Maitrik Kamdar, an SYBCom student from KC College, Mumbai recounts how he emerged as a dedicated student and an aspiring businessman from being a troublesome child.
It was not a surprise that when Taare Zameen Par (the Hindi film) released, many people called to tell me that they now understood my plight.
Only, it was a little too late. About six years too late.
I started out as a normal school-going child; only, I was labelled a brat for not doing homework or not listening completely to my teachers or parents.
It was not entirely unfounded; I had become one of those kids who did not want to listen to anything my elders said.
Since there was nothing to praise about me, all I got to hear about was my 'bad' behaviour with examples of model children and how I should become like them. I had no intention of listening to that!
There was a time when I would shut out and not listen to anything, like when someone said 'ek kan ke andar aur doosre kaan se bahar'? I had become so thick-skinned that my unrevealed motto had become 'Kaan ke andar hi mat jaane do!' The reason was beyond me though and I never understood why I was like that.
Gradually, I started lagging behind in my work. Those around me, including my parents and other family members, began to call me mischievous, hard-headed and stubborn.
Finally, there came a time when I would sulk, bang doors and cry nonstop for two hours if I didn't get what I wanted. My poor mother, who was catering to four generations of a joint family, could not help but give in to pacify me.
Illustration: Dominic Xavier
Courtesy:YouthIncMag.com
'No one understood me at all'
It was amidst all this that a parent of my classmate in school suggested to my mother to take me for a dyslexia examination.
She thought I might have a learning disability and that treatment would help. At that time, the only available option was a clinic in Sion Hospital, where it was determined that I did not have dyslexia.
I had a slight disability where I confused my b's and d's and p's and q's; Nothing that therapy couldn't cure. That didn't help my parents though, since I was the same difficult child to work with. And it didn't help me either, since no one understood me at all.
My middle-class family could only envision me studying and earning a degree to make it good in life, and that's what they were pushing me for.
I went through the toughest times in middle and high school, sometimes barely scraping through to the passing mark, and sometimes not. The behaviour continued.
Somewhere down the line, I found a passion; football. I became one of the craziest fans (a major understatement) of the Chelsea football club, and watched every game.
That's when trouble multiplied. All I wanted to do in life was play football, not study or go to school.
I was determined to pay no heed to anyone who explained the basics of sustenance to me, and play football. It went to such heights that finally my father resigned to the fact that he would feed me as long as he could and then worry about the future later.
Illustration: Uttam Ghosh
'I worked hard again, and made it to the college merit list'
I failed ninth grade. And that turned my life around.
I was asked to leave my upscale ICSE school in the city and had no choice to join class 10 with the NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling) board to save my academic year.
It was an easier syllabus than ICSE and I could bid good bye to the worst nightmare of my life -- math. I excelled at subjects like commerce, economics and business studies. I was among the toppers of my class, and I had absolutely no idea how to handle the attention.
With this praise came the motivation that even the threat of sustenance could not bring. Now, I wanted to succeed. And I worked hard for that. I topped my batch in class 10, but my academic woes were far from over.
I couldn't secure a seat in any college of my choice since they did not recognise the NIOS board. I finally got admitted to Siddharth College in Mumbai and was grateful to the college for that.
However my streak did not end at that. I worked hard again, and this time made it to the college merit list in class 12 with 78 per cent.
Even then, I could not secure a seat in a college of my choice since they have to admit in-house students first. So, a student with as low as 35 per cent was admitted over me, since he belonged to the same college.
My father offered to pay a bribe if someone could help out, but I refused.
Finally, my patience paid off.
Way after the admissions were over, in mid-September, a few FYBCom seats opened up at KC College in Mumbai. I got the break I was looking for.
Today, I am proud to be an SYBCom student at KC, and also proud to have successfully completed my entrepreneurship course from Welingkar's Institute and getting an NSE certification.
Although I remain to be one of the craziest Chelsea fans this city could witness, I have long since realised I cannot live off being a sports fan. For that, I aspire to become a successful businessman. I can and I will!
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