience that has evolved with time in my parents to handle an
ambitious kid like me who sometimes get intimidated or insecure at the fierce
competition of the world around.Sometimes the series of failures put me into a state of self doubt about
my abilities or strength or in the state of anxiety, that’s quite common to
speak about.
For so many years, I realise that I’ve only viewed
every situation of my life from my perspective only. Now, the time has
definitely come to shift this lens of perception to the ones who have sacrificed
everything for me and are still sacrificing. I remember one of the bad days when I called my father to say that I would never settle for less than what I deserve in my life , to console me he said that he believed in my abilities and knew that both of us would always leave an imprint wherever we go.
At the end I just want to make a promise to my
parents that “I will never let all your sacrifices in raising me the way I’m
today down in any condition”. May the guiding forces of this universe support
me in my future endeavours.
We all have read these famous quotations of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who is regarded as missile man of India several times.
“Dream is not what you see in sleep, a dream is something that doesn’t let you sleep.”
“Look at the sky, we are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.”
Dreams play a vital role in transforming your thoughts/ideas to reality with the help of hard work and dedication. You all have thousands of dreams deep inside yourself. Similar you all have at least once dreamed of flying to a foreign land for the purpose of pursuing higher education or work. Studying or working abroad comes with a whole set of challenges. These challenges can be due to the difficulties in passport validity, visa applications, and country regulation details. Sometimes, it becomes quite difficult to meet the requirement of the reputed universities. Some of the universities demand the English proficiency tests and it becomes mandatory to clear the test with flying colours.
Pearson India is taking the initiative to make one of the steps in the journey easy by introducing PTE academic English Test which would help you to move to abroad for either study, work or immigration. This is world’s leading computer-based English Test. All you need to develop proper strategies to clear the test with a good score at hand.
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Sections of this test is given below with 20 questions-
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Section 2: Reading
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#DefinitelyPTE
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Here is a list of universities where PTE score is accepted-
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Institute Rosario Idiomas
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University of Queensland
University of Southern
Queensland University of Southern
Queensland University of Sunshine
Coast Wide Bay Institute of TAFE
Australian Adelaide
International College
Bradford College Carnegie
Mellon University Australia
Institute of Technology,
Carlow Institute of Technology, Tralee
Letterkenny Institute of Technology Limerick
Institute of Technology Maynooth University
Bradford College of Management
Bradford Regional College
Brit College
PTE Academic is accepted by thousands of organizations worldwide, including prestigious institutions such as Stanford University, Harvard University, and Imperial College London. PTE Academic is also accepted for visa purposes by the Australian and New Zealand government.
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One evening, there was a power outage in my hostel. Most of the
inhabitants of the hostel had been away. I was doing some important work.
As soon as the darkness of
the surrounding grew stronger wrapped up with the silent demeanor of the empty
hostel, I started reflecting on the passage of time inspired by the sound of
ticking of the wall clock which only broke the prevalent pin-dropped silence.
Below is the article that I
wrote in my diary. Being always inspired by the beauty of numbers, I tried to quantify
the essence of preciousness of human existence which often gets marred
by the lack of awareness of it.
Think of preciousness of a human life!
Once Krishna told Arjun
that a soul takes form of different species in 84,00,00,000 births to obtain
the body of a human being.
Aren't the acronyms YOLO
(you only live once) and YODO(you only die once)true in context of the birth of
a human being?
We get a set of 86,400
seconds each day.
In a year we
get 86400*365=3,15,36,000 seconds .
Supposing the average life
expectancy of a man to be around 70years.
So, in a lifetime, he will get 2.25752∗(10)^9
Oops..here I've not taken
into account the additional days that are given in leap years.
In a lifetime of 70 years,
one can expect an additional days of 17.5 (due to leap years), so, 17.5*86400=15,12,000 seconds
….. ...............................................................................(2)
From (1) and (2)
The total number of
seconds that one gets in his life time is2.209032∗(10)^9
“Don't wait .The time will never be just right”- Napoleon Hill
Aren't these enough to
accomplish what we want in our lives? Do we need more lives?
Remember to get one life of
human being, your soul will have to traverse through the lives of 84,00,00,000
species.
After realising the
above points , How can we ever feel
1) defeated because
we failed in different examinations?
2) low because
someone broke our trust or someone cheated us in relationship?
3) weak because of
struggling through different aspects of life?
4) dejected because
the interviewer of company for which we appeared did not select us?
5) humiliated because
someone behaved rudely with us?
6) neglected because
we did not get the acknowledgement for the work we put our utmost efforts into?
7) lost because no
one believed in us?
Just think about the
extent of largeness of a number as big as 84,00,00,000!
I'll conclude this
discussion by following lines which I want you to think deeply whenever you
feel low or down for any reason. I’m sure that the next moment will be a moment
of enlightenment for you.
You are nothing but a soul wrapped up in a physical body. You
are a part of that brave ,patient, infallible, indomitable ,
indefatigable soul which has travelled through the lives 84,00,00,000 species
to acquire your body!
Whenever I feel down or lost (be it for any reason mostly external), I
try to just realise the essence of what I wrote then.
Sometimes , it’s the lack
of something which makes its presence beautiful.
Never had I know that
the darkness or lack of electricity can let some of the most powerful
philosophical thoughts to come into existence!
