3 Years in Kanpur

Hey guys, Its Praphul. Are you a Kanpurite? If Yes, I wanted you to catch the page. I remained a student of class XI and XII from C.B.S.E board in Kanpur. I also prepared there for IIT JEE in Kakadeo. Those three years gave me a collection of some precious memories. The memories which perhaps can never be regained. The friends, the teachers, the hostels and the city(What a life it was!). Here, I found what life really means. I learnt here to live practically and in true words I am not gonna let them fly away from my life.

The second reason for this long blog is to make the students of Kanpur realise what one needs to do when there is a dream to fulfill and how it feels when things do not happen to your expectations. And buddy! Kanpur is not like KOTA. It has its different style. You will struggle a lot if you are an outsider and has no one to guide you. I was an outsider, I had no one to guide, and I struggled too. Hope the story ahead helps!!

So, finally wasting no more lines and dedicating those to my Parents, my brother, my teachers, and my friends Deepak, Dhanraj, Dilip, Gaurav(Puri), Utkarsh, Sajal, Kushagra, Manish Bhaia, Krishna Bhaia , Dharmveer and many more, here we go…

First Step In The City

It was 15th of May 2012 when after saying a bitter good bye to my family who was in a small town Nichlaul, I left for Kanpur all alone with nothing in my hand but a bag having some clothes piled inside and of course an ATM card too. I arrived Kanpur central(CNB) at 11 in the night. I took an auto and reached Rawatpur Crossing where my friend Alok Mishra received me and then we walked off to his hostel. In the way, I saw a large shining building with brightening posters on it and then came to know that it was Rave Moti, a shopping mall and that was the first time I got introduced to that kind of world. In fact, it was the first time I entered a hostel room whose owner was so weird that I couldn’t handle him too far. Mishra Ji was from Nichlaul too and was there to prepare for the FAMOUS IIT JEE. I was really very confused about where to take admission for coachings and all. Kakadeo, a well-known market for coachings (called coaching mandi in hindi) and was a hard place to trust upon. I stayed there for 3 days roaming around the streets, visiting JK temple which was more like a lover’s point rather than a temple and perphaps it was so because it was the temple of Lord Krishna(You Know all what I mean), visiting the air conditioned mall(first time bro). And then finally I told Mishra Ji to take me to his Physics Class, QUARK(Mark the name). I went there, It was a very small insti and I was very much decisive at the moment. There, I met Mr. Anant Agnihotri, My Physics Guru to whom I darely asked, “ Sir, Please tell me whether Physics of school level or IIT JEE level is tought here?” He smiled as he understood my situation and the doubtful expression on my face. He said, “Beta, First you should take one or more classes and then decide. Afterall we start from the basics and then eventually reach the real heights of IIT JEE.” From the next day, I started my first class of Mechanics and was pleased I was at the right place. But still the task was not over and it was time to choose a teacher for Mathematics and Chemistry. I was told to join the coaching of M. Sahvan for maths and G.D Verma for Chemistry. When I entered the maths class, I was like ‘woah’. I was from a small town and there in Kanpur the classes were centrally air-conditioned and the furnishing was just outstanding. Students seemed to be very smart. In the class, the teacher asked the students whether the results of class Xth of C.B.S.E board have come or not. The answer was positive. Almost 50% students got 10 CGPA and a very few like me were in the crowd getting 9 CGPA. I felt like- Bro! Its going to be very tough out here. After the class, I finally decided to take admission in the foundation batch(just a name). I called my Father and asked him to come with all the goods. The next day I searched out for a room and after a long struggle in the sunny day, I managed to get one and My Father and brother were there by the evening. He met Anant sir and told me, “We have great hopes from you.”(very little did he say) And then returned. And I was like “Garam Khoon hai bhai ka. Phod denge”. Now the time was to take admission in school. I wanted a school where attendance was not a mandatory stuff. But searching for such a school with vacant seats really proved to be a tough deal in the new city. I went to many schools like Virendra swaroop, M.P.E.C, Jugaldevi, KVs, and Puranchand but not a single one was there with vacant seats. I also went to Sir Padampat Singhania School. It was a nice school just behind the famous JK temple and was a dummy one too but all my hopes washed away when I heard the amount of fees required for the admission. For many of you the amount would be acceptable but not for a boy like me who lived a typical middle-class life. It literally burnt a hole in my Pocket. I was really very worried those days and one day I met a boy, Deepak Gangwani in the Chemistry classes. He was a champu but now-a-days(to my surprise) he has now become a handsome hunk with so many girls around him. He sat besides me and asked, “ how much did you get in the test?”

“56/96”, I said. “OK, Mine is 66”, he said (I don’t know why, a show off kinda thing). My innerself- “Bro! I don’t give a s*** “. But this guy proved to be a great friend of mine. I had no friend with such loyalty before. Then he proceeded and asked about me and knowing that I was an outsider and was seeking for admission in class XI, he asked me to give the entrance in Guru Nanak Public school with him. Then in the next class, I met another idiot, Gaurav Puri. He was though a miser one but great at heart. We became friends and later on he told me that GNPS is a missionary school but attendance is compulsory there. I had no choice. Then with no delay I along with Deepak and my brother took admission there.

First day at school

My first day at school was also quite interesting because it was the day when I met some people who are more like brothers to me now and some who played the role of bones in the flesh for me too.

We had initially no school dress and we all got white dresses and entered the school. Students were staring us like we were some kind of corpses in the crowd of livings .Their boggled eyes were confusing us a lot but we carried our own way. In every 45 minutes a new teacher was coming and we were introduced with their unique styles. But the most interesting entry was of my English Teacher, Shakti Ma’am. As the name suggests she had great power in her hand too and that I got to know after some days. She entered the class and shouted loudly, “ Hey all! as the classes are being held since the month of April and many chapters have been taught, so I am not going to repeat them all.” I was not pleased, not at all pleased. But a contrasting fact is that she was impressed by me the most(Ahhan). And I obviously had no problem. Afterall she was not an old lady. Uhmm Uhmm, No bad thoughts(I just wanted good marks without doing much of labour). And guess what, she did a lot for me too as she used to give me full marks in vivas even if I didn’t attend any and supported my heroics of being absent too.

I used to go school alternately and almost everytime gave the same reason for the absence. My class teacher whom I hated the most in XI understood my evils completely and after that everyday I went school, I was punished and was kept outside the class for the first two periods. Eventually I also started enjoying the free periods. Now in the first unit test, I got merely 50% marks which was out of the range of my imaginations. For the first year , I had no attachment for the school, I swear.

Greed for chocolate

A new chapter then began in my chemistry class, Mole Concept. For that, we had to wait for one boring month of Nomenclature. Respected GD Verma(Sarcasm here) sir organised a class test in which I with my friend stood first with 80/80 score and then I came to know the rule of the class that our teacher gave chocolates to the first five rank holders.

I also got a Cadbury. But this was a small offer before the one Sahvan sir gave us. He organised a test and announced a prize money of Rs 500 for the first ranker. But sadly, I could not manage to get it and remained very behind. Everything was happening beyond my expectations which was trying to demoralize me but apne andar ka bhai abhi bhi garam tha .

The most interesting subjects for me were Maths and Physics. I had no interest for chemistry initially in class XI. But even though for chocolates I managed to get into the first fives.

Choose one, “ FRIEND OR TARGET”

I met another friend Utkarsh Katiyar this time in maths class. He was a talented boy and now he is in NDA and surely after somedays, he will be at some good post serving the country. We were very good friends but an incident brought too much sourness in our friendship. Actually Sahvan Sir took a series of three tests on Calculus in which he offered us that the first five rankers will get a chance to go with him on a treat to Landmark(a five star HOTEL) and on a trip to IIT Kanpur. We were very excited and prepared hardly for the test but I stood fifth and was really very disappointed by the result. I did joined the party but not that happily. See the point is that I hate losing and if it happens to me, nothing dissapoints me more. I was very sad and stopped talking to anyone, even Utkarsh and Deepak who respectively got third and fourth positions. Utkarsh mistook my intentions and thought that perhaps by his third rank I was not happy and was not talking to him and he even put the matter to me. Listening this I just smiled and hugged them and told them that I had no problem with their good ranks but I was not happy of my bad one. Anyway after somedays Sahvan sir put another proposal to the four boys Sajal, Kushagra,Utkarsh and Deepak to stay there in the hostel which was a part of the insti so that he could give personal attention to them. To this Sajal and Kushagra refused on the spot but Utkarsh and Deepak said a yes to him. I was not still into the topic as I was a kind of boy who mostly stayed out of these talks and was related to the teacher only for questions of maths and nothing else. Then Utkarsh put my name before Sahvan Sir. He called me and asked me about the proposal to which I was not sure but asked him for some time as I wanted to discuss the matter with my parents. They agreed and Utkarsh took me to his home to convince his parents. They agreed too. Utkarsh and Deepak shifted to the hostel and then I came to know that I was required to leave the physics and chemistry classes and do self study only. As self study is a good thing but I still had not completed the full syllabus of IIT JEE and for that I required the assistance of the teachers. Now that was a great decisive moment for me as my study and friendship were at stake. Then I talked to Anant sir about the matter to which he strictly suggested me not to leave the classes. Then I said a “no” to my friends.

After this Utkarsh stopped talking to me and Deepak was still a great friend. But I thought that I will somehow manage to convince him and moved on concentrating on my target.

Determination to grab something

Now let me tell you about my physics classes.It was the lecture of mechanics in which sir put a problem before us in the class and said that the one who solves it in three minutes will get a hundred rupee note. Our heartbeat grew faster and my whole body sweated up in that air-conditioned room(I wanted the note for a treat). When the time started , our pen ran like storm and we lost our connection from the world and the question only was my world at that time. When the time was up, three students were there raising their hands(me, Dhanraj and Sajal). Everyone told their answers and methods and finally I was there with the right answer and this time I felt that I can be something special(to me, my parents and my teachers). Infact every person has some unseen faces. Then in every test I tried my best and despite of getting second or third rank I was happy and always tried to be the first. This desire was also fulfilled in the test of Fluid mechanics in which I scored 100/140 and stood first. I started clearing my concepts from the book of H.C verma (concepts of physics) in class XI. On the day I bunked school, I spent 5-7 hours on Physics only and rarely gave time to chemistry.

Don’t be partial, be perfect

I was taught that if you are good at two subjects you will get selected but to get a good rank you need to be perfect in all the three subjects. As I have told before that chemistry was not a subject of interest for me. Sometimes I feared that I probably will not get selected due to this subject. My physics teacher suggested me to join the classes of Pankaj Sir. As it was my weak point I was strongly desperate to master the subject and took admission there in class XII. Two teachers were there, Pankaj Sir and Nirmal Sir. They taught so well that after one year I was having a solid confidence in the subject.

The combination of management with labour leads you to success…

Now the results of class XI were out and fortunately I stood first. That day the chemistry teacher in my school who punished me the whole year came to me and said, “ Mr. Praphul Singh, I don’t care whether you come to school or not but one thing I need from you is the result.” My reaction - “Main to yahi chahta tha “. Now this was the time for the real challenge. In this year we had to manage the boards and the JEE as well. I met a new student Dhanraj Naikwade. He was a brilliant student and a nice guy too. We became good friends and later on I shifted in his hostel in R.S Puram. He was very co-operative and was like a brother to me. It seems funny to remember that I lost his bicycle once and he gave a sad smile and was trying to hide those tears as the cycle was given to him by his father on his birthday and made me emotional too at the moment. I used to enjoy a lot when he talked his family on phone in Marathi. His chemistry ,specially organic was very good. In the class we sat together, discussed a lot and this really helped me a lot to improve the subject(Chemistry). We sat and studied late till 4 or 5 in the morning. It became an emotional moment for me when he was leaving the hostel but there were lots of tasks for me to do. My brother Prashant Singh played the most crucial role in my study. He in every step chided me , criticised me a lot and encouraged me to the height he can. He didn’t let me do any other work. He used to wash all my clothes and every morning brought breakfast for me. In the new hostel, I was happy to see the studious environment. Manish Bhaia, my brother like batchmate discussed a lot with me. Now in class XII, I started becoming topper in many of the exams of Physics and maths. But still I was not able to perform that much in chemistry. In class XII, my friendship with Sajal and Kushagra ripened. We became good friends. Sajal and I used to ask a lot of challenging questions to each other which was a good contribution to our research work in PCM. In the new hostel, I met two more personalities Krishna Bhaia and his younger brother Anoop. The latter was preparing for the same exam. He used to keep a lot of books of great authors like A.M Agarwal, S.k Goyal, Cengage learning, D.C Pandey and much more. Here I changed the trend of my preparation and started focusing on books apart from the assignments. In the hostel, I was the youngest one and every one treated me like a younger brother and created no disturbance to my studies. Manish bhaia who was studying in the same batch used to discuss a lot of problems daily with me. In the school too, now I was not tortured for the attendance and I therefore merely attended the school that year. My performance became better in maths and physics and even in chemistry but in this subject I was not getting the real confidence. From 1st march my boards started and exactly for the next 24 days I focused totally on the boards and in this Manish Bhaia also helped me a lot as he himself was a board topper and guided me and I did all that smartly. On 24th march boards were over and now, I had 10 days left for the JEE Mains. My brother went to Aligarh so that I could focus totally on my studies. I, in a very well designed manner prepared for the exam. The environment at examination centre was pressurising. More than 500 students were there. The exam started at 9:30 am. I was very nervous and when the paper came in my hands my hands started to tremble. Sweat, sweat and sweat was all there. The first section was Maths. The first question was of quadratic equation and although it was an easy question, I was not getting the answer. I wasted my 4 minutes. My heart beat rose and I was not confident enough to solve the rest of 89 questions. Then I recalled the advice my teacher that I was required to attempt chemistry first. So did then I. In 30-35 minutes, I managed to solve the chemistry section. Now I picked up the physics and then mathematics section and the question I left in the first attempt, was solved very easily. And finally I managed to make the exam at right time. I did too many silly mistakes. So the result was not satisfying but a descent one and I got 250/360 in mains. I prepared for the advanced exam and was in a good flow and finally the day came on 25th of May. In Paper I, I did well but was not that confident. I really had very less control over chemistry which troubled me a lot. Somehow my strengths of physics and maths took me to the miles and at 5:00 pm it was all over. Things were disappointing me a lot. When the result was out I got AIR 7720 and was totally broken up. I secretly cried a lot. I was totally heart-broken and was like a person with no motive, no aim, no destination to reach. I disappointed my parents and my teachers. I left the hostel and returned home. My parents advised me to take part in counselling but I didn’t as I knew a general rank of 7720 was not going to give me anything. My physics teacher phoned me and his words were to me were- “ Praphul, you are born to do something great for your parents so don’t just give up and fight again.”

And finally after I month I decided to give one more try. I joined the chemistry classes and decided to prepare the rest by my own. By the time I had realised my drawbacks which were hidden behind my strengths. My efficiency and speed was great but my accuracy was not good enough. I practised a lot but analysed very less. Instead of staying in a hostel, I took a portion of two rooms in a house on rent and stayed there with three boys who were my close friends. Again I started practising a lot and the extent gets cleared from the fact that in 1 month I solved more than 10,000 problems. Then Anant sir told me to get some subjective approach and then I started solving subjective problems from books like Cengage Learning, S.K Goyal, A.M Agarwal, Abhay Singh and also took the so called DLPs of Bansal Classes. To improve my accuracy I took the test series of Bansal Classes, Resonance Classes and Utkarsh Gail Super 100. I was feeling the improvement through the scores in the test series. Now my competition was not only limited to the mere 2-3 thousand students while it included the students from all over India now. I started becoming more and more ambitious and pulled myself to AIR 7 in the test series. I stood fifth in physics once and many precious ranks were there. The chemistry which feared me a lot the previous year became as strong as maths. Now I was not expecting anything but just wanted to grab as much as I can. It was not that I studied like 14-15 hours a day, instead I just gave 7-8 hours daily but those hours used to of honest contribution. I skipped all the topics that were exclusively for mains and focused on the topics of advanced only. So this time I scored 270 in mains and was pretty sure of getting a good rank in advance. But life doesn’t always pay you your expectations and so it did to me. I got AIR 555 and not under 200 which I expected but this was a beautiful and special rank for me and I was happy with the three 5s. So finally the ink on the 100 thick copies showed me its colour and my dream had now become a reality.

The ‘3 years in Kanpur’, a collection of some unforgettable memories, some words and examples for students like me is this much. This period of time gave me many instances which can defeat you, break you, make you cry, make you stand and guide you to success. Hope you read and enjoy it.

Praphul Singh(IIT Kanpur)