Dear
students,
I
congratulate you all for doing so well in your Class X
and Plus Two CBSE examinations. Us, working in the newspapers,
we have tried our best to give you the accolades that
you rightly deserve. I wish you go ahead and smash President
APJ Abdul Kalam's and Noble Laureate Amartya Sen's records
of excellence in future.
At
the same time, I pin bigger hopes on those who did not
fare so well. Reports state that around 25 per cent of
students from various schools across Jharkhand "failed"
to clear the Plus Two examinations. I will rather describe
it differently: it is not failure, only that you have
not earned the stipulated marks in one or some subjects.
There is no reason, whatsoever, why you will not do well
in the compartmental tests that will follow or in the
re-examinations next year, if you work hard.
As
Plus Two students, most of you are between 16 and 18 years
of age. Instead of talking of your glitch as a "failure"
I will refer to it as an "initial hiccup", easily
surmountable.
Failing
any subject could well be treated as a warm up to a path
of great feats. I am not trying to comfort you. What I
am stating are facts backed by evidence. Here goes...
I
hope all of you are aware of the great writer Nirad C.
Choudhary. The renowned author has admitted in his autobiography
(Autobiography of an Unknown Indian) that he failed in
his MA examinations. Tell me, can you name any one of
his classmates, who did better than Niradbabu? Few of
his peers, who secured more marks than him, became as
great as he did. Doubtlessly, Niradbabu did better in
life than all other classmates, who otherwise surpassed
him in the test. But then he had an immense self-belief
and worked hard without losing heart.
And
Nirad Choudhary is not a lone inspiration. Popular columnist
and author Khushwant Singh has admitted in his columns
umpteen times that he was an "extremely poor"
student of mathematics. He graduated in law and began
a practice at a Lahore court. But admittedly, he proved
to be a "disaster as a lawyer" too. Later, lo
and behold! He abandoned "wakalat" (law) describing
it as a profession "worse than prostitution"
and took to "sihafat" (writing). Then he proved
to be one of the most successful editors in India and
authored numerous popular and literary books.
I
am sure all of you have heard and read of Shakespeare
and his plays. Do you know that the legendary dramatist
had no formal education? On the other hand, his contemporary
authors Nash, Greene and Lily, were all university educated.
But then who remembers Shakespeare's university-educated
peers? They don't stand anywhere near Shakespeare's talent.
It was the great Shakespeare who wrote plays of lasting
relevance, which we still read.
What
I am trying to drive home, through my examples and instances,
is this: failure in a subject or two at such an initial
stage of your academic career will not hinder you from
achieving greater heights if you have the strength in
you to fight.
All
you have to do is to choose the area you can excel in
and pursue your studies with self-belief and sincerity.
I am sure these initial hiccups will become a thing of
the past in the next couple of years. Maybe, one day you
will look back with good humour to this time.
I
was really anxious to learn that Sumit Tiway, a DAV Hehal
student, disappeared from his home and fled to Durgapur
on the eve of his CBSE results. For Sumit, here is a little
trivia.
Did
you know that Ruskin Bond, too, had boarded a train without
knowing his destination when he was at school? But on
his return, he wrote a magnificent account of his journey
without any fixed destination, which later became a part
of one of his many stories. I am sure you will enjoy his
accounts if you read it. And how will you like to chronicle
your experience of the Durgapur sojourn? Who knows, your
accounts too, may become famous like that of Ruskin Bond.
And
lastly, I will narrate to you my favorite verse: Girte
hain sahsawar hi maidan-e-jung mein, Wo sakhsh kya gire
jo ghutane ke bal chale? (Only those do fall, who ride
horses in the battlefield, how will those fall, who move
on their knees?) I will also like you to adhere to the
adage: "When the going gets tough, the tough gets
going". I wish you all the success in the sessions
ahead.
