The National Obsession

I had lived under the impression thatCricket with a capital C was the national obsession in India.I have changed my mind lately.The Current national Obsession is theIIT JEE. The very fact that it allows for more success stories makes it a bigger draw. Moreover, one can start late. it also gives a level playing field to limited extent.
Yesterday a preliminary level result of the IIT JEE was to be declared and hundreds students and their anxious parents were queueing outside cybercafes in Khagaria in North Bihar, several had come from remote villages to see their result.Several, though not many made it to the next round.
And it is this huge following that is leading to coaching and tuition industry centrd around IIT JEE.The coaching costs a lot of money and there is a city in Rajasthan which was once famous for cotton Kota saris.When my wife presented a kota sari to a relative in her village, she wanted to know what origin it was of and on being told Kota,she promptly remarked: "Same place where IIT training is given?" Such is the fame of Kota and Bansal classes.People who do not know of MS Dhoni, know about nayan and brilliant Tutorials.
The casualty has been the higher secondary education.