A Mirage Of Dreams

A MIRAGE OF DREAMS

LIFE AT IITs

“Pursue for excellence, success will chase you”

" IITs are fantasized and wished by many , but how many know about it in depth?” The question stands unanswered because people only look at the superficial level .

The Indian Institutes of Technology aka IITs are autonomous public institutes of higher education. There are twenty three institutes listed under, mainly IIT Bombay, ITT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIT Guwahati and IIT BHU.

To enter into an IIT is the most surreal yet most difficult task. Children all over India, well supported by their parents, spend multiple years preparing for the JEE, which is the first step towards achieving their goal. There’s a sense of dedication, rigor and a fierce determination to crack the JEE. The level of competition is very high and requires hard work. After putting in all their unidirectional effort and focus, they somehow manage to enter the world of their dreams, knowing little of the double hard work they have to do in the next 4 years.

One of the major reasons for IITs gaining such hype is how they are portrayed in books and movies. People especially students have impressionable minds and are persuaded by the portrayal. Be it Chetan Bhagat’s “2 states” or the movie “3 idiots”. Both the perks and the loss are depicted in the movies. The characters also resonates themselves in the mind of the students.

As stated by Chetan Bhagat in “2 States”,“Certificates from top universities adorn the walls like tiger head in a hunter’s home.”

IIT for most people is just a target, something valuable for which everyone is running for. Doesn’t IIT exist mainly in dreams, including that of parents? Getting into IIT is a dream for engineering aspirants in India. The institution is very hyped for.Isn’t the social stereotype “of having fat cheques” just by entering into IIT responsible for its popularity. Surely it is the most reputed institution, yet is it really worth the blood and sweat students shed for it?

The life in IIT or any institution depends upon how you take the path and how you perceive it. Taking examples from the characters of the movie ”3 Idiots”, it could be as amazing as that of Rancho, depressing as that of Troy or extraordinary as that of “virus”, the principal. Some students, like Farhan Qureshi, realize where their true passion lies and some like Raju Rastogi would gain their lost confidence in life. IIT is an extraordinary experience, experience of friendship, love, hardships, hard work and adventures. It could be the best 4 years of your life or the worst. It could be the ray of sunshine for you or a dead end.

Expectation: You are a good student. So you will top in IIT as well.

Reality: All the students in IIT are toppers just like you. So competition is going to be tough.

This is one of the major causes of stress for the students which lead them to take inappropriate illegal actions. The expectation VS reality check is too much to handle for some students. The societal notion of “life will be perfect in IIT” is what creates such mindsets. But on the other hand, just as coal is turned into diamond under great heat and pressure, some students do wonders in the course of these 4 years.

IIT comes across as a mirage of a dream. ” If you love something so passionately in such a little age, either you get it for your solace, or you get jealousy, regret, contemplation and self-doubt. Confidence just degrades. You consider yourself a loser more than anyone else ”. Lines from the web series “Kota Factory”

Lifestyle at IIT is as lavish and amazing you want it to be or as studious and boring you keep it. At last I would like to end by giving an advice by our very own favorite “saint Ranchhoddas”(From movie”3 Idiots”), which would always help irrespective of the situations. Whenever in trouble, keep your hand on your chest and whisper to your heart “ALL IS WELL”.

For more such articles ,hang in there. Link to my next article- https://wrytin.com/maryarizwan/life-a-bestseller-jza3pgyx