Defying Gravity: My Journey As A World Record Holder – Chapter I
CHAPTER: I
Inaugurating this chapter with the wisdom of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s words, “Dream, dream dream. Dreams transform into thoughts, and thoughts result in action,” I am reminded of the profound impact that dreams can have on our lives. These dreams of achieving something significant in the world had taken up residence in my mind long before, yet for an extended period, they remained dormant, cast in the shadow of uncertainty. However, as fate would have it, a remarkable revelation would soon change the course of my journey.
Now I am going to lead you down the meandering corridors of my past, where the seeds of ambition and the tides of family expectations often clashed. The desire to delve into the world of humanities had ignited within me since the days of grade nine. A fervent aspiration that seemed to tug at my heartstrings, a calling that I couldn’t easily disregard. In stark contrast, my parents held a different vision, one that charted a course toward the realm of science. Driven by their own reasoning and genuine concern, they advised me to embrace the sciences, assuring me that a solid foundation in science would seamlessly pave the way for my future academic pursuits, even in humanities. While their arguments were compelling, I remained a stubborn dreamer, unyielding in my desire to follow the humanities path.
My determination to tread the humanities path sparked many a fiery debate within our home, as I vehemently defended my dream against their rationality. My resistance was unwavering, and yet, despite my best efforts, my convictions often fell short of achieving the desired outcome. It was only when my father extended a challenging proposition that the tide began to turn. He offered to allow me to enrol in humanities if I could secure a score above 90% in my board exams. A compelling compromise, but it came with a lingering sense of unease. The ultimatum led me to reluctantly select the biology stream, while secretly nursing hopes of discovering a loophole that would eventually sway my parents toward my dream.
When the dust settled from the rigorous board exams, my academic prowess shone through with a stellar 92%. The time had come to cast aside the weight of science and embrace humanities, or so I thought. Yet, a cruel twist of fate awaited me. Humanities, the object of my desire, remained tantalisingly out of reach, as my current school did not offer it. The prospect of changing schools in a short time frame was fraught with logistical hurdles and impracticalities, leaving me with an uncertain future. I found myself contemplating the daunting subject matter of science – cells, bacteria, viruses, algaes, bryophytes, pteridophytes, the intricacies of the animal and plant kingdoms, the mysterious realms of monera, protista, fungi, anatomy, and morphology, laws of motion, kinematic equations, vector addition, cross and dot products, integration and differentiation, enthalpies an entropies, quantum numbers and so on. These always haunted my mind. Even the nemesis of my academic journey, mathematics, reared its head once again, taunting me with the prospect of unravelling floral formulas adorned with numerical subscripts.
As the heavy burden of these “necessary evils” weighed upon my shoulders, I pondered how I would navigate the arduous journey ahead. It was amid this tumultuous period, in the sweltering days of June, that a chance encounter with my mother provided a sudden twist in the narrative. Riding pillion on her scooter as we returned from school, I couldn’t suppress the effects that these created in my mind, “Amma, I’m struggling with chemistry. Physics, which I once thought was tough, now feels even more formidable….”
At that pivotal moment, my mother interjected with an enigmatic smile, “Have you, by any chance, received any news about the World Record event scheduled to unfold at your school?” Startled, I replied, “I didn’t” She continued, “Your class teacher reached out and said that you have been handpicked for an individual world record attempt. Are you interested?”
And there, my dear readers, lies the turning point, a proposition that would throw open the doors to unforeseen possibilities. As for my initial response to this life-altering inquiry, I invite you to join me in the next chapter of this saga to unveil the complex emotions and choices that unfolded in the wake of that momentous question. Until then, brace yourselves for a journey that promises to be as intricate as it is profound.
