On 2/1/2020 the members of the Mushtifund Aryaan Higher Secondary School had the honour of meeting not only one but two distinguished personalities. Yes I am talking about none other than Mr. Sanjay Tambwekar, and his wife Mrs. Shubhangi Tambwekar. Our Director, Mr. Vyankatesh Prabhudesai warmly welcomed them and introduced Mr. Tambwekar as his inspiration during his IIT JEE preparation days. Mr. Tambwekar was the topper of Board exams, both in X and XII and had a JEE Advance rank of 220 and is currently a CTO at Quick Silver Solutions in Bengaluru. He was also a member of the prestigious team that developed India’s first Super Computer ( PARAM ) at CDAC, Pune.

Mrs. Tambwekar started off by telling us that not all decisions we take in the very beginning of life are all correct sometimes, at some point in life we need to rethink our decisions. We should always remember that whatever we learn in life however big or small, it never goes waste. We definitely use that piece of information in some form or another. She told us that we need to value Health, Safety, Education, Learning and most importantly Values. She told us to be compassionate and disciplined at all times as they are vital elements of life. Then Mr. Tambwekar took over and the very first word he said to us was passion, further laying emphasis on its wonders. He asked us whether we are studying the subjects we like. If yes, only then will we be able to reach the goal we set for ourself.

He told us to be curious and ask questions at all times but most importantly he asked us to seek answers to those questions. We need to relate concepts we learn to our day to day lives which makes learning meaningful and this is what makes us sparkle and standout. It is passion which gives you energy to go beyond all obstacles and also help manage your time. If a person loves something and wants to do it with real passion then he will be able to remove time out even from his busiest schedule!!! You only need to love what you do. He asked us a question,” Who is your competition?” (the correct and a very true answer to this question was indeed given by our own student.) the only competition you have is yourself. We need to keep doing our best because we have absolutely no control over others actions. It’s about pushing yourself an inch above and keep doing this. “If everything seems under control, then you are probably not going fast enough”. He told us to be the best version of ourselves in everything we do. “Good, Better, Best, never let it rest, till your Good is Better and your Better is Best.” You need to stay true to yourself. If you make a promise to yourself in the morning you need to keep it no matter what. Even if it is baby steps you are taking, it will still take you 1 step closer to your goal because remember “Many tiny droplets make the ocean.”

He told us that we have control over our action and never the result so we need to focus on the process rather than the result. Practice is very essential in order to succeed. “Champions strain, others complain”. How you practice is very important. it is vital to make a conscious effort to engage maximum number of sense organs in study. After that we need to solve, then collaborate and finally find an alternative solution to the same question probably a simpler solution as it stimulates your brain in a different way and moreover the chances to commit an error tends to zero. He then told us a healthy mind can only work with a healthy body and engaging in physical activity will bring joy to your learning. At the end he told us that the people who actually succeed in life are not only intelligent but also blend some soft skills in their personality.

“Education is what you remember long after you have left school”(Values) said Einstein.

After that, Mr. Tambwekar answered all the questions raised by the students flawlessly and with great enthusiasm.
We then had a brief discussion on road safety lead by Mrs. Tambwekar who also told us about the non-profitable organisation run by them called “The Arundhati Foundation”( in the loving memory of their daughter). They go about creating awareness in young minds so that India can take a step further to safer roads.

It was an amazing and instructive session thoroughly enjoyed by the students and teachers alike. At the end I would like to thank our Director Sir VPD for giving us a chance to interact with such inspirational and renowned personalities.

-Swarada Deshmukh
Student of class XI MAHSS.