Parray Pora and the Paradox of Possibilities

By Aisha Hasnain

My younger brother recently appeared in his 10th board examination through JKBOSE. A curious kid by nature, he keeps experimenting with things. Sadly, those things are not scientific gadgets. He will not become an engineer. Or a doctor. 

I knew it since a year, and I knew I would be the one to help him assess other promising disciplines. I knew the answer very well, but since I am a good advocate, I asked him, “Baby, are you interested in mathematics?” “No!” He left no doubt about it. “Can physics or chemistry be your calling?” “No, I do not understand them well.” “Alright,” I said, “I think you will do something in arts. I see you are interested in language.”

I decided that once his board exams were over, I would see a good private school for him where he could find opportunities to realize his potential. I was considering CBSE, and I had it sorted in my mind. Subconsciously, he sometimes calls me ‘Mama’. 

His subconscious sees me as a substitute to a mother for him if or when he needs one. He has put his faith in me. My friend told me that when she had asked him about what he was thinking of pursuing after grade 10, he replied, “That Aisha Di will decide.” A year has passed, his board examination is over, and it is time to get things done for him.  

I have come to know that if I get him admitted in a private school outside of our village’s vicinity, he will not receive a backward certificate. Practically speaking, that is a big issue. 

Here I am not going to speak of the principles or unethical exploitation, if any, behind a backward certificate. For now, the matter at hand for me is that we belong to the backward category and whomever I asked for suggestions, nobody supported my decision of giving up a backward certificate by getting him admitted in one of the top schools in the valley. And since it is my brother and not my certificate or future, I have no say in whether he should or should not need it. 

Now where I have received my science and math tuitions from during my higher secondary school years, I asked a teacher working at that institute that if by any chance they had expanded the institute to include arts stream as well. They had not. There is only one small dilapidated place of which I know where arts stream is being taught to 11th and 12th grade students. 

I am speaking of Parray Pora that has mainly been the hub of coaching institutes in the valley. We’ve a friend’s place there which would be a safe accommodation for my brother for these two years. But I’m struggling to find a decent coaching institute for him in a place where students flock like sheep. When I joined as a student, I found my seniors and juniors there, even my childhood crush! Parray Pora has been the melting pot of pan-Kashmir students. 

As I saw no choice, reluctantly, I thought I might have to settle for the private school in the nearby town. “But I didn’t get any backward certificate because I did my higher secondary studies from the town as well,” my KAS officer friend pressed. What on earth was I supposed to do then? 

Looking for some hope, I called an IAS/KAS academy in Parray Pora to inquire if they taught arts to higher secondary students: “No Ma’am, we teach only medical students on the higher secondary level. But your brother can opt for medical stream and not appear in NEET. Basically, the last year’s results came better from students who came from medical background. If your brother wants to appear in administrative exams in future, he can join our institute. He needs to take up science only for basic studies and we will build him until he graduates and he can straightaway go for administrative exam while holding only a bachelor’s degree.” 

Appearing in the UPSC examinations while holding a bachelor’s degree only is a trap some – or maybe many – students fall for. Generally, it is not enough exposure. I asked my KAS officer friend if it was doable to let my brother take up science just for the sake of the administrative examinations. He was against the advice given to me by the guy at the IAS/KAS academy. “They are saying so because they don’t have other options available.” I went to my brother and asked him if by any chance he wants to set his base in science. “No chance,” he was crystal clear.

I don’t want to contaminate my brother’s mind. His natural abilities need nurturing. Now all I am left with is the option of getting him admitted in the local government higher secondary school and simultaneously in a good private coaching institute. But where is that ‘good private coaching institute’?

The government schools which have the cream of the teaching faculty are not seen as decent schools. I am yet to do some research regarding why that is so. How many loopholes can I count in this educational procedure in this third world country which apparently produces world class mathematicians and scientists, which is home to some of the toughest examinations in the world? 

First I felt an aversion towards this backward certificate concept. Ultimately I concluded that the field of arts is not being taken seriously in this part of world. STEM degree is the only degree held in esteem. Esteem! I swear, had cleaning windowpanes been seen as a job of honor and money, every parent would be sending their kids to companies who could teach their kids to clean the windows in the most eloquent of ways, with the best soaps, rags and tools.

So, is there nothing beyond STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)? What about my classmate who studied astrophysics on scholarship basis in the UAE and gave it up to pursue literature? He was the brightest student in the class. What about another bright student who is pursuing humanities at the Delhi University after studying science in 11th and 12th grade? Yet another valedictorian who got selected for a prestigious course at the Ashoka University – what about her, a history student? What about another of my academic peers who also studied science and math in 11th and 12th grade and recently qualified All India Bar Examination? What about this KAS officer friend who was originally a BDS student? 

On a larger scale, what about Jacinda Ardern, Christopher Nolan, J. K. Rowling, Irfan Habib, Yuval Noah Harari, Frank Lloyd Wright, Anne Sullivan, van Gogh, Beethoven, Emily Dickinson? What about André Rieu who brought Emma Kok to his show, and who breathtakingly sang Barbara Pravi’s Voilà? I found a voice in that song for the woman in me. 

As a tourist, what else can I see in Agra if an architect were not to design the Taj Mahal? Do these fields play no role in our society? Is history not supposed to be remembered and written? Is society not supposed to be studied? Does the flower vase on my side table containing flowers which lends a happy aura to the walls in my room hold no significance in my well-being? What about my gardener who creates a small heaven in my lawn where I sit and soak vitamin D? 

I will not give up on my brother. If he does not want to pursue science, there is no reason for him to. A classmate of his considered less intelligent compared to my brother opted for medical studies and our mother remarked, “But how will he manage?” I saw the flip side of this statement and I looked at my brother and asked him, “Darling, do you think I am supporting you to take up arts because perhaps I think you are less intelligent? I’m supporting you because I know you will deliver better in the field of arts than in science. You have to work hard anyhow, be it science, be it arts!”

– The author goes by her pen name, Aisha Hasnain. She can be reached at aishahasnain02@gmail.com.

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