Thursday, November 15, 2012

Humility

My Dad was the topper of his school in the 10th std board exam (SSLC). He had scored 420/600 which was pretty decent in those days. He then went on to study in St. Thomas College in Thrissur. Full of confidence, on the 1st day in class, he asked the guy sitting to his left his SSLC score. That guy replied "Naanootti muppathe ullo sta! (Just 430, dude)". Then Dad asked the guy sitting to his right the same. He replied "Naanootti irupathi anje ulloda, aarodum parayanda, naanakked! (Only 425, man.. dont tell anyone else.. what a shame!)".

My Dad has not asked anyone else their SSLC scores.

I was the topper of my school and district in the 12th std board exam and I was the only guy who made it to IITM from my district that year. Full of confidence, I boasted on the first opportunity I got to some friends at IITM - "Dude I have studied 18 hours in one day!". My friend from Hyderabad replied "Just one day? We used to study for 18 hours a day for 5 days a week. During weekends, we used to chill a bit and study around 16 hours a day." Another guy from Kota said "You guys could chill during weekends?! Lucky ass!".

I have never asked anyone else how many hours they studied.

My Dad and I learnt the same lesson, from very similar situations at very similar ages. :)

PS - a few exaggerations here are there ;)