I still vividly remember sitting in the first row of the room, slightly disoriented by a heady mix of apprehension and excitPreviewement. I lived that moment many times before in my head, but nothing beats actually being there, waiting for the first day of college to unfold. In the four years to follow, Vishnu helped prove many of those apprehensions blissfully false, and left me with the sweet aftertaste of a pleasant surprise.
Like many other students akin to me, I started college in a state of utter confusion. I only had a slight idea of what to expect from life, and I was just beginning to take the first steps. I knew my knowledge of the world around me, and what I imagined to be my niche, were going to change dramatically as I begin to learn and unlearn things. I couldn’t be more correct.
Of all the quotes and aphorisms hanging on the walls of my college corridors, this one is what I most remember and what would aptly capture my stint at Vishnu-
“Education is the progressive discovery of your own ignorance.”
As someone who believes that one’s education is never complete without introspection, the best thing about Vishnu, for me, is that it provided me an opportunity to do exactly that. College helped me meet people, whose thoughts and beliefs I came to regard as my own, with time. One such great soul is our Founder Chairman B.V. Raju garu. I can only imagine the sheer intensity of effort and conviction it takes to uphold a vision of this scale. He continues to inspire me ceaselessly.
The four years I spent at Vishnu helped me understand that education is never about a mark sheet. It is not about competition with someone else outside of me. True knowledge must help one to fight one’s own demons. It must help one see the world through the lens of compassion and inclusivity. It must leave one slightly more humble and empathetic.
The world is such an enormous blob of human thoughts and their consequent action. But whatever be these thoughts superficially, they are all intertwined in a unified aspiration- love and happiness. Vishnu helped me see this more clearly in these four years than ever before. It left me with a sense of purpose and clarity for which I will be forever indebted to it. If college truly helps you discover your ignorance, what more can you ask of it?
