Hard work always pays off, and people like Dev Tolani reinforce this statement time and again. A B.Com graduate, coming from a humble family background, left no stone unturned and made it to an Institute of National Importance by scoring 99%ile in CAT 2020. He was delighted to share his journey to success and how he converted IIM Rohtak with his persistence and determination. Born in the mainland of Lord Vishnu, Kashi, he has always been the most cheerful child in the family. To fulfil the dreams of his family was his only goal. Belonging to a middle-class family where values like being content even with limited means are treasured the most. He says, “My biggest motivation is my father and I have always dreamed of being a businessman like him. I had always been interested in the subjects of finance.” Dev pursued graduation from Banaras Hindu University. He started preparing for the CAT in his third year of college, but the situation was not as expected. Due to financial struggles, he was asked by his family to take up a job but his brother stood by his side and told him to concentrate on CAT.
During his preparation, he was scoring poorly in the VARC section, so he tried to learn in different ways like writing articles and poetry. In due course of time, his interest in poetry grew; this was also because of the appreciation he received from his friends. Starting from writing poetry for friends to now writing for the club which he is part of in IIM Rohtak, he stands as an example of people who transformed their weakness to a strength. We turn to art during challenging times; the poem below became Dev’s mantra during preparation for the exam.
“Not in a moment of pride!
A day will come when I will Decide...
Whom I want to be by my side...
The People with whom I will share my delight...
I share my stuff with everyone and have nothing to hide...
I Want to admire people...show them the right path, as an adventurous guide...
Want to be there for everyone, keeping my ego aside...
Want to see people happy...like enjoying a beautiful ride...
Create a life pattern that moves in a glide.
Creating memories to be presented in a memorial slide.”
Not being from a Mathematical background, it took him time to excel in the QA section but his interest in numbers and concentration on general terms helped him to improve eventually. He concentrated on important topics with accuracy and tried to cover them which made him strong in Algebra. For DILR, he was confident of his analytical skills and scored fairly well since the first mock for CAT. A normal day in his life would include 8-9 hours of studying in which he devoted two hours for VARC, two hours practicing mock, one hour QA and one hour for improving Vocabulary and grammar. He spent another two hours reattempting the mock correcting the mistakes which he made previously. Practicing, attempting mocks, reattempting and reviewing mocks were his mantra to success.
Nine months of hard work and dedication to make his effort count, made him one step closer to his dream. His family kept him motivated throughout his journey and the positivity which he acquired through poetry also helped him a lot.
With just one month left and with expectations from family, he started practising more which made average scores jump from 80%ile in the last 5 mocks to 95%ile. He secured 99.3% in CAT 2020. The next goal was to clear GD/PI and make it to an institute of national importance which he did and joined IIM Rohtak. His advice for CAT aspirants is something which he has followed himself:
“Life has asked me to wait for the right time,
The day I will achieve what I have strived,
Darkest isn't the end it precedes light,
It has taught me to fall before cheering your heights!”
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