The day I gave the NID - DAT prelims
It was the 5th of January 2025, the temperature was down a couple points; I had to get up early in the morning and get ready for the big day. The previous day was marked with hurried revisions, drawing/shading basics and mugging up theory questions. All my friends wished me all the best beforehand and had made me feel confident for the day to come. As mom and dad had woken up before me, I woke up to find some commotion already in the house. Mom was busy cooking breakfast and lunch tiffins for me meanwhile dad was half asleep as he sat down on the living room sofa. Without wasting a minute, I brushed my teeth, took a warm shower and checked my bag that I had packed the night before. Dad was constantly reminding us the time we need to leave from our house to make it to the exam center in time. Mom was keeping track of how much time she had till then.
As the time neared for me and dad to leave, everyone finished their tasks and helped see me off. I took blessings of success from my parents and left with dad. It was an hour-long route, I navigated and my father reminded me that he knew the route beforehand. But he still wanted me to navigate in case we somehow took the wrong way. We reached there way before time, due to a tradition we have in the family where we leave a hour's worth of time in case things go really wrong in the way. So naturally it gave me time to walk around the venue and eat my breakfast, a hearty portion of poha. Walking around I saw a lot of kids had already reached the exam center like myself. Along with them were a collection of people from coaching institutes, guiding students under their batches and also were poaching on other students and giving out freebies. I checked my seat number for the room and floor and went back for a chat with my dad. He was surprised to see more girls than boys in the area, it was something I didn't notice. Dad exclaimed that maybe design is a girl’s occupation and engineering is a man’s. I didn't say anything to that comment, I usually don't.
Soon, it was the reporting time as mentioned on the card and I lined up at the entrance with other kids. Dad walked away as soon as I joined the line. As I waited for my turn to enter, I saw every parent standing next to their kid whispering words of affirmations and assuring them that they'll be waiting for them when they come out. The line of eager students was moving quickly and with a check of my I.D. I was granted access into the center and up I went to the floor and room I was tasked to give my exam in. The invigilator didn't seem too enthusiastic to be there, she pointed towards the general area of my seat and I sat down after I found the bench with my roll number written on it. The exam conductors for some reason left 1.5 hours of wait time till the exam would start and waiting for a long time was exhausting. Regardless I waited and saw one kid after the other come in. As a new kid would walk in, I’d try to guess if they are good designers. If someone dressed well, is that because their sense of design and aesthetics extended to how they present themselves or people who didn't care to dress up were such good designers that they forget what they look like. A lot of theories and it helped me not think too much about the exam as time went ahead. The exam restricted the wearing of watches, and there were no clocks in the exam hall. On asking the invigilator, I was told I'll have to ask her whenever I need to know the time. It sounded really cumbersome and I found out later on, It was. As the exam was going to start, a second invigilator walked in, he was more enthusiastic but as time went on that also went down. The invigilators were more interested in their gossip than the exam that was going on. I only had a couple of moments to look up throughout the entire exam.
The exam went on for 2.5 hours but felt a lot less. As I was handing over the papers to the invigilators, I could see people happy to have finished the paper and ready to head home. I had the same feeling and couldn't wait to run back home and catch up on my sleep. As I walked out, I saw others leaving talking to people they made friends with. Funnily, no one was interested in discussing the paper that they spent 2.5 hours writing. As I reached the entrance gate, I saw a crowd of parents there waiting for their kids to return. I know my dad well and knew that he would be sitting in his car working/napping. And I was right, he was on the backseat working. The moment he saw me, he got up and got ready to drive. I waited for him to ask me how it went. But for some reason he didn't. I started navigating again and after a while I told him what I felt about the exam, he was supportive and he reminded me that I need to be ready for the next upcoming exam now. The route was an hour and 45 minutes on the way back, Mumbai had woken up and the streets were full even on a Sunday. I messaged my friends, letting them know that I satisfactorily answered everything and everything now rests on what score I get. On reaching home, Grandpa asked how everything went but mom was more interested that I get my well deserved rest. I woke up early from the nap and went out to watch Sonic 3 with my friend.
All in all it was a day well spent, and as the next day rolled in it felt like one of those days before the exams. Some things don't change, at least not as fast as we think they would.
As the time neared for me and dad to leave, everyone finished their tasks and helped see me off. I took blessings of success from my parents and left with dad. It was an hour-long route, I navigated and my father reminded me that he knew the route beforehand. But he still wanted me to navigate in case we somehow took the wrong way. We reached there way before time, due to a tradition we have in the family where we leave a hour's worth of time in case things go really wrong in the way. So naturally it gave me time to walk around the venue and eat my breakfast, a hearty portion of poha. Walking around I saw a lot of kids had already reached the exam center like myself. Along with them were a collection of people from coaching institutes, guiding students under their batches and also were poaching on other students and giving out freebies. I checked my seat number for the room and floor and went back for a chat with my dad. He was surprised to see more girls than boys in the area, it was something I didn't notice. Dad exclaimed that maybe design is a girl’s occupation and engineering is a man’s. I didn't say anything to that comment, I usually don't.
Soon, it was the reporting time as mentioned on the card and I lined up at the entrance with other kids. Dad walked away as soon as I joined the line. As I waited for my turn to enter, I saw every parent standing next to their kid whispering words of affirmations and assuring them that they'll be waiting for them when they come out. The line of eager students was moving quickly and with a check of my I.D. I was granted access into the center and up I went to the floor and room I was tasked to give my exam in. The invigilator didn't seem too enthusiastic to be there, she pointed towards the general area of my seat and I sat down after I found the bench with my roll number written on it. The exam conductors for some reason left 1.5 hours of wait time till the exam would start and waiting for a long time was exhausting. Regardless I waited and saw one kid after the other come in. As a new kid would walk in, I’d try to guess if they are good designers. If someone dressed well, is that because their sense of design and aesthetics extended to how they present themselves or people who didn't care to dress up were such good designers that they forget what they look like. A lot of theories and it helped me not think too much about the exam as time went ahead. The exam restricted the wearing of watches, and there were no clocks in the exam hall. On asking the invigilator, I was told I'll have to ask her whenever I need to know the time. It sounded really cumbersome and I found out later on, It was. As the exam was going to start, a second invigilator walked in, he was more enthusiastic but as time went on that also went down. The invigilators were more interested in their gossip than the exam that was going on. I only had a couple of moments to look up throughout the entire exam.
The exam went on for 2.5 hours but felt a lot less. As I was handing over the papers to the invigilators, I could see people happy to have finished the paper and ready to head home. I had the same feeling and couldn't wait to run back home and catch up on my sleep. As I walked out, I saw others leaving talking to people they made friends with. Funnily, no one was interested in discussing the paper that they spent 2.5 hours writing. As I reached the entrance gate, I saw a crowd of parents there waiting for their kids to return. I know my dad well and knew that he would be sitting in his car working/napping. And I was right, he was on the backseat working. The moment he saw me, he got up and got ready to drive. I waited for him to ask me how it went. But for some reason he didn't. I started navigating again and after a while I told him what I felt about the exam, he was supportive and he reminded me that I need to be ready for the next upcoming exam now. The route was an hour and 45 minutes on the way back, Mumbai had woken up and the streets were full even on a Sunday. I messaged my friends, letting them know that I satisfactorily answered everything and everything now rests on what score I get. On reaching home, Grandpa asked how everything went but mom was more interested that I get my well deserved rest. I woke up early from the nap and went out to watch Sonic 3 with my friend.
All in all it was a day well spent, and as the next day rolled in it felt like one of those days before the exams. Some things don't change, at least not as fast as we think they would.
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