Mother stood by him all the way
Mudasir Majeed Peer
Dr. Shah Faisal a name which resonates in every ear these days, has also brought immense pride to the people of Kashmir. Dr. Shah Faisal is a Kashmiri who hails from the Lolab area of Kupwara district. He emerged as the first Kashmiri who topped India’s toughest UPSC exams and set the path for thousands of youngsters.
Hailing from humble beginnings, Dr. Shah Faisal lost his father late G. H. Rasool Shah, a government teacher at a crucial time in his life. He was better known for calm temperament, superlative vision and unparalleled oration. Faisal’s father was his idol, teacher and mentor. Unfortunately, he had an untimely and a tragic death.
It was the year 2002 when Shah Faisal had to appear in the combined entrance test (CET) as he had a word with his father that he would surely win a seat for MBBS. Prior to year 2002 he had qualified for BDS but his father wanted him to qualify MBBS so he left BDS and started extensive preparations for qualifying MBBS. On the day he had to appear in CET he got to know that his father has been killed.
A complete state of frustration and bewilderment he had to go through. He was left with only two options; either to give up everything, the dreams of his father and to embrace failure or to behave like a stone to overcome the tragic upset. The credit must go to his divine mother who stood like a bed rock. Perhaps no mother can do what she did. On one side was lying the gory corpse of her husband and on the other side she says to her children “do not cry do not cry”.
Her husband’s poignant memories haunting her mind, lacerating her heart so deeply but her unprecedented courage praiseworthy and unmatched. After this tragic incident, she held the fort of family. She always encouraged her children to not give up. She always supported their ideas and plans without a second thought, provided them a special environment which was favorable to their plans. Her support without a second thought to the ideas and plans of her children was only because she knew well that her children had a good guidance of father that is why she never contradicted.
Dr. Shah Faisal achieved this milestone and brought pride to entire Kashmir. Being the victim of conflict he proved that despite the adversities in life a person can do marvels provided he or she is committed towards the goal. He has broken the myth that we Kashmiris lack the exposure or we are getting discriminated or we do not have the talent. Being the student of a government school up to high school level and grown up in a rural area, he proved that success doesn’t see the rural or urban area, government school or private, what it sees is the commitment and dedication towards the goal. Whatever the circumstances be whether good or bad, a person can pursuit his or her goal provided he or she has a good willing and perseverance towards the objective.
Some days back in the month of May I had the opportunity to visit with Dr. Shah Faisal to the district he hails from….. District Kupwara, where he had a warm welcome. He addressed large gatherings. In Government Boys Higher Secondary School Kupwara, he insisted students to make good use of time instead of wasting it in futile activities.
He laid the impetus mostly on vocabulary enhancement. He admitted that vocabulary is the prime remedy to challenge every competition. He advised them to make newspaper-reading a daily habit so that their vocabulary can get enhanced. While his address he revealed a gripping fact. He disclosed that during his secondary education he had a friend whose vocabulary was quite considerable. “I fell in a deep thought that why can’t I build my vocabulary. I bought Long Mann’s English dictionary and sat in a room for complete three months. Due my dedication courage and commitment I crammed every word of dictionary within three month’s spell” Dr. Shah Faisal admitted.
This is called the spirit and passion for achievable goal. Cramming dictionary in a three month’s spell, topping MBBS exam and cracking and topping the most prestigious and toughest UPSC exam that also in first attempt speaks the pitch of knowledge dedication and commitment of Dr. Shah Faisal towards objective.
We, Kashmiris have always been fearful in facing the competitive exams. But now it is the time to come out of fear and do something marvelous. We should take lessons from 28-year old Shah Faisal, who is the best inspiration for every Kashmiri. We should not let our mind work within the purviews of closed room. We should refurbish our mind setup. Our aim should always be to read beyond the syllabi. We should always look for the diversified information instead of specialized information so that our Kashmir can produce quasi Faisals.
(The author is doing graduation in mass communication and multimedia production in Govt Degree College Baramulla and also is cousin of Dr. Shah Faisal. He can be reached at pir.mudasir@gmail.com)
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