Posts

The Courage to Take the Next Step

-
Image
Change is inevitable. Yet, strangely, many of us spend our lives trying to avoid it. We build a comfortable little cocoon around ourselves—a familiar job, familiar routines, familiar people, familiar ways of thinking. The cocoon feels safe. But what feels like security today can quietly become stagnation tomorrow. Growth demands movement. Sometimes that movement requires courage—the courage to leave what is comfortable, to try something uncertain, to start again, or simply to take a step without knowing exactly where it will lead. Your step may turn out to be right. It may turn out to be wrong. But you will never know unless you take it. There is perhaps no such thing as a completely right or completely wrong decision. There are decisions, experiences, consequences, lessons, and new directions. A decision that looks like a mistake today may become the very experience that prepares you for something much greater tomorrow. The real mistake is often not choosing wrongly, but n...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Many People Succeed When They Work for Themselves

-
Why Many People Succeed When They Work for Themselves One of the most fascinating observations in the professional world is that many people achieve extraordinary success only after they start working for themselves. This is not because they suddenly become smarter or more talented. Rather, it is because they finally gain the freedom to work according to their strengths, interests, and natural abilities. The Power of Working According to Your Strengths Every individual possesses a unique set of strengths. Some people are excellent communicators, some are creative thinkers, some enjoy teaching, while others excel at sales, technology, or problem-solving. When people work for themselves, they have the freedom to design their work around these strengths. Instead of spending energy on tasks they dislike or struggle with, they focus on activities where they naturally perform well. As a result: Productivity increases. Work feels less stressful. Learning becomes faster. Results impr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Two Packets of Maggi

-
Image
It was a regular evening in the hostel. I was alone in the room—Abhishek, Rishi and Pankaj had slipped out to the back gate—when S1 walked in looking unusually restless. “Bro… that 4th-year senior, Dheeraj, asked me to bring two packets of Maggi. What should I do?” The obvious answer was simple: Go and get it. He was the only fourth-year senior in our hostel after all. But we weren’t exactly known for doing the obvious. If anything, we were proudly, stupidly rebellious. So I told him, “Today is fine… but if you bring it once, and it becomes a daily routine, you won’t enjoy your life, brother.” That only made S1 more tense. Sensing it, I added, “Do one thing—just stay in your room. Don’t go to the back gate. If you don’t go, how will you bring anything?” Back gate used to close after 6 pm. Dheeraj had interviews and exams coming up, so maybe he didn’t want to waste time himself. S1 waited in his room. Everyone returned. At around 7 pm, Dheeraj came storming thro...
1 comment
Read more

THE SILENCE AFTER THE STORM

-
THE SILENCE AFTER THE STORM The strike had ended, yet its echoes lingered like aftershocks beneath the campus ground. The hostels slowly filled again, luggage rolling across corridors like returning memories. Students greeted each other with dramatic stories — exaggerations, theories, half-truths — because everyone wanted to believe they had lived through a rebellion. But underneath all the noise, something had changed. The atmosphere was subdued. Hints of fear clung to conversations. Whispers replaced slogans. For the first years, the honeymoon was over — reality was returning. Pankaj and I watched the hostel courtyard from our window as familiar faces trickled back in. ME (quietly) Look… heroes of the strike are returning. Pankaj smirked. “Half of them ran home faster than WiFi speed.” I laughed. But the truth was different: we missed the chaos, the rebellion, the adrenaline. The strike had given us a sense of identity on campus — something bigger than ragging, lectures, and attendan...
Post a Comment
Read more

THE STRIKE

-
Image
Durga Puja holidays had just ended, and campus life had returned to its noisy, colourful routine. Classes were back in full swing. Love stories were blooming in corners of the garden. Groups chatted in canteens as if the semester didn’t exist. Then, one random afternoon, we noticed something unusual. Our seniors were moving around in packs — hurried, tense, whispering, signalling each other. There was a heaviness in the air that didn’t fit the cheerful campus vibe. We didn’t understand the reason, and more importantly, we didn’t dare to ask. After all, no one walks willingly into a lion’s mouth. THE NIGHT THE CAMPUS WOKE UP By nightfall, the truth unfolded like a storm hitting suddenly — The campus was going on strike. Our hostel seniors barged into our rooms. “Chalo, admin block! Sab log!” Before we knew it, we were marching in the dark toward the administrative building, swept in by the tide of voices and anger. When the first years joined the crowd of seniors, the atmosphere transfo...
Post a Comment
Read more

The great bhang story

-
Image
Holi of 2013 arrived with its usual colours, chaos, and careless laughter. The morning began ordinarily enough. Abhishek was getting ready for his Made Easy classes—focused, disciplined, borderline irritating in his dedication toward GATE. Pankaj and I, meanwhile, followed our own sacred academic ritual: eating. We rode to Patrapada Chhak for breakfast—puri and samosa dripping with nostalgia and oil. Abhishek left for class straight from there, leaving me and Pankaj to the peace of our room. By midday, a few friends dropped by, smeared some colours, cracked a few jokes, and left. That’s when Rishi called. His voice oozed temptation. “Let’s try bhang today.” Pankaj and I looked at each other. A decision this reckless needed at least three seconds of thought. “Done,” we said. Rishi told us to pick him up. We brought him over. Pankaj, the ever-serious aspirant, opened his GATE books again. Rishi and I did what we always did—watched movies we’d already watched a ...
1 comment
Read more

NIGHT OF THE HUNDRED BIKES

-
Image
We had just returned from the holidays, and campus life resumed its usual rhythm. It was an ordinary afternoon—around 4 o’clock, if I remember correctly. Amit from my branch was standing near Monginis when a fourth-year senior called him and asked him to fetch something from the back gate. No one knows what exactly sparked the argument, but within moments, they began hitting Amit. Dealing was returning from the back gate. Being our self-appointed leader, he stepped forward instinctively, asking, “What happened, brother?” He didn’t even get the answer. The seniors charged toward him. What happened next felt straight out of an action scene—Dealing ran as if his life depended on it and, with a single leap, cleared the small reflective pond near the Mechanical building. Before anyone could blink, he disappeared into the hostel. Amit seized the moment, got up, and sprinted toward the New Boys Hostel. But the seniors weren’t done. Fueled by rage and ego, one of them—Pranav—jumped onto his ...
Post a Comment
Read more