of dreams ... beyond dreams!

In case you recognize what building is this, please raise your hand. Ok, please stop! I think you are looking stupid raising your hand in front of a computer screen. :D

For those who can't guess, this is the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi! and before you ask - no, this is not my college!

To explain the significance of this picture here today, lets go some 15 years in flashback. To the time when I couldn't even spell engineering, forget about dreaming of an IIT or something. I must have been in 9th or 10th at that time, well the story is so old, that I don't even remember the exact time frame now. Either that, or a man really grows old post marriage :D

Let's not digress or we will be sitting here whole night. Meri to aadat hi hai bakar karna :D

So, I didn't know at that point in time, what this weirdly angled building is, in the middle of a compound that looked no less than a jungle from outside! However, every time we (me and my family) passed by it, my mom used to point at it, and say - when you grow up, you will study in this college!

Every single time! And having so many relatives houses near this elusive college wasn't helping either!

Innocent me, thought at that point of time - Big deal! People study in some Delhi university, I will study in IIT University. Who cares! After all, all you need to know to be successful in college is play guitar and dance on the stage! :P

You see, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai had played a huge role in creating a dreamland kind of image for Indian colleges in my head !

Anyhow, with time, I stumbled on in my school life to reach class 11 and joined some IIT JEE entrance coaching along with school. Trust me, till that time, I didn't even know what IIT is. It took me close to two months to understand the gravity of the situation, and realize - Beta, ye kuch zada bada wala panga le lia! :D .. that may be I over promised myself and to my parents!

Two long years, with each day consisting of 14-15 hours of study passed somehow, and my worst nightmares came true. I got stuck in between! I didn't get enough marks to get into IIT Delhi, and I got just about enough to land a seat in Mechanical Engineering in IT BHU. (which forced me not to drop a year and join BHU, which in retrospect was one of the best thing that happened to me in my life :D )

People might covet that seat, but in my eyes, I had failed. I wasn't going to that elusive building, I didn't care more than that.

Long time passed in between. I finished college, joined job, switched jobs, even IT BHU eventually got converted to an IIT (finally!) but my eyes always looked longingly towards that weirdly shaped building every time I passed that road!

It was like the first love, which was not meant to be. Like Kajol says in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai - Mera pehla pyaar adhoora reh gaya auntyjee (I know she didn't say auntyjee, but I forgot what was the actual word at the end of this dialogue :P  )

Fast forward to 2011. I had almost forgot about that angular building in south Delhi, when one fine day, my kiddo Sister announced that she wants to join IIT Delhi! For P H D !!! It all came back to me in a flash!

However, unlike me, she toiled hard, very hard for two years, to build knowledge base and reputation to land into that coveted IIT Delhi seat! And I am so happy to announce that she has finally got through it, after months and months filled with stress and anticipation. ... and with that I can breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Not that anyone ever said anything about it, but I always had a guilt feeling in my heart, that I could not fulfill my parent's dream of landing into IIT Delhi. I guess now they can proudly say - hamari bacchi IIT me padti hai! :D I guess that's the benefit of having two cool kids - even if one fails, the other steps in to make up for it!

Chalo, ab kuch zada ho gaya! :D

Oh, and kiddo sis - since, you are going to do your PhD in Environment studies, probably to save the planet? - here is a short best of luck message from my side :D :D