The Wind Beneath His Wings: The Making of An IITIAN

IIT-JEE has remained the Holy Grail for anyone oriented towards engineering in India. With a success rate of 3%, it presents a formidable obstacle for any budding engineer. In today's environment of evolving education systems, heightened peer and societal pressures, increasing distractions and decreasing attention spans, it takes a lot of focus, single-mindedness and commitment to go past the finish line. The family, therefore, is a critical support system in this journey of an adolescent into the exclusive world of IlTs. 'The Wind Beneath His Wings' is in essence a journey of four towards the journey of one. Written in a very intimate tone and manner, it gives a great perspective from a successful family's point of view. I would recommend this book to all families that have young ones gearing up for the hyper-competitive world of entrance examinations, not just for JEE. Mahesh Chauhan, Founder, Salt Brand Solutions, IIT Bombay, 1992

"This book is a family's beautiful journey of their elder son making into liT which was the result of a well-orchestrated team effort of a mother-son duo. The book talks about the kind of support a family, especially the mothers, can extend to their children during the IIT preparation. I am sure this book will provide useful guidelines to all the parents so that they are better equipped to provide an invigorating atmosphere to their children. What attracted me most is that they 'enjoyed the ride as much as the arrival' and it strengthened the bonding within the family. This book can be an eye opener for the parents of future IIT aspirants.".

I had the opportunity to read this wonderful book which took me down the memory lane to my own days of preparation for the IIT entrance exam.

The IITs are one of the most coveted institutes in the world and the entrance exam for these institutes is among the toughest to crack.

The role of parents and particularly of the mother is very crucial in the socialization of children and in the making of their career. This book talks about the trials, tribulations and triumph of a family in the journey of their son in attempting and successfully clearing the IIT entrance exam.

The book contains many useful tips for parents of students who are attempting or planning to attempt the IIT entrance exam. It dwells on the kind of support that parents and particularly mothers, can render to their wards during preparation for such rigorous competitive exams.

It is my pleasure to recommend this book for all IIT aspirants and their families!

My elder son Alind secured All India Rank 944 in JEE Advanced 2016. He is currently doing B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering in IIT-Bombay. Many of you might wonder if that kind of a rank justifies the encryption in the form of a book. Generally, it is the prerogative of the top rankers to share their experience and strategy with future aspirants. Fair enough.

Let us delve a little deep into the data available. If we look at the statistics, over 11 lakh students took the JEE Main Exam in the year 2016. Out of that, 1,58,410 qualified for the JEE Advanced; 36,566 finally got into the IITs. Now, to be in the top thousand amongst 11 lakh students is no mean feat.

Secondly, and more importantly, the top ranking students are extremely gifted and generally quite sincere in putting their talent to the best use. I will explain this with the help of an analogy or two. Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar, to name a few, are those rare human beings who have chiselled their God-given gifts to the maximum-possible limit. When that happens, the combination becomes deadly. An extremely talented person working extremely hard is bound to be at the top, but such instances are few and far between. Again to go back to statistics, not many students scored over 300 out of 372 in JEE Advanced 2016; not many to be found between 250 and 300 marks either. Come 175-250, the janta lies here. It is here where the real competition occurs and the actual fight happens. It is the above-average intelligent student who, when he works in a sensible, sustained and systematic manner, improves his rank by leaps and bounds. My son belongs to this league and I am happy that we, as a family, could help him achieve his potential. The idea is to share our story with you and hope it helps you to help your child find his own calling.

This book is not intended to provide a perfect or even basic road map for IIT preparation, nor does it claim to be a guide or a self-help book. However, if my memoir helps you in giving the right support to your child, I will be happy for you. This book is the result of an uncontrollable urge to share my experience with you. It is my story, the story of my family's journey of Alind making it to ITT. It is a mother's story of ups and downs, smiles and tears, triumphs and tribulations, highs and lows, doubts and fears, but, at the same time, a story of united, dedicated and sustained effort; effort which knows only success, effort which refuses to succumb in the face of obstacles, effort which is a reward by itself. It is the story of team-work where four of us (I, my husband and our two sons) had our roles carved out and we played them to perfection. All of it looks like a dream in hindsight but, trust me, the ride was as much fun as was the arrival. That year-and-a-half has been the most satisfying period of my life so far.

It brought us closer to each other, made us explore our hidden potential and bonded us like nothing else before. We cried together, we laughed together; we lost faith, we regained it; we lost hope, we found it again; and every time we emerged stronger than before.

It is the story of a boy turning into an adolescent; a child losing all hope, then finding his form again; a child feeling the pressure of parental expectations, then rising up to them. Yes, it is my story, our story, filled with fun but not devoid of tears; ending in victory, but not without defeats. I thank you son for making me a part of this beautiful journey and as you know, I just loved it!

This account will be incomplete without a word about a noble soul who is my father in the garb of a brother, or a father and a brother rolled into one. I don't quite know when he dons the attire of a brother and when that of a father. We lost our father when we were young. Papa was just fifty; I and my brother were in our twenties. My brother is sensible beyond his years and loves me and my family to no end. Perhaps he tries to make good for my loss. About his loss, he is too mature to let us ever feel that! He has been enamoured by IITs all his life and when Alind made it, it was as if he had made it. His dream had come true. Ecstatic as he was, he literally announced it to each and every person in our native town, to every nook and corner of our sleepy city. He had a dream for me which remained a dream. Brother, I am happy Alind could fulfil your dream!

A word about my younger son also seems in place as he was a big help in Alind's preparations. He was in standard VIII when Alind took JEE. Vayam used to help Alind by correcting his answer-sheets with the help of the answer-key and preparing customized mock tests for him. This was something only he could do; for he was aware of Alind's weak areas and it was precisely there that he put most emphasis on. I kept reminding Alind that not everybody is blessed with an intelligent sibling, so make the most of it.

Contents and Sample Pages