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#12 Why My First Real Failure Still Matters More Than Any Rank

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It’s been almost four months since I last wrote a blog. In these four months, I’ve been trying my best to stay consistent with YouTube, posting videos three days a week, being regular with my Pathfinder problem discussions, and keeping my students engaged. And honestly, I thought I was doing a fairly good job. But today, something unexpected happened. When I casually asked my students whether they’ve been following my problem-solving videos, one student quietly said, “Dada, I miss your blogs. They were far more interesting.” That one line hit me harder than any dislike in YouTube ever could. Because she was right. Problem videos help, but they don’t always inspire. Motivation, clarity, vulnerability - these are often found in stories, not in solutions. And if there’s one thing I’ve always believed, it’s that students come first. So here I am… writing again after four long months, and this time I’m promising myself to stay consistent here too. A story about my first failure Mid-Novembe...
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#11 Was the Preparation Worth All the Sacrifices?

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Was It All Worth It? I always say this journey is not a 100m sprint but a marathon of two long years. Sometimes you’ll need to pace up, sometimes slow down, take short breaks, and then run again with full force. But a question often arises – “Is it really worth it?” These days, the world is changing rapidly. AI is taking over jobs, technology is advancing at lightning speed, and many people will tell you, “IITs are not what they used to be.” Let me tell you this, loud and clear. The world has seen advancements before – industrial booms, IT revolutions – and yet, IITs have continued to stand tall as the nation’s top institutes. Because IITs are not built merely by their professors or their curriculum . IIT is IIT because of its students. If you see college as just a means to get a job, you’re missing the bigger picture. IIT is where you meet the top 1% minds of the country. It’s a place where you learn not just from classes but from the people around you – their skills, their ...
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#10 The First Test: When Reality Struck After Orientation

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Almost a week had passed since the first reshuffling test, and we were finally allotted our batches. Mriganka and I landed in Batch O1—odd ranks got O1, and even ranks were sent to E1. So, Nimesh went to E1. (Remember the reshuffling story from the last blog?) We were both buzzing with excitement—the journey we had been imagining for months was about to take shape. Our routine was pretty simple. At 7 AM sharp, Mriganka’s mom would wake him up for school. Once he was done with his bathroom saga, it was my turn to crawl out of bed. We had only one bathroom in our 2BHK flat in Munirka, so there was always a good 10–15 minutes of shouting involved to drag Mriganka out. By 7:45 , we were done with breakfast and on our way to Lal Bahadur Shastri School —a 10–15-minute walk from our home. I hated walking to school, but Mriganka and both our moms strongly opposed the idea of wasting ₹50 every day on an auto. So, I had to surrender. The first class of the day was chemistr...
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#9 They Said It Was Just an Orientation…

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Came across the title track of Kal Ho Na Ho today—out of nowhere. And just like that, I was taken back to that one day... The day I left home to chase the dream I’d been holding onto for years. That song still holds a special place in my heart. It was on loop when I was on my way to Delhi, leaving behind my parents, my home, my comfort zone - for two years of tapasya . A journey that was going to demand everything. I still remember-Pritam, Nilendu and Diganta came to meet me. Swarup da (Dr. Niladri Deb) had come to see me off. It felt emotional, because we knew we wouldn't be meeting for the next two years. I was nervous. And excited. On one side, I was finally stepping into a new world, the one I had dreamt about for so long. On the other hand, I was leaving everything familiar behind. All my friends. My city. My routine. Everything was going to change. And I know many of you might be going through the same phase right now. Maybe you just shifted to Agartala for your studies. ...
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#8 Taking the Final Lap: Gear Up for JEE Advanced

Boards are over, and now you have around 60 days left for JEE Advanced . By now, your revision of the Class 12 syllabus should be complete, but many of you might be unsure about what to do next. I was in the same position back in 2018. Back then, we had only one JEE Mains attempt, which was held after our board exams in April. For me, Mains didn’t go as expected and checking my scores left me devastated. I couldn't focus on studies, and overwhelmed by stress, with just 50 days left for Advanced. I felt like everything was falling apart. Soon I realised I was wasting time oscillating between trying to study and mourning my results. So, I made a decision—I gave myself three days to fully process my emotions, without forcing myself to study. I knew this break would help me come back stronger. On the fourth day, I picked up the very paper that had shaken my confidence and attempted it again within three hours. Trust me, this process restored my belief in myself— I could do it. O...
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#7 All You Need to Know About Board Exams

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Board exams are knocking at the door! I know pressure must have increased a lot. Mains 1st attempt maybe went smooth or maybe went rough, but I hope the post-exam hangover is all gone now and everyone's focus is now on the boards. To be very honest, you might feel like board marks are not at all important as far as JEE or NEET is concerned. But you also need to know that they will again act as a factor to boost your confidence or down your morale just like JEE Mains did (Apart from the fact that its marks will only be valuable for your relatives and not for your admission to colleges). Here's what I will discuss today: Smart Strategy: Use Boards to Boost JEE/NEET Prep 3-Day Physics Preparation Plan Important Points to Keep in Mind  Manifestation and Confidence: The Secret Sauce to My Journey Smart Strategy: Use Boards to Boost JEE/NEET Prep Now, most of the students consider board exams to be a time waste for their JEE or NEET preparation. Here is where the trick comes. You hav...
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#6 The Day Before JEE Mains: A Story to Remember

Enough of Mock Tests! I woke up at 8 AM that day and made myself a promise: No mock tests today. But as much as I tried to stay calm, thoughts of the next day refused to leave my mind. “What if things don’t go as planned? What if I let my parents down after everything they’ve sacrificed for me? What if my mind goes blank, and I forget the formulas I’ve practiced a hundred times? What if I get stuck on questions I know I can solve? What if all these months of sleepless nights and hard work end up meaning nothing?” These questions kept me company as I stepped into the day. My Maa , busy preparing breakfast in our small rented room in Delhi, had let me sleep in. She knew the pressure I was carrying— the weight of expectations, the dreams of a 17-year-old . Even though I didn’t say a word, she saw it in my eyes. She didn’t wake me up, thinking a little extra rest might help me more than anything else. Once I was ready, I sat down at my desk with a clear plan: No new problems, no new topi...
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