ভর্তিযুদ্ধ

U leit sha Shillong college bus-e kaba kyrhai, pher nga iohi ki student ki dawa kylli tang ia ki coaching centre. Ha iing, nga iohi ia ka para kynjri ka pule ki kitab jong ka da ka jingmut ba lah ban dep. Nga don ka guitar ba la jot, hynrei ka sngi ba wa tyngkreng, ka jingrwai ka sdang tei.

आज पेट्रोल के भाव सुनकर ओमनी का इंजन और भी भारी लग्यो। मोदी जी के नए बजट में स्कूली किताबों पर छूट मिल जाए, तो बहन को जोधपुर भेजने वाले पैसे में थोड़ी राहत मिले। पर ये सब चाय की दुकान की गप्प हैं, असली भर्तियों की लड़ाई तो इन बच्चों की है ना?

Certificate-ta niye college-e apply korle jhamela hobe, didir moto DU-r B.Sc.-te full diploma-i dorkar. School-er policy toh dekhte hobe, kintu aamar chhoto bhai engineering-e pore, tader college barano jaaye na – puro syllabus sesh korte hoy. Aamio BPO-r shift-er chakri korte korte B.Sc.-te bhorti hoyechi, kintu jodi shudhu certificate niye thaktam, tahole aamar ma-baba ke bolte paratam na je ami ekta complete degree korchi.

IB ke course certificates akele kabhi bhi full diploma ki jagah nahi le sakte, kyunki top universities ko woh pura commitment chahiye. Schools mein drop ka samay alag-alag hota hai, lekin generally tumhe starting months mein hi decide karna padta hai. Mere liye to drop ka sawal hi nahi utha, maine Class 9 se hi diploma ki taiyari shuru kar di thi. Mera elder brother Cambridge gaya hai, usne mujhe sikhaaya ki half-measures se kuch nahi milta.

Actually, I think taking just the certificates is risky for university admissions here—most good colleges want the full diploma, yaar. Our school counsellor always says dropping the diploma for certificates can close doors. Waise, from my own stress, I know they only let you "drop down" to certificates right at the start of DP1; once you're deep in TOK like me, you're stuck. My friend tried to switch last year after failing a mock, and they said "bas, no chance now," so he's grinding it out like the rest of us.

Actually, a single IB certificate helped me get that inventory software course I needed. The full diploma is for students in school, saar. I take just Business Management online in the evenings, after my driving shift. My life is about 'adjust maadu'—a full diploma isn't possible, but one subject? That clutch can wait a little longer for a better future for my girl.

IB course certificates le sakte ho, lekin full diploma ki jagah kaam nahi aayenge. Main bhi 12th mein course certificates lekar drop kar diya tha, par baad mein pata chala ki abroad ki universities aur kuch Indian colleges poora diploma hi maangte hain. Ab lagta hai jaise meri awaaz ka amplifier ho, uski ek setting hi missing hai — kaam toh chalta hai, par wo poora depth nahi aata.

You cannot, beta. Only the full IB Diploma is recognised by our universities here, unlike CBSE where you can sit for individual subjects. I know because I priced it out last year for my own daughter—those IB certificates are expensive but useless here, while CBSE lets her choose a stream. So we went with CBSE, and my little savings account breathes easier.

Con City” விஷயம் படிச்சப்ப உடனே நெனப்புக்கு வந்தது—நம்ம டவுன்ல ஒரு கோச்சிங் சென்டர் ‘கான்ஸெப்ட் கிளியரன்ஸ் கியாரன்டி’னு விளம்பரம் வெச்சிருந்துச்சு. எனக்குத் தெரிஞ்ச ஒரு பையன் அங்க சேர்ந்து மூணு மாசம் கழிச்சு, ‘கிளியரன்ஸ்’கு பதிலா பணத்துக்குதான் திண்டாடினான். இங்க புறாக்கள் லைப்ரரி முன்னாடி மீதி வைக்கிற டிபன் சாப்புடுதைப் பார்க்கிறேன்—அவைக்கூட தெரியுது, பணம் கொடுத்து ஜாமீன் வாங்குறதும், மார்க் கொடுத்து கவர் பண்றதும் ஒண்ணுதான்னு ஆனா சொல்ல முடியாது.

My neighbour's grandson is studying for medical entrance; he mentioned this actor's film is playing in town. I advised him to see it after his exams—even the mind needs a little holiday from equations, like my Enfield needs a break from these hills sometimes.

बहुत ईमानदारी से, आज यह टिप्पणी करने के लिए रात की शिफ्ट का ब्रेक लिया है। मेरी छोटी बहन भी इसी 'ভর্তিযুদ্ধ' में है, और उसकी कोचिंग फीस मेरी पूरी कमाई से ज़्यादा है। मैं हर सुबह दूध-अंडे के दाम देखता हूँ, और फिर उसके नोटबुक के बिल का हिसाब लगाता हूँ... दिल टूट जाता है। सिस्टम इतना कठिन क्यों बना दिया गया है?

Bhai, I see my didi studying for her exams under the same flickering bulb where I debug my code at night — and every time the internet cuts, I wonder how many of us are actually fighting the system, not just the syllabus. Everyone talks about coaching vs self-study, but nobody asks why a kid from a two-room house has to choose between a stable connection and a good tutor. The real scam is the inequality, yaar — the one who can afford a backup plan gets a second chance, the others just get a second job.

My old Splendor, she has her moods—some days she coughs like she’s deciding if she wants to start, but I never replace her, just re-tape the wires. Same with my daughter’s studies: everyone in our lane is sending kids to big coaching centres in town, promising them medical seats. I tell her, bhai, your grandmother learned her multiplication on a slate under the peepal tree, and she balanced the household accounts better than any calculator. If the coaching factory can guarantee she’ll still know how to fix her own cycle chain when the tyre goes flat, then maybe I’ll believe. Until then, I’d rather trust the old ways—keep the chai stop nearby, and let the results come from her own head, not a promise on a flex banner.

My nani still saves up to get my harmonium tuned before each new composition, even with our rent worries. Sometimes I think our whole education system needs that kind of careful, individual tuning, instead of just another expensive coaching class. You all figure out a way to breathe in the middle of all this *parhai da bojh*.

My son also gave engineering entrance, beta — those coaching ads felt like they were selling *siras* for headaches, promising too much. In my work, a simple, even hem stitch holds the whole fabric; maybe education too needs less competition-shor, more steady, patient learning.

কোস্টিং মেশিনে কলার সেলাই করতে করতে ভাবি, এই ভর্তিযুদ্ধটা যেন ঠিক মাস্টার রোলের সাইজ মাপার মেশিন—এক ইঞ্চির এদিক-ওদিক হলেই পুরো ইউনিফর্মটাই খারাপ। আমাদের দোকানে নতুন এক ছেলে এসেছিল, সে দিনে আঠারোটা ঘন্টা কোচিং আর প্রাইভেট টিউটরের চাপে হালকা স্টিচ মিস করত। শেষে তার বাবা বললেন, "যেটাতে মন যায়, সেটাই পড়ো।" সেটা কি শুধু বুলি, নাকি হিসাবের চেয়ে বড় কথা?

अरे भाई, ये मार्वल की फिल्मों की लिस्ट देखी — एक के बाद एक, जैसे हमारे यहाँ कोचिंग सेंटर के नए-नए बैच। मैं तो अपने पुराने पंखे की रिवाइंडिंग करता हूँ, उसमें भी दस बार टेढ़ा-मेढ़ा होता है, फिर भी चल जाता है। लेकिन बच्चों के ल

इधर मेरे खेत में डीज़ल के दाम की चिंता है, उधर अख़बार में मोदी जी की बातें। ये सब देखकर मेरे भाई का बेटा पढ़ाई छोड़ शहर चला गया, कहता है अब खेती में कोई भविष्य नहीं। पर मैं सोचता हूँ, बड़े-बड़े वादे हमारे कुएँ के पानी तक कैसे पहुँचेंगे?

Ah, Kargil Vijay Diwas... I remember that July like it was yesterday, my daughter was just a little thing then, and I was working night shifts at the BPO, listening to the news on the radio while tending my orchids before dawn. It makes me think of the young men from our own hills who went to serve, and how we still wait for the roads and hospitals they deserved when they came back... progress is too slow, but we owe them to keep the connection clear, like a Sunday call that doesn't break. My grandson now asks me about the war, and I tell him — courage is not just in the mountains, but in waking up each day to do what is right, even when the salary is small and the fees are due.

Beta, I see these coaching numbers and I recall my own guru–no syllabus, just the dawn raag and his old harmonium with two stuck keys. My fingers took full six months to find the correct komal swara in Bhairav. Wah-wah, that moment stays with me. But all this frantic testing and

Arre yaar, this .xyz in the news — I was listening to the radio and a young student in Delhi was explaining it, all complicated algorithms for the admission. Our town’s children, they go to Chandigarh for the tests now, and I wonder: where is the fairness in a system that shifts the goalpost every few years? My own nephew, he scored well in the boards but then spent two whole years just on coaching, and the family sold a plot of apple orchard to pay for it. If the data shows these new systems help the village boy or the one from a small town, then I will trust it; otherwise, it is just another way to keep the poor scrambling while the rich hire better tutors.

ଗତ ସପ୍ତାହରେ ମୋ ବାପାଙ୍କ ପୁରୁଣା ରେଡିଓ ରେ ସୋଲ୍ଡରିଂ କଲି, ତାର ଏକ କୋଏଲ୍ ବଦଳେଇଲି। ହଁ! ଏଇ ଭର୍ତ୍ତିଯୁଦ୍ଧ ଦେଖି ମନେ ପଡ଼େ, ଯେମିତି ପିଲାମାନେ ସବୁ କନେକ୍ସନ୍ ଠିକ୍ କରିବାକୁ ଚେଷ୍ଟା କରୁଛନ୍ତି। ମୁଁ କହେ, ପ୍ରଥମେ ନିଜ ମାପ ନିଅ, ତଥ୍ୟ ଦେଖ, ତାପରେ ଯେଉଁଠି ସୁଯୋଗ ମିଳେ ଧର; ଅଲାରମିଷ୍ଟ କି ବୁଷ୍ଟର କାହା କଥା ନ ଶୁଣ।

Last night, Sameer—the chai-wala's son—came to my balcony with a medical entrance math problem. He solved it faster on scrap paper than the paid-coaching kids in his class, bas because he practices while weighing sugar packets. But tomorrow his father will have to choose between paying rent and buying a test series booklet. For every one Sameer who slips through, dozens fall—and we keep telling ourselves this slow race is fair. Isn't the real question why a government school kid needs three tutors just to reach the starting line?

বেটা, এই যে আমরা চিন্তা করি — স্যানটুর বাজাই আর ভাবি, আমার লইকা দোকানদার বা সরকার কইছে "করো" তো করো, কিন্তু কষ্ট তো শেষে পোড়া চামড়ায় লেগে থাকে। বড় হাসপাতালের পার্কিং-এ গাড়ি যতই থাকুক, আমার ওষুধের দোকানের বাইরের পথটা তো পিচ-ও পায়নি — তেমনি কোচিং-এর নামে টাকা বাঁচিয়ে রাখা মানে এই নয় যে মেডিকেলের সিট পাবেই। আমার উড়দে বোতলকুমড়ো লাগাইছে, তার চেয়ে ছেলের ইউনিফর্ম সেলাই করায় বেশি মজা — ছোট ছোট জিনিসে বড় পরীক্ষার চাপ কমে, এটাই তো আমার অভিজ্ঞতা।

Ah, beta, this coaching business reminds me of when my son was preparing for his CA exams in Hyderabad. One evening he came home with a bill for a "crash course" that was more than my monthly pension! I told him, 'Okkasaari kurchuni alochinchu—money is not the only thing that prepares you, mind needs rest too.' Now my grandson here wants to join medical, and I see the same rush—parents spending on four different tutors for one subject, but the boy cannot tell you the difference between a debit and a credit in his own pocket money. Maza aagaya when the boy finally said, 'Nana, coaching is like that biryani you make on Sundays—too many spices, still the rice gets burnt.' That is the truth, no?

Our little shop has a radio that I fixed myself with a transistor from an old SLR camera—now it plays only Malayalam film songs during evening rush. The other day, a mother came in with her son’s *HSC* result slip crumpled in her hand, asking if I knew a good *coaching* center in town. I told her the same thing Appa told me when I failed my first attempt at engineering entrance: “*Chetta*, the toddy palm doesn’t grow faster because you shout at it—just make sure the roots have water.” All this anxiety about second time and subject choice is fine, but what about the kids whose parents can’t afford the private tutor? When the system makes a village boy believe his only worth is a *medical* seat, we are already losing the war.

Odyssey ka naam sunke mera mann uss purane Philips cassette player par gaya jo maine teen mahine pehle theek kiya tha — abhi bhi chal raha hai, bas ek gear ka pin tuta tha. Uski journey jaisi hai na yaar, wapas ghar lautna, har cheez ko jodna, aur kuch bacha lena kharab hone se pehle. Meri dukaan mein bhi aise hi har naya button, har