Mystory@Nikhil Lal Pawa: How I chose my course and college

Mystory@Nikhil Lal Pawa

The first question that I need to answer is – Why I chose Science & Maths after completing secondary education. The answer to this question is not very complicated for me as a year or two before I completed my secondary level education I had the answer with me. Another factor that influenced my decision was the condition of my hometown. I am from a small town named Rajgarh near Alwar district in Rajasthan where one can barely think of selecting some other course apart from Maths or Biology as pursuing these courses would ultimately help them in making a career in the field of engineering and medicine respectively. I was never good at memorising things and it was always difficult for me to memorise long answers of biology; so I chose the simple path and selected Maths. I was also inspired and influenced by my Mamaji who is a well-settled and successful engineer.

Now, why and how I chose the course which I am pursuing currently i.e. Electronics and Instrumentation. My reason for selecting this course is that I used to often come across people who would say that core engineering branches have more scope than other branches and also because my mamaji belongs to the IT sector.

So, when my exam result came I gave my stream preference as – Mechanical, Electronics and Computer Science. I don’t know whether this was my confidence or foolishness but I filled CS from IIT Bombay on top of my list. According to me, I did this because I wanted to have IIT Bombay in my preference list. And then I was given admission in ISM DHANBAD (Now IIT ISM DHANBAD). So, it was by this choice system that I got admission in this collage and branch.

How I cracked college admission

My journey began when I gave my JEE Mains exam on April 4, 2015. And fortunately I was good in Chemistry and so was able to clear the Mains exam and my parents were very hopeful that I would also clear IIT Advanced exam as well. But as luck would have it I did not clear the exam. Now the question before me was whether I was willing to ask my parents for Rs 1.5 lakhs for JEE coaching or simply pursue BSc degree from some local college in my town which would cost them less than Rs 50,000 for the complete course. The clock was ticking and I knew I was losing time. It was April end when my tauji gave me the number of a coordinator of a coaching named Super-30 which used to give free coaching for financially weaker students. When I called them they asked me to give an exam. So, my father and I decided to go to Jodhpur where this coaching centre was located and I managed to pass the exam and also the interview conducted for that coaching. However, I believe that the main reason I got selected was my JEE Mains score.

The coaching centre ensured that we studied seriously all the time. We were 31 students in a batch living in a home type place and we were not allowed to go out of that house most of the times. But often we were given permission to go out at night or watch a movie. I had a memorable time in Super-30. There was also tension but along with that there was great motivation. Also, I cannot even explain the feeling we shared when we were allowed to watch a movie after a month or the DJ nights with my friends, late night study, not taking a bath in the cold and having roommates (I had 6 friends around me at all times and no privacy).

At Super 30, I had supportive and helping friends and if I took any problem to them they would give me six or seven suggestions to make my concepts clear. We formed a family of sorts and we had a coordinator who was more like a brother and treated us like friends and sometimes even behaved like a strict parent when we got diverted from studies. I cannot also forgot the Holi masti and other similar events. Even though we were allowed to call our parents only once in a week, I never had any hatred for this system.

We stayed in this coaching centre for one year without any social media or any other form of entertainment but this was the most memorable time of my life till date. This was also the most crucial time and Super-30 gave me 30 lifelong friends along with a place in an IIT which is a dream come true life for me, a Hindi medium student from a small town.

I was actually trying to get IIT Delhi or IIT Bombay (who wouldn’t try for them if you are preparing for JEE).

What I gained from my college experience

Since I have secured admission in this college, I am busy learning C-programming in my free time and also watch movies. I listen to music, go on walks across my college campus and sometimes I try to study too; come on everyone has to maintain their GPA... right!

From last six months I also like to attend Maths class because even though the teacher may not be fluent in English then also you can understand the concepts.

I am a member of LITC group, and robotics club at college. Given a chance, I would love to join Manthan because singing is my hobby.

How the college has changed me

There have been some good changes and some bad changes. Now I pay attention to my looks and personality because they help to form the first impression. I am also trying to improve my communication skills. I have started believing in myself and feel that I can achieve anything in this world. I have also started trying new things without thinking of the result because sometimes you shouldn’t think of results otherwise you end up not doing it (it is not completely true and you have to consider the results but I am referring to something which will not do any harm to anyone and it would just improve your former self). I have stopped giving excuses that “time waste hoga yaar” because you have to invest time to improve yourself. I have started believing that nobody is going to help you improve yourself, you only have to take the first step.

About the Author:

I am Nikhil Lal Pawa, a little geeky and introvert but I am a trustworthy friend. My hobby include singing and writing. Even though I have been a member of a society which propagates reading books, learning about your surroundings, discussing about it and expanding your thinking; I find it extremely difficult to read a book for long duration of time. I love Harry Potter movies and I am a big follower of Marvel Universe. I am a great fan of Christopher Nolan movies like Batman Trilogy, Inception, Memento and so on.