A Bad Term · The Quiet Exam · Pulse Beat
The first term was brutal. Linear algebra, quantum mechanics, a programming course in a language he had never heard of. His classmates, most of whom had done olympiads, moved through problem sets…
The first term was brutal.
Linear algebra, quantum mechanics, a programming course in a language he had never heard of. His classmates, most of whom had done olympiads, moved through problem sets like swimmers. He sat in the library until midnight, eyes swimming, and failed two quizzes in the second week.
He rang his father. "It's very hard, Papa. I'm behind."
"Of course you're behind." Mr Malhotra's voice was calm. "You've been studying astronomy for a year with a telescope. They've been studying calculus for five years in a factory. You will catch up in some places and in others you will not need to." A pause. "I built a bridge once. Over a river in Satara. In the first year, the foundation failed. Do you know what we did?"
"What?"
"We dug it again." His father coughed. "It is the same bridge. Don't compare yourself to the other engineers. Compare it to the river."
Dev put down the phone. He sat for a while, looking at the banyan tree. Then he opened the problem set, and began again from the first line.