I went to a catholic school and happened to be surrounded by those typical nerdy, super intelligent people. I wasn’t bad myself but somehow constantly licking books was tasteless to me. It was a stifling environment. I still remember being enrolled to brilliant tutorial foundation course in high school preparing for the big competition.
I got thru to medical college; a great one but was forever saddled with the blemish of it being a PAID college. I mean unless my dad managed to pull off a mafia style hawala transfer routed thru a secret Swiss account, I was sure there was no way we paid a penny more than the prescribed fee. I guess somehow enjoying the state largesse is fashionable. I was surprised to find a Mercedes once parked in the lot of a State owned medical college in Chandigarh. I was further astounded to know the owner was a student!!! Wow the car burns (subsidized) diesel worth more than a years’ fee in a day.
In college, I met the cool guys. My buddies in college were from humble backgrounds but had really strived hard to get to a medical college. Most would have been branded FAILUREs by my school gang. What with some having taken more than their fair share of attempts to get to this stage. But I somehow found them vastly superior in all aspects, be it studies or just being street smart. I mean no points for being a babe in the manger. I slowly began to realise how
shallow our analysis of success can be. Success is just not about the lack of failure. It’s also not about the clichéd way of putting it… how hard you bounce back after falling down. Success has to be viewed from an individualistic prism… The question you need to ponder is… whether where you are is where you could see yourself or is it beyond that?
I guess till you somehow see yourself there, or at least on your way to the promised land 🙂 , I consider it’s a success. Success or lack of it is sometimes so controlled by extraneous forces. It can be frustrating especially in a country like India where family influence, economics and accessibility make all the difference.
Often times we so underestimate the power such factors wield. Thus using the broad brush and painting all who might seem not so successful as pariah is just so DUMB. They may be doing just fine if you could ever find out how they got there. It’s all about coming to terms with realities and taking a chill pill. You are here at this moment where you once thought you’d never be.
Fun part is you never know if you’ll stay long enough.
About the author: Satyam Kapoor is an alumnus of Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Batch 2003. He is a pediatrician who has completed his Post-graduation from DMC and Hospital, Ludhiana. Happy go lucky, avid reader and a mommys’ favorite Pediatrician is how he would like to describe himself.
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