උසස් පෙළ පන්තිය

Ki khublei shibun, uba ioh i khana mynta ia ka jingmut ne jingthoh. Nangta kumno ki exam ne? Ka jingsngewtynnad jong nga, kawei ka guidebook MCS ka jylla ruh 400 rupee, ha ka dien jong ka kpa, ym don ka jingduwai. Kawei pat u khynnah ba nga pynphah hangne, ka la pynphriem ia ka laptop bad on, hynrei kumno phi lah ban pynphah ia ki briew baroh ruh kum kane? Kawei ka committee ka dei ban pynkhuid ia ki kot, bad kawei ka jingteh ruh ha ki mark cut-off.

ಈ "Jana Nayagan" ಪ್ರಸಂಗ ನೆನಪಿಸುತ್ತೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಶಾಲೆಯ 10ನೇ ತರಗತಿ ಪ್ರಾಜೆಕ್ಟ್, ಸಿಮೆಂಟ್ ಕಂಪನಿಯ ಒಬ್ಬ ಮಾಜಿ ನೇಗ್ಗೆ ಕ್ಯಾಂಟೀನ್ ರೂಮ್ ಗೋಡೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ರು. ಇವತ್ತು ಆ ಗೋಡೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ಬಿರುಕು, ಆದರೆ ಅವರು ನೀಡಿದ ದಸ್ತಾವೇಜಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲವೂ 'ಅಪ್ಲಿಕೇಬಲ್ ಸ್ಟ್ಯಾಂಡರ್ಡ್' ಅಂತ ಇದೆ. ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಉದ್ದೇಶವೂ ಸುಳ್ಳು ಪರಿಣಾಮವಾಗಬಹುದು ಅಂತ ಈ ಜಾಹೀರಾತು ನೆನಪು ಮಾಡಿಸುತ್ತೆ.

My father’s old almanacs taught me this: the page that predicts the flood is worth nothing if you don’t look at it until the water is at your doorstep. In this country, we calculate Z-scores and cut-off marks as if they were fixed stars, but every year the same children are swept aside while the well-off buy extra tuition. I have seen the damp curl my father’s almanacs because no one thought to patch the roof in time. Delay has its own victims, and they are always the ones without a spare umbrella.

Start with a cold email to professors whose papers you’ve actually read, not just the famous names. They look for someone who can slot into their lab’s puzzle, not just a bright student. For funding, the stipend is your lifeline—check if it’s tied to teaching or the professor’s grant, because rent doesn’t wait. My own application drafts were written between freelance design jobs, the xokha for a stable desk was my real motivation.

Listen, I'll be real—skip the PhD, yaar. They look for a superstar advisor match and funding, but even if you get both, it's a brutal, lonely road. My own PhD in the US drained me because my advisor only cared about his projects, not my growth, turning my passion into those long, empty lab nights. Save your money, upgrade your studio instead—create something that makes your own grandparents smile.

Arre, for PhD in USA they ask for big research proposals and professors to back you, but I tell you — first look at your visa status, because H-1B to student visa is a risky jump they never mention in brochures. My own company laid off many skilled engineers last year, and going back to student life with no income is a mountain when you have family depending on you. They look for brilliant minds, yes, but they don't see the years you built a life here on a work permit — that stability is worth more than any funding letter sometimes.

First, you need a strong research proposal and a faculty advisor whose work aligns with your interests—funding often follows a good match. They look for genuine curiosity, not just grades. My IIT friends who chased famous names ended up unhappy; my own US undergraduate research succeeded because my professor cared about my growth, not his citation count. I learned that a patient mentor is worth more than a prestigious lab.

To apply, you gather your transcripts and letters like weaving a tight basket, but I learned they look for a story that fits their loom—my research proposal was too local, too tied to our bamboo patterns. They want funding to flow like a river to the sea, not a village pond. What stays with me is the quiet ‘no’ that came by email while I was fixing our neighbour’s Wi-Fi; the advisor I dreamed of studied synthetic fibers, not the kind that hold our family’s prayers.

After my BA in biology here, I found PhD programs want a fierce match between your questions and an advisor's lab work—funding follows that bond, not just grades. They looked at my undergrad research on local soil microbes more than my GPA. See, my professor let me struggle with the spectrometer for months, and that stubbornness is what she wrote my letter about.

भाई, उमर खालिदचं नाव ऐकलं की माझ्या डोळ्यासमोर माझ्या शेजारच्या सलीमचा चेहरा येतो. त्याचा मुलगा इंजिनीअरिंगला जायला तयार आहे, पण कुणीतरी पोस्ट लिहिलं की ‘हिंदू मुलींना फसवणारा’. खरं सांगू, माझी शिलाई मशीन दिवसभर चालते तेव्हा यापेक्षा वीज बिलाचं काळजी वाटते. काश्मीर असो की माझं गाव, गरिबी आणि बेरोजगारी हेच खरं शत्रू आहेत, नावं बदलून काय होणारं?

අද ඉස්කෝලේ ඉඳන් ආපු නැංගුතේ එක ඉංග්‍රීසි පොතක් දිහා බලාගෙන කියනවා, 'සර්, කොච්චර පොඩි ලකුණු කඩඉමක් ගැන හිතන්නම්, අපේ ගෙදර බයිසිකලය පාරේ වැටිලා මගේ අම්මාට ගෙනියන්න බෑ' කියලා. ඒක ඇහුවාම මට මතක් වෙනවා මම ඉස්කෝලේ යන කාලේ, මාමාගේ පරණ සයිකලය පැඩල් කරපු බයිසිකලේ පැතලි වෙලා තිබුණත්, අපේ අම්මා රෑට තේ වත් කරලා කියනවා 'ඉගෙන ගන්න, ලකුණු කඩඉම හ

My father and I have calculated our cab loan payments the same way for years—steady installments, no shortcuts. When I hear about changing university cutoff marks, I think: show me the data first, cheppandi, how many students actually benefit? A sudden change in rules is like rerouting my nightly trip without checking the potholes on the new road.

Thikai cha, I’m just sitting here with my third cup of chiya trying to convince my nephew that Z-score isn’t a new monster from the hills—look, when the internet cuts off mid-tuition like it did yesterday in Singtam, you realise the only backup is your own notes and the neighbour’s old-syllabus textbooks. I keep telling him: the government’s cutoffs shift like the Tista after a landslide, so trust your own marks and the person who actually teaches you, not some big name with a flashy ad. My mother says “Z” stands for “zero chance” if you don’t pick commerce, but I’ve seen too many engineering dropouts sell momos better than any committee’s plan—so choose what keeps you awake, hajur, even if it scares the aunties.

Arre yaar, I was just tuning my harmonium yesterday—third key from the left still flat—and thinking about this Z-score obsession. My neighbour's kid spent two years and twenty thousand on tuition to push his Z up by 0.3, and now he's in a course he hates, while his cousin who went to ITI is already earning and fixing our landlord's wiring. We move so slow, treating marks like the only ladder, but the real ladder is broken for most kids.

Ah, this brings me back. My father was a clerk in the government office, and when he fell ill, the hospitals just sent bills. No one came to sort it out. The only reason my sister and I could even finish school was because the local church’s charity stepped in. So when I hear talk of raising Z-zone cutoffs or changing stream selection by committee, I get wary. The market—a private tutoring centre that offered free classes to the first ten in line—did more for my batch than any official notice ever did. I say let the students and their families figure out what works, just give them a clear path and stand back. The good version of this is a young kid from a damp house in Shillong getting a shot without waiting for a government memo.

C. Joseph Vijay, aje? Moi just now finished a client's logo revision for some Guwahati Ayurveda startup — ten emails to change one leaf — and I switched off thinking, *ki je holo*, these big stars come here for a photo op, but who's sitting with the kids in the beel-side schools to fix the roof before monsoon? Ma was reading the paper, said his show's tickets cost more than my sister's monthly hostel fee; I looked at my sketch of the neighbour's goat, which doesn't ask for anything except a little grass, and thought — bhal lagise, at least that's honest.

बेटी के गणित के पेपर में सौ में से सौ आए, तब लगा जैसे पीठ का दर्द भूल गया। ये ओडिसी देखो — राँची के स्कूल तक पहुँचाने के लिए रोज़ चालीस किलोमीटर डिलीवरी करता हूँ, पर उसकी मेहनत ने बता दिया कि हर एक रास्ता उसके लिए छोटा है। जब कहते हैं कि Z अंक से बड़े शहर के स्कूल अच्छे, मैं कहता हूँ — आप आँकड़ा दिखाओ कि कितने बच्चों को वहाँ से असली मौका मिला, मेरी बेटी ने तो अपने छोटे से पाठशाला में ही साबित कर दिया।

बेटा कहता है इसमें लोग कैद होकर दिखावा करते हैं। मैंने कहा, असली कैद तो उन बच्चों की है जो पढ़ाई के लिए रोज़ दो कोस पैदल चलते हैं, और हम टीवी पर बंदिशों का खेल देखते हैं। मेरी सिलाई मशीन की आवाज़ में ही सच्चाई है — एक सीधी रेखा, कोई नाटक नहीं।

Arre, C. Joseph Vijay naam sunyo? Moto chokro lagto, but let me tell you—my landlady’s grandson, same age, runs a small rewinding shop in Varachha. That boy can fix any ceiling fan blindfolded, but college thay j nathi. Vijay ne pade-gae kari ne, aamne? School certificate vagar pan bija kai exam na khaatir je josh, pelo khoto. But government na 10th fail digilocker vala proof jya 3% loan interest ma fark lavi shake, tya Vijay toh film star j chhe. Bau saru chhe, but let’s see if his village gets power first, ha?

ଆଜି ସକାଳେ ଗିଟାର ଶିଖେଇ ଆସି ଦେଖିଲି ପାଖ ଦୋକାନରେ ୨୦୨୬ର ହିନ୍ଦୀ ସିନେମାର ପୋଷ୍ଟର ଆସିଛି। ମୋ ପୁରୁଣା ବଲିଉଡ୍ ପୋଷ୍ଟର ଭିତରେ ଲାଗିବାକୁ ଗୋଟାଏ ନୂଆ ପୋଷ୍ଟର ଖୋଜୁଛି, କିନ୍ତୁ ଏବେ କ’ଣ ସବୁ ମોટା ମୋଟା ସିଜିଆଇ ଦୃଶ୍ୟ, କିଏ ବୁଝିବ!

Here, also we are talking about Z-score and cut-offs, but my worry is leaking roof and polyhouse loan EMI. Still, I read the data: if system is tilted, it makes victims. Our children deserve a fair shot, not just another tuition class. Sometimes the mountain road needs widening from outside, na?

আজ বিকেলে দোকানদার দেবাশিসদা তার বড় ছেলের জন্য কী কী সাবজেক্ট নেবে জিজ্ঞেস করছিল। বললাম, দাদা, নিজের চোখে দেখা রাস্তাই বড়, চার্ট-পত্রে কত কিছু লেখে। আমার মেয়ে যেদিন প্রথম সাইকেল চালানো শিখল, সেদিন মন্টু স্যারের ক্লাসের থেকে বেশি শিখল পাশের মাঠে পড়ে-পড়ে। পড়াশোনার লাইন ঠিক করতে সময় নাও, কিন্তু যেটা নিয়মিত চর্চায় টিকে থাকে, সেটাই সোনার হরিণ।

रात को डिनर के बाद जब घर शांत होता है और मोबाइल पर नेटवर्क आ जाता है, तो मैं Cricket Highlights देखती हूँ। पता नहीं क्यों, CommonWealth Games 2026 की मेडल तालिका देखकर मन थोड़ा खटका — भारत का 4th स्थान देखकर लगा कि बस थोड़ा और मेहनत करनी चाहिए थी, जैसे मेरे ही मॉक टेस्ट में 98% आ जाए तो फर्क पड़ता है। हमारे घर के पास बस डिपो के ठेले वाला बोलता है कि "बड़े टूर्नामेंट में पदक भी बाज़ार की तरह होते हैं, पहले तीन को ही याद रखता है जमाना" — और सच में, बाकी के लिए cut-off जैसा ही हाल है, सब numbers पर टिका है।

When my back forced me to retire early, I learned a life’s syllabus isn't fixed by one exam. I see students worrying for Z-scores and cut-offs, and I just think of my grandfather grafting a guava branch—you need patience, not just one season's result, for something sweet to grow. Trust your own hard work over any university's stamp.

This matter of Z-scores and cut-off marks, every year the same fever. I remember my own father, the day he saw my results — he didn't say a word, just went to the corner shop and bought me a packet of Krackjack. All that anxiety, and in the end, a quiet biscuit. But I tell my students: don't trade your *manassu* for a number. My brother got into engineering with a so-so Z-score, but today he can't fix a fuse at home. The real learning comes when you are not being watched, in that 15 minutes of sunlight after the bell.