Essay: At the varsity, they come in different shades

Graduation day: The success or failure of students depends on how they manage their lives. [File, Standard]

"You are looking at a man who has reached the end! In our country, there is no rising beyond the position of Prime Minister," he paused, before adding,
"With so much more ahead, you are better off."
This was the wise counsel of Professor Singh to his students. Seconds earlier, the fleeting motorcade of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, of India, had spurred them to their feet, in the middle of the lesson.
Such is the price of university education that even a man of Narendra Modi's standing, when placed on a scale of possibilities that lie in store for the student seated at a lecture theatre, he diminishes into an untraceable speck.
But what awaits the absentee student? Whose fluffy pillows, fine sheets and thick blankets are her dearest companions? Whose yearning for an education dwindles away into the deceitful warmth?
Certain as death to the student is a calling to sit examinations to cap off each semester. The veil that separates honesty and dishonesty on these heavy days, grows thinner with each class that passes unattended. Under the intense heat of recollecting and pressure to keep pace with time in the exam room; too weak to withstand, the veil melts away for those that chose sleep.

Facebook founder and boss and founder Mark Zuckerberg is a famous non-graduate but remember his success rests on the brains of graduates. [File, Standard]