Title: The Interview
Title: The Interview


Summary
Vihaan Miglani, a boy residing in Varanasi comes from a family with a weak financial background. By rigorously studying, he manages to get admission into a premium engineering college besides his financial challenges. After securing an entry to college, he is surrounded by the element of peer pressure and is introduced to the true jungle of life. Stumbling along his way and losing the position of strategic thinking, he finds himself in a miserable position, soon enough. He undergoes mental and emotional issues, precisely since he loses someone dear to him in addition to being unable to maintain a good track record in terms of his achievement and developing a positive reputation in the college. The story advances with him wanting to end his life but not being willing to commit suicide. With a reluctance to be born into the world of suffering after death, he makes a firm decision to go to Mumukshu Bhavan- a place that is believed to offer absolute salvation. While his friends and batchmates were starting their new phase of life, Vihaan focuses on completing the circle of life. After the interview, the Director of the Bhavan decides to give him a chance as it was the first time that he was so passionate about achieving something. Vihaan promises himself to move on with life if his soul fails to attain salvation. In those 15 days, he reads the Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu Vedas to understand the meaning of life and death and at the same time, starts preparing his death bed at the cremation ground. On the last day, he asks the director to burn his body on the same bed he prepared after his passing and if he fails to die then he may burn his diaries which consist of his past so that he can start his life afresh. Towards the end of the story, Vihaan unlocks and realizes the true meaning of salvation and leaves his life in the hands of God.
Chapter's Title & Description
Chapter 1: Referral
The character, Vihaan, is waiting outside Mumukshu Bhavan for a second chance. The name of the building is not mentioned anywhere in the beginning and is mentioned later in Chapter 12. He has been waiting outside the building for the past 50 days and on the 51st day, he meets a guy who gives him the hope that he could help him to get in there but for that, he will take his interview. During the interview, Vihaan narrates his whole story. Upcoming chapters are part of his story and the interview.
Chapter 2: Demand Draft
Vihaan is a science student and appearing for JEE Mains entrance exam. He manages to clear the exam but his father had a heart attack because of which he drops the idea of getting into IIT due to the financial crisis. However, luckily he gets into a premium engineering college but then makes a foolish mistake of creating an incorrect Demand Draft for admission which costs him an engineering seat.
Chapter 3: Wild Card Entry
After his mistake, he gets one more chance to get admission to the same college through a spot round. This time he gets into it and gets the branch that he wanted.
Chapter 4: Let Me complete
The interviewer stops him and makes some judgments from his narrated story. Vihaan knew he was not convinced yet so he decided to move ahead a little faster and start with the next chapter.
Chapter 5: Swing Vote
Vihaan leaves his city and moves to the college hostel. There he meets a guy, Nikith who was his roommate and they both decide to explore everything in college. Nikith participates in college elections for which Vihaan also volunteered. But Vihaan gets trapped into fraud from the college seniors even after being warned by Nikith for the same. Because of this, he faces a financial loss which creates a burden for him and his family.
Chapter 6: The Third Wheel
As the next semester begins, he falls in love with his friend's girlfriend. He forces himself to not fall in love with her but a series of incidents land him there. On the day of the college event, he had some hallucinations which forced him to break friendship also and move ahead with his thoughts.
Chapter 7: Malignancy
Vihaan is unstable in his college life, friends and academics. With so many problems surrounding him, he finds out that his mother is suffering from cancer and is in her last stage. His family has two choices at that moment- treating his mom or paying his college fees. His mom sacrifices his life for his studies which puts an extra burden on him.
Chapter 8: The Open Mic
Vihaan decides to turn the tables. He starts to put more effort into his studies and career but he goes back to where he started. His mom's sacrifice was going in vain. It is only his diary that knew all his emotions. He converts his emotions into poetry and he does his first open mic with only one person in the audience.
Chapter: 9: Day 1 Stumps
The interviewer stopped him after this as it is evening already and asks him to continue it the following day.
Chapter 10: Counterfeiting
Things begin to come back on track. Open mics help him to reach that level and with his success as a poet, he starts a venture with his friends. Again, he gets into a problem that costs him a suspension from college & loss of trust.
Chapter 11: Hunting
After a series of things that happen in college life, Vihaan decides to end college life on a happy note with a good placement but with a lethargic and easy-going attitude, he never makes it to the interview. While his classmates are leaving college with placements he is left with bad memories and decides to go to Mumukshu Bhavan.
Chapter 12: 15 Days Notice Period
The interviewer is not very convinced with his story but decides to give him a second chance. He offers him 15 days in the building to attain salvation or go back and continue his life.
Chapter 13: Bhavan & Chapter 14: Cremation
These two chapters explain the concept behind Mumukshu Bhavan, the meaning of life, and attaining salvation. Inferences are made from mythological and religious stories in our Vedas and Gita. These are the most important chapters of the book. Vihaan read Vedas and the meaning of every action and ritual according to mythology. It is here that he understands the true meaning of life. From day 1, he starts making his death bed at the cremation ground. On the 14th day, he suffers from a high fever and he thinks of it as his last day. He asks the manager of the Bhavaneasy-going "If I die then you can burn my body and free my soul on a deathbed which I have prepared but if not, then here are my diaries, please burn it on the same bed and I will leave this place and start my new life." The story ends on a positive note with the readers deciding on what is salvation in its truest sense.
CHAPTER 2: Demand Draft
A lady standing in front of the desk exclaimed with an eerie look, "Last one hour left, hurry up!" The apparent feeling was like someone had deployed a time constraint bomb. My pulse rate was off the charts, way beyond the normal standards. I rushed through the question paper in haste, rolling my eyes over each question out there. I placed my pencil on the desk and looked across the room. Every student in the room seemed like a lifeless zombie, hardly blinking their eyes. Some were pretending to solve the questions and the rest were solving the same with confidence. I promptly closed my eyes and tried recalling the inception of my journey to this room to calm my senses but to no good. I could feel the question paper laughing at me and all of a sudden, the watch in that room started ringing. I woke up instantly, feeling my heart throbbing in my throat and the rate of transpiration for my body was at the maximum as well. I could feel chills going down the spine at regular intervals. I picked up my phone and checked the time, it displayed 4:30 AM. I took a long breath, "It was just a bad dream, I should relax." I calibrated my body, leveraging the feeling of ecstasy, went to the kitchen for a glass of water intending to hydrate, and then made my way to the balcony. The surroundings were pitch black, the street lights were off and the only sound I could hear was that of an air conditioner.
I procured my chemistry book off the shelf and switched on my study lamp. Flipping through the pages of the book, I could not help but think about the dream. It was 6:00 AM already and my mother noticed the light in my room from the narrow recess beneath the door. She entered and saw me sleeping on my book with some pages wet from the drooling of saliva.
"Vihaan, are you fine?" Mom asked.
"Yes mom, I was just revising and refreshing my memory for some topics," I answered.
"I think you should go and sleep for now. You have been working relentlessly for quite some time now. It is time to give your body the rest it deserves and requires", she suggested.
My mind was numb and as a generic machine that obeys the commands and instructions of the issuer, I fulfilled the same. My eyes were only partially open and everything around me seemed blurred. My journey from my study table to my bed took a moment or so and my eyes were completely shut as I entered the world of my dreams in a split second. All this while, my eyes opened for a moment and I was back in the world of my dreams
I was able to hear the distinct sound of the birds chirping, the screeching noise of the furniture in motion, and the whistle of a pressure cooker. It was 9 a.m. k and everyone was in an overwhelming hurry since they were late for work as usual. I went to the washroom to freshen up and sat at the dining table for breakfast. My mom served me an omelet accompanied by a cup of milk. I was revising the periodic table and some key concepts from physics while having the meal. With the exams approaching 10 days later, I had no time to eat patiently. I got ready physically and mentally to leave for the extra class at Science Coaching Pvt. Ltd. I believe it was after 30 classes or so that I was so attentive in the class after all. I was confused whether this was a direct result of the recent dream that I had or the fact that the exams are approaching. And like every other science student, I had, on average, invested 16-18 hours a day into studying and put a halt to every fun activity that a school student can potentially and possibly have.
"Class, today is our last session before the entrance exam and your Chemistry and Mathematics teachers intend to have a word with you". The Physics mentor announced.
It may be quoted as a classical example for Déjà vu as something similar had happened right before the 12th board exams.
The Physics mentor wrote "JEE MAINS" with bold text formatting on the whiteboard and then proceeded to call the other two teachers.
I was engaged in the activity of placing all my books inside the bag when my Physics mentor pointed, "Vihaan you may do it later, please pay attention here for now."
"So students, you all have worked hard and we all are proud of you. When you all joined our institute we were doubtful but now it seems that all of you can crack the entrance exam easily. Our staff and teachers have done their part. It is now time to show your true potential to the wild world out there."
We all certainly could experience goosebumps and chills as we heard the speech, and we were both excited and filled with an eerie feeling at the same moment. They continued their motivational speech for the next 15 minutes or so. The first two minutes were really interesting but later, it came across as any other boring speech that we used to hear by our school principal during the morning assembly. In the end, they showed us the poster of a boy who got AIR 57 and said, "Now it's your turn to be there in this frame." It was the same photo they showed me two years ago when I had come to their institute for admission. I ignored the part and picked my bag with the subtle intention to rush back home.
I chalked out an efficient plan of action for the revision session by organizing the chapters and the relevant subjects based on the projected marks each carried and stuck it on my cupboard. 9 a.m. ys were passing at a moment's notice and the day of the verdict was approaching with time. Yes, "verdict", since all our efforts in general and lives, in particular, were going to be judged based on the entrance exam.
Before anyone realized it, the remaining number of days left changed to hours. 36 hours before the exam to be precise, I decided to not study and indulge in other activities of all forms and kinds to relax my mind. But somewhere within, the inner folds of my mind were putting up a strong recommendation for one final revision. There was a constant conflict between my brain and heart. My books filled the position of drugs at the moment, I needed them around myself at any point in time and was going through a similar feeling like a full-blown addict.
On the final day before the examination, I decided to sleep early and before retiring off to sleep, I called my friends to wish them good luck. That night was a long one, perhaps the longest in quite a while. Millions of thoughts crossed my mind and amongst those thoughts, was the recollection of the Gauss theorem. I was rechecking my bag, repeatedly. I was checking my pencil box, admit card, and of course my token of good luck. The next day, I woke up quite early in the morning and prepared for the set of events to come. The only thing I had for breakfast was a bowl of curd with sugar, a common practice backed by the belief that it is supposed to bring good luck for the day. My father took a leave from his office that very day since he wanted to be with me. I requested blessings from my mother and grandparents and went outside while my father was struggling to start the engine of his old scooter. We are a lower-middle-class family that has a small house and a dream to buy a car one day. After 3-4 hits and trials, the scooter started. The journey from my home to the examination venue was a very peaceful one with a refreshing cold breeze rushing against my face, capable of relieving me of all of my worries for the moment.
When I finally reached the destination, I saw thousands of students accompanied by their parents in a nervous stance and engaged in the thought about the examination result even before appearing for it. We rushed into the building as the guard opened the gate.
"All the best, give your best my son," my father shouted from afar. I was heavily vested in my thoughts and didn't turn my back.
By my earlier dream, I was allocated the first seat which immediately filled me with an eerie feeling but somehow, I tried to calm myself down. They handed out one form to fill out before the test began as a part of the necessary documentation. That form, as I believe, was more difficult to complete as compared to the entrance examination.
The question paper and OMR sheet were distributed thereafter but we were not allowed to open them, just yet. A bell rang, marking the inception of the examination and the invigilator asked us thereafter to proceed ahead as well. It was like a race to open the paper first. I planned to analyze the questions as I solved them, one at a time, starting from the subject physics, and decided to make my way to the OMR sheet to mark the answers, towards the end.
Questions were not as difficult as I expected and I managed to wrap up the examination in its entirety, within 2 hours and 30 minutes. I had 30 minutes to fill the OMR but I am not certain what struck me. I started solving the questions I left for later.
I didn't realize that the exam was about to get over and only 10 minutes were left when I started filling OMR. My heart was throbbing beyond the normal cardiac cycle and my palms were heavily sweating as well. In a haste, I committed errors in 5 answers inside the OMR. I was disappointed at my impatience but in reality, the rest of the paper went fine.
When I came out of the examination venue, I saw my father standing with a group of people who seemed to be the parents of some students and were discussing the syllabus and pressure that builds upon the students for an entrance exam.
"How did it go? It went well, right" my father asked.
"Yes papa, it was good. I just marked some wrong answers towards the end since I panicked a little," I replied.
"Don't worry you will clear it. You must be hungry, let us go and have something" my father said.
For lunch, he took me to a nearby restaurant. I believe that was my first visit to a diner. My father ordered one platter for me and a glass of water for himself.
"Aren't you hungry dad?" I asked
"No Vihaan, I had my lunch outside the center" he responded.
I could, with little effort, realize that he was lying to me because he didn't have any money left. I intentionally ate only half of the platter and asked him to either have the remaining half or get it vaulted and packed up. It took but a few minutes for him to finish the same which reflected his hunger.
After lunch, I went to the coaching center to have an estimate for both my score and the rank. According to the answer key that my institute released, I will get at least 152 marks. The rank prediction was tough as the 12th standard board examination results had a remarkable 40% influence on the final rank and the same was yet to be announced.
I planned a day out with the family intending to unwind and relax for at least two days but waiting for the result demanded more patience than studying for the examination itself and whenever I tried relieving my memories about the same, someone took the opportunity, without delay to remind me of it by asking how the examination went. Apart from that, every other institute had published its answer key and I calculated my score using each of them. According to one, the projected score is 190 while the other furnished 110. Sooner than later, I realized they didn't serve any good except make plan has passed me feel overwhelmed for no reason since reality is indeed what matters.
To be very honest, the night before the day of the result was not as frightening as I expected it to be and I slept quite peacefully.
"Vihaan, JEE Mains result is out. This year's cut-off is 95" my father said while waking me up.
Without any further adieu, I ran to the nearby cyber café with my admit card. About 10-12 students were already waiting in a queue for their turn.
"Tell me your roll no. and the center number" a boy sitting on the front desk asked.
I was startled for a moment but caught my senses immediately thereafter, "456002 and the center number is 2236" I replied.
"Your score is 83, you are not qualified," he said.
I was suffocating, felt breathlessness as if someone had plugged my nostrils.
"Don't cry Chetan" He exclaimed.
I wiped my nose and said "My name is not Chetan, I am Vihaan, Vihaan Miglani.
"But it shows Chetan Kaushik, Look at the screen", he replied.
I glared across to the screen with blurry eyes, wiped my tears, and read through it. I checked the roll number and found that he had entered the same incorrectly. I shared my roll number with him again and now the correct result card appeared.
"I am sorry, your score is 178 and your rank is 22,000.", he responded.
I checked my result several times for the sake of confirmation and once done, I should have been smiling but I again started crying.
I took out a printout for the result published and rushed towards my home. I was taken aback to see the crowd gathered outside my home accompanied by an ambulance. I rushed my way towards the entrance of the house and discovered that they were taking my father on a stretcher with an oxygen mask on his face. I rushed to sit in the ambulance beside him. My mind was blank and I was simply able to see him struggling for each breath by the passing moments.
Doctors took him to the emergency ward and commenced the analysis followed by the treatment. There was some transparent disturbance in the ward and I got tenser as I saw the same.
"We have to shift him to the ICU immediately. He had a heart attack. Could you please fill this form and deposit one lakh rupees?" the doctor informed me.
While the elders in my family were busy dealing with the situation with the highest priority, I started to think how my life was so similar to that of Raju in 3 Idiots- financially stuck and father critically ill but the line was drawn at the fact that, unlike Raju, I didn't even have the other two idiots in my life.
My father's condition improved after 36 hours and I went to his room all excited to share the result of my examination. The news filled him up with joy up to the brim and we both shared a momentary feeling of mutual happiness.
As I was leaving the room, my father spoke softly, "Vihaan, come back" I made my way back to plan to verify if everything was fine.
"I haven't seen your mom, if she is outside then tell her to see me," my father asked me.
"Yes dad, she is mustering all her patience and is currently in the waiting room, scared to see you in the current state", I replied.
My father gave out an intense laugh and said, "Tell her I am alive and well and I am now in a condition to tease her."
I made my way to the waiting room and politely asked my mother to meet dad. While the love birds were preoccupied with their conversation, I stood outside the room with an attempt to eavesdrop. My ears caught attention when their conversation digressed from the primary topic towards the hospital expenditure. I could sense the atmosphere became a bit tense. The expenses exceeded our family's budget. I heard my father saying that he had saved to the last penny for my college fees.
I got a bit emotional and anxious too. Will this obstacle prevent me from attending my dream college? How will my parents bear the tuition expenses? Multiple thoughts crossed my conscious mind. I saw a guy with a laptop in the waiting room and politely asked if I could use it for a moment or so. Generously, he gave me his laptop without asking any further queries. My fingers moved swiftly as I typed to discover the fees of IITs and other Universities. I was exposed to reality in a jiffy. The fees that we are looking at for an IIT were way too high and it demotivated me to appear for the JEE Advanced exam.
My father was supposed to rest for at least 10 days but we were limited by our financial condition. Things got back to what one may call "normal" and days started passing like moments yet again. I wasn't very stressed about the exam because somewhere down, I knew we won't be able to afford IIT irrespective of the result, and hence, I had nothing to lose. The exam duration was 3 hours each for 2 different sections of the paper. The exam wasn't exactly challenging for me since I was able to solve the questions with ease. I was certain I would clear the examination after I finished the same.
"Vihaan, how was your exam?" My father asked.
"I gave my best but there are really few chances that I will clear it" I shared with hesitation.
Lying to my parents wasn't a habit of mine. But this lie was for our family's greater good and I then left everything to my destiny and God.
A few days later, the day commenced with a usual morning for me, a sort of Déjà vu as my father woke me up and I rushed again to the cyber café with the admit card in my hand. I secured the 2034 rank in JEE advance. It was enough to make my way into some IIT. While walking from cyber café to my residence, I was just wholeheartedly praying to God that my dad should be fine because things were repeating and I didn't want that incident to happen again.
"Dad, I have got an All India Rank of 17,400" I lied to my father.
"So, is it good news or bad one? Will you be able to get admission into an IIT?" my dad asked.
"I
have cleared the exam but I will not be able to make it to any IIT as we are from the General category. Also, I have checked about the admission on the internet and will be able to secure a seat in some Delhi college" I responded.
He got worried as I couldn't make it to his dream college. He might not know the fundamentals of engineering but like every other father of a science student, it was his dream college, not for himself, but for me, to be precise.
"Don't worry dad. Delhi Imperial College is just like an IIT and I might even secure a full-time scholarship there" I tried to console him.
"Ok Vihaan, if you say so. Just let me know the college fees", my father said and went inside his room.
A calculator and passbook accompanied him to his room. He was calculating the money he would require in addition to his savings.
The next day, I woke up at 9:30 in the morning and was introduced to the fact that my father had left already. I opened my cupboard to take out my clothes and I found that my admit card was missing. I searched for it everywhere while using Sherlock's brain. The only thing I was able to find was a bank statement. I opened it and saw the account balance. Rs. 54,000/- was written on the last page of the statement. It was Rs. 25,000 less than the fees of the college I was planning to go to.
At the moment when I was about to keep it back at its place, I heard some noise. Someone was sobbing nearby. I followed the sound and it took me towards the room which was supposed to be locked. It was my grandparents' room. It was the scariest room in my house as it was full of old stuff and dusty furniture. Although I was too little to remember anything about them and had only seen them in a photo frame, I always had a feeling of their presence inside the room as if they were still the residents of the same.
I opened the darkroom and saw a person sitting on the chair. I knew he was my father, I switched on the lights and said, "Dad, why are you in this room? What happened? Why are you crying, is everything fine?"
"Don't talk to me Vihaan, Just leave the room" My dad answered sadly.
"But dad, why are you crying?" I replied.
"I thought that we both shared a good bond and were supposed to share each and everything. Today I am disappointed" he said.
I didn't know what he was trying to say. It was as though he heard some news about me having a pregnant girlfriend or that I had started taking drugs. I hadn't done anything at all except having books as my only girlfriend. I pulled myself out of my thoughts back into the realm of reality and focused my brain towards the task of high urgency at hand. I was here to devise the necessary action required to resolve the situation, not mock it.
"I haven't done anything wrong dad and will never do anything that disappoints you. I replied and put my hands on his shoulder.
"Why did you lie to me about your result?" my father exclaimed with the tone that puts across a query.
"I…I….." I stammered.
"I want to know the reason, Vihaan," my father asked again.
"That day in the hospital, I heard you and mom talk about the financial issues and I realized that the fees at IIT are way too high. You have done a lot for me and I don't want to be a burden on you dad." I answered.
He hugged me emotionally. I went out of the house to buy some latest Movie DVDs from a nearby store. Most of all, I was excited about my upcoming college life after 2 months and the adventures that awaited me. I couldn't contain my curiosity to experience college, friends, trips, parties, and everything that college life encompasses or has to offer.
3 idiots were one of my favorite titles. I watched one movie after the other, all based on lifelong friendships made in college and after 24 hours of binge-watching, I started relating my life with Bollywood movies. As an implication of watching all those movies, I was silly enough to conclude that a group of 3 friends is the best to have whereas presently I had none.
I spent the remaining days doing things and performing tasks that I had earlier stopped indulging myself in due to examinations such as sports. Apart from that, I used to go for a holy bath in Ganga daily in the morning. I hailed from small-town Varanasi which was small in terms of land area only.
While logically and in reality there are only 24 hours in each day, apparently the hours equate to 48 when you don't have any significant work to do. It was indeed the same with me. After having fun for the first few days, I missed those hard-working days when my life only revolved around studies. I wanted to get busy and somehow be able to relive them. In a short moment, I erased the wish to go back to the past as I very well knew that my brain would have to suffer again. I wanted to gain some new skills during this period but was too lazy to even pick up a pen. I just wanted to relax and do nothing.
Like the majority of other nations that existed on the planet, India is also moving rapidly towards digitalization and hence, the admission procedure was purely online. Due to a lack of resources, I had to pay a visit to the cyber café for every computer-related and relevant task. I went to the cyber cafe and duly noted all the details and documents required for admission, 10 days before the event was scheduled to begin. Two things were primarily required to be arranged- money towards the initial fee payment and for the tickets to travel to Delhi for submission of documents after the selection procedure was over. For us, the sum required for the tickets was not a big concern. The main issue at hand was the college fee as the present bank balance was insufficient. Loan approval in such a short duration of time was not an option as well, so my father went to his boss, friends, and his relatives to arrange it. However, we didn't receive any help but excuses from anyone and everyone.
"Dad, were you able to arrange the primary sum of money required?" I asked.
"Yes Vihaan, I have arranged some and in 2-3 days I will be able to arrange the complete sum" my father replied.
With around 5-6 piggy banks in our house, my parents broke them one by one to gather the amount but it summed up to the cost of a train ticket only. My father's usual working hours were from 10 am- 6 pm but in those days he used to leave the house by 8 or 8:30 in the morning and come back by 8 or 9 in the evening. He was steaming himself to the maximum from one place to another intending to make the required sum. For an upper-middle-class family, Rs. 25,000 is certainly not a lot but for us, it meant sacrificing our sleep to fulfill our aspirations. Days were passing by without any financial progress of any form or kind and being a child, I was not permitted to worry on this front. In India, people believe that children are not required to concern themselves or interfere in financial issues or matters and all problems belong to parents and family. We are expected to just relax and concentrate only on our studies. I was wondering what I should be concentrating on. I didn't have anything to do at present.
"Dad, I think I might not be able to join college this year, so I think I should start preparing for next year" I got the statement across with a high temperament.
My dad didn't say a word at that time but he was broken by my words. As an Indian dad, he wasn't expected to expose his weak side to his son. Although consumed by anger at the way I spoke to my father, my mom did not scold me because somewhere down, even she was concerned about my career.
In a small town getting a loan from a bank is tough so people with surplus funds run their business in the finance niche. They give money on interest by considering a property, vehicles, gold, etc as collateral. Their interest rate is nearly double as compared to the bank because it is a privately held business and also has its advantages, the primary one being that the loan service is easy and accessible.
My dad declared a property as collateral to get some money at an interest rate of 14% per annum. I was unaware of the fact and when he told me that he had arranged the money he became my superhero at that very moment. The journey of my dad becoming the villain of my career to a superhero only took a day and I ensured he received my gratitude by touching his feet and requesting his blessings.
We packed our bags and left for the capital of Delhi. Before we left, my mom did a small prayer and added sweeteners to our mouth in the form of curd and sugar to ensure, in her good opinion, that we had a safe and successful journey. It was the first time I was traveling out of town. I tried enacting like Hrithik Roshan from ZNMD, truly feeling the ambiance in terms of the wind blowing through my hair with my head hanging off the train window in free air. While doing it, I got a reality check from my father that my hand or head can suffer a fatal blow due to any obstacle in the way. Immediately thereafter, I snapped back to real life and went to the upper berth to sleep for a while. I could hardly sleep even for an hour because of the feeling of true ecstasy. Like every engineering aspirant, I wanted to be in IIT and was lucky enough to be eligible but my destiny had something else on hold for me, and for some reason, I was not sad about it.
I was half asleep when I heard a train whistle being blown up and people yelling and screaming at each other- "Get aside", "Pick your luggage", etc. My father woke me up and asked me to wear my shoes as we were about to reach the Delhi railway station within the next few minutes. I was startled to see such a huge crowd at the railway station. The number of people I was introduced to at the station was equal if not more than the number of people that reside in my town, also we were surrounded by some people wearing red clothes. They were there to pick luggage. That atmosphere pumped my body and mind with excitement and raised my level of joy even further. We took an auto-rickshaw from outside which charged us double as compared to the standard price just because we were new to that city. As soon as we checked into a guest house my father called and informed my mother that we had arrived safely. The guest house was quite expensive for us but the cheapest in Delhi.
"Vihaan, now go and take a quality rest for some time. Then, we can visit a few places in Delhi, and post-confirmation for your admission, we will leave for home at once. Also, check all your documents at once" my father advised.
I was preoccupied with the excitement to leave to an extent that I forgot to vet all my documents. Since Delhi is an expensive city, I took my bag that housed the essentials like water and some snacks that my mom had packed for us.
Delhi stands as a well-known city for everyone in India even if they have visited it or not. We went to see a few significant places such as the India gate, Red fort & Chandni chowk (paradise of street food). We had our lunch from the roadside vendors because in restaurants drinking water was also chargeable.
The city tour was quite along the lines of my dream but the next day was the most important. I got up at 6 AM and we left the guest house by 7 or so because the college campus, which was our primary destination, was 20-22km away. We reached 30 minutes before the registration started. The entrance gate was quite similar to the college gate in 3 idiots. The gate was black and it was about 20-30 feet tall and in front of the gate stood two guards with a uniform and a wooden stick in their hands. They saluted us as we entered the campus. As soon as we crossed the main door there was a board that welcomed us and the venue for registration was explicitly mentioned and labeled as "Auditorium". We politely asked the guard to direct the way towards that hall.
"Excuse me, where is this auditorium, I am here for admission," I asked.
"Take left from that roundabout and then take the first right" Guard answered.
The first left was 400m far but the right turn was so far that it took 15 minutes to reach there by walking. It was not a college but a small educational town indeed. On the way to the auditorium, we encountered some monkeys & peacocks as well.
My imagination insisted that the hall would have a window and we would have to stand in a queue for admission like we did while purchasing the railway tickets from the station but in reality, it was different. The auditorium had a seating of 2500 people and a lobby which was 10 times the size of my house if I am not wrong. Gate was like that of a movie theatre and equally heavy to open. As I opened it, I saw some officials sitting on a center stage with a formal dress code and one lady was requesting us to sit as the process was delayed by 30 minutes due to some technical error already. Seats were of much higher quality than the seats of the movie theatre in our town. Usually, government buildings do not smell the best and look old and weary but the infrastructure at the government colleges seems to be better than private colleges.
I was knitting my custom world of imagination, extrapolating my thoughts about the rest of campus when suddenly the lady announced that everyone would have to come and take the form and attach all the documents in a file to do the needful. My father asked me to rush and take that form before anyone else. I procured the form, filled the same, it was a hectic task as the form was 7 pages long and asked almost everything about myself and some of the particulars were unknown to me as well hence, my dad helped me out to answer those questions. At the end of the form, there was a list of mandatory documents mentioned that were required and I started taking out documents one by one from my folder. I had all my documents in my possession, I arranged them in a particular order and was looking forward to my turn.
I was allotted the computer science branch. I wasn't interested in the same because of the complexity involved and we didn't have computer science as a subject in our school so I didn't get a chance to develop any interest or competence but the only reason for opting for this stream was the package that followed the completion of the graduation. I wanted to secure the best possible packages offered by the likes of Google and Microsoft. In childhood, we are told by everyone around us to follow our passion, hobby, or dreams but with time the majority of the population is introduced to the fact that one has to follow the path in which the probability of success is simply higher. That single fact upgraded my thought about life, rather than being compared with Raju Rastogi of three idiots. I could relate my life to Farhan for the first time, but the only difference between us was that he wanted to be a photographer but I didn't know what I wanted to be. I just knew that computer engineering was not my cup of tea.
"Vihaan Miglani, report countering number three" an anonymous entity announced on the mic.
I rushed to that counter and kept my file on the table. He vetted all the documents and signed on my form while acknowledging the same and asked me to go and deposit the demand draft at the last counter with this file. It was indeed the final step towards my admission process.
"Sir, this is my file and this is the demand draft," I said to the guy sitting at the last counter.
"Son, this demand draft mentions Rs. 75,000 only" he replied.
"Yes sir" I answered.
"But it was mentioned that the demand draft should be of Rs. 1,20,000. Aren't you familiar with the notice?" he asked.
I didn't know what to say and was startled. I called my dad who was sitting towards the end of the auditorium. He started yelling at me. I requested him to calm down and come with me. He spoke to the coordinator for about 10-15 minutes or so. My dad was neither in the mood nor conscience to listen to him. He was continuously mentioning that we just have an Rs. 75,000 demand draft as it was mentioned online.
"Sir, kindly go to the head counter and inquire about it there. We can't offer your child admission without the deemed fee payment. Please arrange a new demand draft by tomorrow or I fear you might have to leave." he gave his final statement.
We visited every counter, requested a meeting with every relevant official and their respective heads but all had the same unchanging opinion to share across with us. I had tears in my eyes because it was me who checked the fee structure and informed my dad about the same. We were finally told that the fee structure was from last year and that the same was revamped this year as declared by the government.
"Vihaan, how can you indulge in such a doltish mistake. Our resources in terms of time and money are both rendered useless. You are a grown-up individual, be responsible!" my father shouted consumed with rage.
Rage had quite a grip on me as well as the moment and hence, I replied imprudently, "It was so difficult for you to arrange Rs. 75,000 so, how could you have possibly arranged almost double the amount. You have done absolutely nothing for me".
Silence followed the thunderclap of the recent conversation. He picked up all the luggage that had accompanied us and started walking towards the exit gate. I failed to realize how rude I was and continued following him. We took a ride through the auto to the railway station and I was able to spot tears in his eyes but my current temper was high enough to keep myself from consoling him. From Delhi to our hometown we didn't look into each other's eyes. It was an 8-hour long journey backed by extreme silence. I was cursing my dad and I have reasons to believe that he was also in regret but anyways, he was a villain for me at that time.
My mom was looking forward to greeting us with sweets and had also prepared my favorite food. But when she saw the expression of unshaken rage on our faces, her feelings were succeeded by obnoxious worry and she started putting forward queries, rapidly. We both refused to answer and made our way to our respective rooms. I could hear my father crying but did not bother to enter his room.
I was pondering over reappearing for the JEE mains examination next year but the thought was interrupted by the fact that my marks were true, not the problem, and apparently, no one seemed concerned about my career or future as well. My mom procured the information of the events that followed earlier regarding the admission from my dad. I was certain that he would tell her anyway and hence, didn't bother otherwise.
For the next few days, neither one hosted a conversation with each other nor was ready to listen. On a particular day, I entered my dad's room to take some documents in his absence. I found a loan agreement, my body and mind were numb after reading it. The loan was against our house and he had 3.8 lakh in his account. I kept all the documents inside and rushed to the washroom. At the time, I was really ashamed since my father had submitted his house as collateral for the sake of my future. It was quite difficult for me to control my emotions so the washroom was the best place to cry secretly. I washed my face and went to the kitchen to rejuvenate myself.
I just felt like leaving home forever because my actions were adversely affecting their lives. I went to my room and packed a bag and before leaving I intended to sincerely apologize and therefore, I wrote a letter for my dad. Writing the letter was a much more tedious task than preparing for JEE mains itself. During the first one hour I simply wrote 'sorry dad', that's it, and the moment I was able to figure out what should be the content for the letter, within the next 30-40 minutes, I completed a 5-page letter. I placed the same on my study table with a note aside so that they could read it after I left. I decided to leave early in the morning simply because everyone must be asleep during the early hours. Hence, I set my alarm for 4 AM and slept.
I woke up in the morning and looked at the watch. It was 8:30 in the morning already and instead of the alarm clock, my mom was waking me up.
"Vihaan, get up, it's 8:30 and your dad is calling you in his room," my mom said while cleaning my study table.
I forgot that I had to leave the residence this morning. I made my way to his room. He was having tea and had a letter in his hand. When I saw that letter I realized I should not have been here.
"Dad …I... I … I" I stabber.
"Sit here. I want to talk to you," my dad exclaimed.
He started laughing and suddenly his laughter became eerie. I was able to listen to the alarm clock and then I woke up and realized that it was simply a dream. I went to the kitchen to have a glass of water and without wasting another moment, I picked my bag and left. I walked for around 6-7 km in the dark. I was feeling thirsty and hungry. The best part of my planning was that it was unplanned. Neither did I have a place to stay nor the money to eat anything. I intended to go back but by then my parents must have read the letter I wrote earlier and I lacked the virtue to face them. But the hunger was unstoppable and it forced me to head back to the residence. I rang the bell hoping that my mom would run towards the door, hug me, kiss me and my dad must be crying to see me but I was welcomed with two tight slaps on each side of my face. It was a reward for the offense I committed after all. After receiving the warm welcome, I went to the room to verify the location of the letter and discovered that it was placed in its original location. It was sealed and in the same location where I had kept it, giving me the reason to believe that no one had got a hold of it yet. Those events confirmed the fact that taking action is of prime importance.
As a love triangle, I was within the hate section I believe, I was neither talking to my dad nor my mom nor was the conversation being hosted from their end after what I did. When I recalled that incident I found that funny but it was a tense situation then. I was in guilt because both my parents were not happy with me and I wanted to apologize for my sin. I rewrote that letter and I removed that part which said that I was leaving home.
"Dad, please take this letter. Can you please read it?" I asked my dad.
"Vihaan what is this letter about?" my dad asked.
"I intended to get something across and I was unable to speak the same so I just wrote it down. Please read it once", I said and left my home at once because I didn't want to be present there while he was reading it. I walked down the street with my hands in my pocket. After 15-20 minutes, I came back and saw my father. He had tears in his eyes and a smile on his face. He forgave me for what I did and accepted my apology.
"Vihaan, your Hindi is so bad, you must improve under all circumstances," my dad exclaimed and started laughing. That moment was like a sunny day after a storm. In that storm, we forgot to make any decision about my college. So without wasting a moment, my father took me to the cyber café to do some research and find a way.
"How can I help you, sir? Are you both trying to find something?" the owner of a cyber café asked.
"Yes please, we have missed the admission date of my son. Is there any way to apply now?" my dad asked.
He asked us all the details and gave us one brilliant solution. He suggested that I apply in the second round and my rank was good enough to ensure a seat. However, it was certain that I would not be able to take the branch by choice. I read everything in greater detail and explained the same to my dad. The deadline to apply was in 3 hours. We rushed home to take all the documents which were due to be uploaded. This time, the same amount was supposed to be paid online. We didn't have any card or net banking access so the cyber café owner did that for us and took some commission for that transaction. We managed to submit my application before the deadline. The second round was supposed to be 10 days later in college. So till then, we had to arrange things and I, for certain, had no intention of repeating the same mistakes as earlier.