What goes on in my mind…!!

“Mars kept its date with Earth on August 27, 2003. It came closest to the planet than it had for 60,000 years – a touching distance of 36.65 million miles. The last time this happened was in 57,537 B.C. And the next time it will happen is in 2287, when none of us would be here to record the event.” – This piece of news ignited a spark in my teenage mind and soon it was filled with a row of questions. These questions kept tickling my brain not only for the coming few days but changed the course of my thinking.

Questions like… “What is there in space?” , “How did the nine planets , the stars , the galaxy … in fact this whole universe came into being ? ” and the biggest mystery “Is there any human life in outer space ?”… started occupying a major portion of my thought chain. Soon I started looking for every possible opportunity to make myself acquainted with the new interest of my life. I took every possible route (news channels, newspapers, magazines) to quench my thirst . Thus began my romance with the “awesome world and complexity of universe”. The love in me for space science grew in exponentially and in consequence I began directing all my time and energy towards it. I planned to spend my whole life into it and thus started to go for Aerospace Engineering and later on join the family of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization).

For four and a half years, I lived with one single thought – the space and the alien life. But as the saying goes … “Everything is pre-destined.” and I consoled myself with these words only when I failed to make it to the IIT’s and my dream of joining IIST(Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology) was shattered to pieces . Presently I am part of the software world vying to make a place for myself. As I struggle hard every day to keep myself abreast of the latest developments in the hardware and sof tware , some of my old school friends suggest to take the entrance test conducted by ISRO once I complete my degree . But I always wonder …”Am I still in love with it?” or “Has that feeling subsided or died?”…

Does the thought of joining ISRO still excites my nerve cells to the extent it did earlier? Or have the softwares occupied so much of me that I don’t have enough time to keep the zest alive. At this moment, I am still pondering over it while continuing to pursue my education in the field of computers. Well I am unable to decide whether the old love will survive the current rush of life. I am a mute spectator myself…!!!

Aaskti Panjiyar

Birla Institute Of Technology , Mesra (Patna Ext Center)