In 1985, my Mom joined coaching classes for IIT JEE coaxed by my Grandfather
Back then like today, most classes prepared simultaneously for medical entrance exams and engineering exams. Coaching was a small cottage industry, but decently sized in Kanpur. Kanpur’s size and having an IIT attracted many aspirants.
On her first day, Mom had a class for maths
As the class ended, a boy sitting in front of her asked “Did you come to the wrong class?”. Puzzled, my Mom said no. The boy then said “Oh, I thought you must have come here for biology”
Even more confused, my Mom clarified that she was preparing for the JEE
The boy, of course, knew where this was going. He smirked “It would be better if you join the biology class today. You’ll be there in a week anyway. All girls end up there.”
Stunned and speechless, my Mom headed home extremely upset
As my Grandfather intuited something was wrong, he asked Mom what happened. As she narrated, he listened patiently. My Grandfather had zero idea about math, having been educated in law. But based on Mom’s math teacher’s view, and his view on her talent, he said what my Mom needed to hear.
“I believe in you”
Remember, this is 1985. The norm was engineering was for men. Girls did medicine, in case their parents were open enough. Those 4 words were rare, it was truly Mom against the world.
My Mom paused on the idea of dropping out of the coaching class
2 weeks later, there was the first super-hard test on basic calculus. A week later, the results were out. Guess who scored the highest? The boy. No, of course not, it was mom. Not only did she score the highest, she scored 3 times as much as the person in second.
That was, the boy
The boy, while cocky, could see truth. Turning around, he started reading my Mom’s notes. He began to ask her for help. Slowly, he realized that he had said something incorrect to someone so formidable.
In case you’re wondering, this is not how my Dad met my Mom
As Mom appeared for the JEE, her coaching class teacher said she would make it to the top IIT, Kanpur. My Mom, as usual, didn’t believe it. When the results came out, Mom ranked 648. Out of a batch of 500, she would be just one of the 5 girls who made it to IIT Kanpur.
The boy didn’t make it to any IIT
When you’re truly up against the world, it is probably just one person’s belief that you need. These experiences of formidable grit and belief are all around us. You just need to believe in yourself, and that one person who believes in you. My Mom is incredible, a story she wrote herself against the odds.
I am so privileged to have her as my big believer