A HOPE, A DREAM AND ABG - MOHIT KUMAR, XIMB

“Thank you Beta”, he responded.

I still use the same number, the same network, hoping to use it to make my family proud again.

I STRUGGLED, I ROSE

I was raised in a middle-class family. Back when I was in school I wasn’t very confident and hence wasn’t very expressive or vocal. And to top it all I was admitted to a convent school in Dehradun. Speaking in English was compulsory. I struggled. I was bullied by my classmates because I couldn’t keep up with them. Back then I had three options to choose from.

• I could choose to speak in English and that was funny for the kids.
• I could choose to keep my life simple and speak in Hindi which led me to be fined.
• I could choose not to speak at all.

I couldn’t have gone with the second and the third option because I was from a middle-class family and we were in a state where we had to practically empty out the then Pond’s can box by the end of every month which was used by my mother to collect coins. Asking for money to pay the fine was really not an option. So I had myself made fun of every day at school. I remember the entire class burst out laughing when I said,” we put water in the beaker”. I was ganged up on all the time. I was held by my collar by the monitor for not letting his friend break the line during assembly.

I could have given up but I chose to not let English be my weakness. I started reading and watching English shows. I wasn’t a sincere reader so I started learning English songs. My sister and I would talk in English. I started trying to think in English. By the time I moved to a new school in Ahmedabad, the tables had turned. My English wasn’t my weakness anymore. I was the only one who communicated with my teachers in English.

I firmly believe that no one’s English should be used as a criterion to judge their intellect but this was holding me back. I worked towards making sure that it didn’t.