Even a Slight Distraction can Push You Away

It was 2013. One of my students, KS was doing great in his studies. JEE Main results were declared in first week of May (I may be slightly wrong with dates). As expected, the boy got AIR 7 (or 17) and was Rank 1 in Madhya Pradesh. I am confusing between 7 and 17 because in 2011 one student of mine got Rank 1 in M.P and his AIR was either 7 or 17. Pardon me for this. To the best of my memory SK’s rank was 7.

His rank was celebrated by the local media and our institute helped him make an envied boy by placing big advertisements in newspapers and billboards. Though the hype was limited as it was the first ever JEE Main and people were less aware about it in the sleepy small town. But he was destined for a big stardom. Guess? He topped CBSE board exam (science stream) in the country and the results were declared by the end of May. This ensured that the national media was camped in his house for days. Even an experienced person like me could not judge the amount of distraction it was. In fact, I was also enjoying the limelight!

JEE Advanced was scheduled in June first week. You must have guessed by now—he did not perform as per our expectations. When I met him before and after the exam, his approach looked a bit casual.

He scored under 1000 rank but that was far from his and our dreams.

SHASHI BHUSHAN TIWARI