The story of my Survival: GATE v/s Me!

Before you proceed to read this horror story, you need to know the literal meaning of GATE to understand this.

So, what exactly is GATE? What is all the fuss about the exam that we ‘forever-alone’ engineering students talk about so much?

GATE is that fruitful exam which we are required to qualify with a considerably high score, if we want to pave our way to pursue Masters in Engineering from a coveted IIT or NIT, or secure that much anticipated job in a PSU.

And after sitting at home for more than 6 months now, deceiving everybody about GATE preparations, the day of beckoning finally came to purview. There is arguably no measure as to how quickly these past 6 months slid past me. Even an Ashutosh Gowariker movie lasts longer. The romantic relation between me and GATE is cordially mutual. The love is so unprecedented that one of these days I would introduce myself as GATE.

As I reached the examination centre which was about 2 hours away from my home on a normally busy day, I saw scores of sincere students along with their caring parents sitting on the steps of the entrance. Clad with huge beards and moustaches, these young (yet old) grieving future engineers waited vainly for the exams, along with their mom and dad. Ignoring their concurrent presence, I moved past all of them and entered the big examination centre. Until that day, ‘India produces the largest number of engineers every year' was just a theoretical sentence. Thank you GATE 2017 for practically explaining me that fact!

After going through the routine checks and strict identity verification processes, I sat down in front of the computer system that was allotted to my roll no. Since nowadays I wear a new framed-spectacles which is different from those that I had worn in my identity proof document, I was frisked by an individual who must have been a member of the GATE organizing committee. After a series of severe questions, he was finally convinced that Ankit Mahanta and me were the same person! As a result of this deliberate session, I felt a strong urge to go to the washroom. I hurried my way as only a few minutes remained till the commencement of the exam. I had quite a difficult time to spot the washroom. And finally after I did, I quickly emptied my water reservoir as nimbly as possible. As there was no one inside, I washed my face quickly and adjusted my hairs. Just then, I saw something which was probably the scariest moment for me till date. Imagine waking up in the morning to the sight of a Hoolock gibbon! Through the mirror, I saw one of the lady invigilators standing behind me. You might have already guessed what the situation here was! And yes, I did too! But it was too late to even go back in time. In the rush of the hour, I hastily entered the ladies compartment. There isn’t any other feeling of antipathy than this. I thought some secret sirens would begin to make alarming sounds and then the police would arrive to drag me to Tihar. Though nothing of that sort happened, the invigilator said with a disgusting look on her face,

“Excuse me! This is the ladies washroom.” which was obvious by her presence!

I ran out as quickly as possible, hiding my face with my handkerchief, feeling like those D-grade Bhojpuri villains. GATE exam already got flunked before I even sat down for the test. God bless me!

Suddenly, an announcement was made through the loud speakers in the hall. I was expecting the briefing about a grisly boy who had just committed the biggest sin that is known to human history. But no! Instead, it was a broadcast which commanded us to stand up from our seat because the National Anthem was about to be played. No offense but the National Anthem should be played in happy environments or better, during the beginning of a fiercely fought sports match involving India. Neither was the environment cheerful nor was this any cricket matches between India and Pakistan. The surrounding was so dismal and somber that at one point of time the ‘Arijit Singh’ inside me began to sing the most melancholic of Bollywood songs. And watching the invigilators pace up and down like Border Security forces, I felt like an illegal Bangladeshi sneaking through the barbed border fence, with the National Anthem being played loudly to motivate me!

Finally, my 180-minute marathon started. The first 10 minutes passed away like gust of wind. From then on, the struggle became real. Those 3 hours felt like 3 decades! Time after time, minute after minute, I kept on looking at the timer which for reasons unknown to even aliens, got struck at 160 minutes. I began dreaming about the most exquisite of destinations that I have visited in my lifetime. I dreamt of my notorious childhood. I made delusions about the everything that was within the range of my mind but the time moved slower than even the slowest tortoise. Believe me, I felt like reliving those entire 20-odd years time from the day I was born till that delightful day of GATE. And after combating the remaining hours like a brave and severely injured soldier on the battlefield, time ran out of ways to torture me! It was over. GATE 2017 was officially over for me. I ran out like a playful child celebrating my much-awaited freedom. No offense but I was probably more thrilled and ecstatic than what Nelson Mandela must have felt after being released from 27 years in prison. I searched for fresh air outside like an impede until I saw an advertiser that read:

Get yourself ready for GATE 2018! Hurry up. Limited seats! New Batch starts from March 18^th.

Jai Hind!