After returning back from ‘Boogie Woogie’, I stopped learning Kathak and vocal music and started to completely focus on my studies. I passed my 10th-grade exams with flying colors by scoring a perfect 10 CGPA. I continued to maintain the same legacy of academics in my 12th board as well. I performed decently well in the competitive exams and got into the best state engineering college. I pursued Computer Science Engineering from there. While in the first year of my Engineering, I realized I wanted to go back to dancing. Although I was skeptical about it, with the support and motivation of my parents and my brother (IIM | NIT), I decided to resume my formal Kathak training. I was pursuing Visharada (Graduation) in Kathak along with Engineering. There were a lot of ups and downs, but the most dominant factor which still was my motivation was my ultimate goal of getting into an IIM. The only difference was that now, I had started enjoying it. A part of it was also because as the years passed by, my hair grew to touch the ground. I loved to dance with my braid swirling around me as I swirled practicing ‘Chakkar’ in Kathak. It's a great feeling to enjoy what you've hated doing for most of your life. All the credits go to my parents here for very lovingly coaxing me to learn Kathak and Vocal Music during my childhood. They changed my attitude, developed feelings of respect in me for these art forms, and most importantly, helped me know what my true passion was. This passion helped me to become a double-graduate. I completed my graduation in Computer Science Engineering as well as Kathak together.
I decided to work for a few years before getting into an IIM as it's always considered to be a good idea to have work experience prior to joining a B-School and I didn't want to leave any stone unturned. While working, there wasn't a single day when I didn't imagine myself studying in some IIM. Two years went by and it was time for me to prepare for CAT. I had started off quite early in February. I got myself enrolled in TIME and started attending classes regularly. I was really enjoying it as I was getting to learn things that had the potential of getting me closer to my ultimate aim. And also this experience of sitting in a classroom to learn things along with working full time was very refreshing for me. It was hardly a month and the entire world was hit by the pandemic, leading me to return home. Fortunately, as I was indecisive as to which topic from which subject to cover during what I thought would be just a 15 days lockdown, I decided to get all the basic TIME modules with me back home. It was a very wise decision.
Although I enjoyed attending classes, I had been struggling to study. After returning back home, after a few days, I got so motivated that I started studying with full force along with working full time. Some of the days I even studied for 6 hours along with work. But I made sure to take a day off from studies every week so as to rejuvenate myself to study and work again with the same enthusiasm. I had gained momentum by the time we reached July but after 3 months of sincere hard work, I was bombarded with project release work with strict deadlines to be met. I started working for 12 to 14 hours a day and could not find time to study at all for a month. After July was gone, I felt as if I was back to square one. For a lot of days, I didn't feel like studying at all but I ensured I didn’t completely stop. I tried studying for at least an hour every day so that I do not lose contact with my studies. After a few days, although my routine had been changed completely, I was back on track again. I always thought that Kathak training would simply be a unique aspect of my profile, but the discipline and constant repetition required to perfect a classical dance had prepared me for this part of my life as well.
Then came the D-Day. This time the exam experience was unusual due to the pandemic but the exam was conducted successfully. After a few days, I got a call from IIM Rohtak. From that day itself, I had started preparing for my interview but due to another project release scheduled around my interview, I was not getting time to study every day. So 2-3 days before the interview, I tried to stay awake for longer and prepared for the interview to the best of my capabilities in the time left at hand. I had a magical interview experience. It so happened that I was able to answer all the other questions that were being thrown at me. I was very content and happy with the way my interview went.
Then came a seemingly never-ending kind of a waiting period. But in the end, when the results were finally declared, the waiting time seemed completely worth it. I couldn't believe that I made it to one of the most prestigious B-Schools of India- IIM Rohtak. So after a "lifetime" of preparation and patient wait, I'm finally living my dream of studying at an IIM. In the end, I would conclude by saying something which all of you must've heard a hundred times, but it's so true to be quoted again-
"Kisi cheez ko agar dil se chaho, toh poori kaynat usse tum se milane ki koshish me lag jati hai" -Shah Rukh Khan, Om Shanti Om
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