Is it in your Stars to crack JEE Advanced?

In many Indian households, we often see a Jyotish making intricate calculations and announcing what a child is going to become. Within months of the birth of the child, the miracle-workers make predictions regarding what he or she might choose as a career or what he or she might excel in. For those who are interested, according to Vedic Astrology, engineers are believed to have strong placement of Mars and/or Rahu.

Incidentally, strong Mars also indicates that a child may turn out to be a surgeon, soldier or be a construction worker! Similarly, Rahu may push a child towards research careers, speculation, aviation and careers related to medicines and treatments.

In Kerala, Saraswata Brahmakhritham – ghee infused with Brahmi to boost brain power, and Saraswati to improve entrance exam performance of students – is available for Rs 1,500 per 200 grams. The godman selling the ultimate ‘ghee’ enhances also sells a sacred thread called ‘Vidyavardhini’ which is a hot property in JEE aspirants desperate to do well in engineering entrance exams. Incidentally, the son of the seller goes to a self-financed engineering college in Tamil Nadu – not because of the enhanced brain power but riding on the waves of thousands and lakhs of rupees his father mints from selling these nerve-soothers to anxious engineering and medical aspirants.

So, if you believe that one cracks JEE because of sheer stroke of luck, you might be surprised by what others have to say about it. Snehit Kumbhar quotes a beautiful poem from ‘You Can Win’ written by Shiv Khera:

Shivam Mishra, student of IIT Guwahati (2012 batch) exclaims:

“Any IITian (be it an alumni or a student) has to work hard to get through JEE Advanced. People cite examples like missing out on one question, or making OMR sheets incorrectly, or falling sick on the day of exam, or waking up late for the fateful day for their own failures and go on to put down other’s achievements as ‘stroke of luck’ or ‘destiny’. It seems so insulting.

Many JEE aspirants who actually clear the exam are the ones who carefully and painstakingly prepare for the exam. I trained my body and mind to be on alert at 9 am – the time when I had to take the JEE papers. I used to personally ask school teachers about what mistakes students generally make in each subject and worked to not let them mar my performance. I tried waking up in the middle of the night and solve question papers just to gauge how would I be able to handle the exam if I am unwell.

I always timed myself while solving mock papers and honed my exam strategies based on it. Two weeks before the exam, I went to the exam centre to gauge the best way to reach the exam centre, time by which I should leave home on the day of the exam, and understand the traffic conditions on that particular day of the week – down to that particular hour of the day. I even took up a room at a lodge near my centre – to be prepared for the worst-case condition.

For months, I tuned by body and mind to have ‘complete’ focus on the exam for the 6 hours that were going to decide my fate. Luck cannot do any of these things for you. If you want to be an IITian, you will have to walk that extra mile.”

Luck is just a combination of ‘hard work’ and ‘opportunity’. Citing ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’ as a reason of failure might be a good coping mechanism for those who do not make it through the exam but it should certainly not be your focus as you prepare for your exams.

For months, I tuned by body and mind to have ‘complete’ focus on the exam for the 6 hours that were going to decide my fate. Luck cannot do any of these things for you. If you want to be an IITian, you will have to walk that extra mile.”

Luck is just a combination of ‘hard work’ and ‘opportunity’. Citing ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’ as a reason of failure might be a good coping mechanism for those who do not make it through the exam but it should certainly not be your focus as you prepare for your exams.