Post Matriculation Pressure- A dilemmatic phase for every student to choose one among Science, Commerce and Arts

Last April, on a bright Saturday Morning, I got a call from one of my close friends. Although we were in touch through various electronic means, it had been years since we met given his busy traveling schedule. He had been in the city for a short duration and we decided to meet the same evening in one of our favorite sports bar. What made the evening even better was the IPL match between RCB and RR with a wonderful mug of beer!

Why was I thrilled? Well, this childhood buddy of mine with whom I completed my schooling till class 7 is an example for strong will power and determination. He had lost his father in an accident leaving his mother to be the only earning member in the family. Her income had to suffice the well-being of his grandparents and, most importantly, his education.

We did not continue in the same school for matriculation but we did meet during the felicitation ceremony organized by our primary school to honor all the distinction holders in matriculation. My friend had passed with flying colors securing 98%... I saw how proud his mother was that day and why wouldn’t she be?

The post matriculation pressure had slowly started closing in. What next – Science/ Commerce/Arts?

Belonging to a generation of Science and IT, opting commerce or arts was uncommon unless you have secured a low matriculation percentage or did not have a better choice to make. There are, of course, some exceptions to this statement but one should agree that this was the belief most of us had, and unfortunately, this continues to exist even today, especially, in a country like that of ours!

Amidst such an environment, my friend had determined to pursue commerce. He was surrounded with people disputing his decision including his elder cousin who was pursuing engineering. His mother too was quite skeptical about his decision after heeding to one of the statements made by their relatives that a qualified Chartered Accountant is meant to open an office waiting for clients the whole day!

My friend had enormous pressure on him to achieve something in life. After his father’s death, he had lost complete faith in his relatives who once betrayed him over the distribution of an income obtained by their sold ancestral property. This made him all the more determined. This fire in him left me speechless. Initially, I had mixed thoughts over my future but after meeting him I too was determined for a career in Commerce.  

The next time when we met was at the CA institute after a long gap. I was surprised and glad to know that during a short span he was already a Triplet to complete all the 3 main professional courses (CA, CWA and CS) and also securing a rank in his CA final exams. When we exchanged our contact co-ordinates, his business card read - Director of Finance & IT (CFO) in a US based Multinational. 
Day of our meeting: (RCB v/s RR)

RR had scored 160 plus runs in 20 overs and the initial task for RCB was to score more than 8 runs an over to win the match. By the time RCB had lost its first wicket, we had moved much deep into our discussion from professional to personal. His profile makes him highly demanding. Being a key finance person his presence is imperative in every deal and acquisition his company makes.

Now, we were in the final stage of the match with just 3 overs remaining. RCB needed 49 runs to win with 4 wickets to spare.

Friend of mine slowly recollects that one such acquisition involved a small IT company where his cousin (Once who disputed my friend's decision to pursue commerce) works as a Senior Software Engineer.

Though RCB lost the match that day, my dear friend had won my heart…

While returning home, I could only remember a dialogue from the movie Slumdog when Anil Kapoor (Host) asks Jamaal (Contestant), “Are you ready for the final question for 20 million rupees?” for which Jamaal replies, “No, but may be it's written, no?”