Vaibhav Kochar

"I'll be back after my Master’s, just two years. Promise." These are the kind of words many Indian parents hear before their child boards a flight to Canada, the US, or Australia. With dreams in mind, snacks in hand, and hope in hearts. The plan is to go, work hard, make a life, and come back, but time has its plans. Slowly, the phone calls become shorter, the visits become less frequent, and the “just two years” turns into something longer, and sometimes permanent. Airport Promises & Homemade Parathas If you’ve ever been to an Indian airport during a farewell, you already know, it’s not a goodbye, it’s an emotional movie scene. Everyone from chachu to bua shows up. Mothers crying. Fathers acting tough. Dabbas full of parathas and ladoos stuffed into already overweight bags. “ Bas degree leke wapas aa jaana, ” the mom says, wiping her tears. Fast forward five years: Your old room still looks the same. Your school trophies gather dust. It's your birthday, and regar...

At 21, some people are CEOs. At 25, some are married. At 28, some are still figuring out how to boil an egg without Googling it. And somehow, the world thinks it’s all supposed to happen on a fixed schedule. > "By 18, you should know your career." > "By 22, you should be successful." > "By 25, you should have all your life together." Meanwhile, we are still confused whether we like tea or coffee more. Everyone’s in a Rush: But Nobody's Holding a Map  Every time you open Instagram, someone has launched a startup, bought a car, is on their 4th Europe trip, or just got engaged in a pre-wedding shoot that looks like a Bollywood movie. And you’re sitting there like: > “I just cleaned my cupboard after 6 months. Where’s my applause?” But the truth is, social media shows you everyone’s best 15 seconds. Not their confusion, breakdowns, or those 3 months they spent doing absolutely nothing productive. But that pressure? It’s real. You start thinking...

There are three kinds of people in this world: Those who never work on group projects. Those who pretend to work on group projects. And finally… the endangered species, the one who actually does all the work. Guess who I am? Yep. The third one. They say teamwork makes the dream work. In college group projects, though, teamwork makes one guy work… and everyone else dream. The Group Formation Drama It always begins with the teacher announcing: “Class, you’ll be doing a group project.” Half the class gets excited because “group” means less work. The other half (including me) silently prays to the universe: Please God, this time give me teammates who actually work. Spoiler alert: God never listens. Within 5 minutes, groups form like Indian weddings, random, chaotic, and mostly forced. And without fail, I get the “legendary combo” The Great Indian Group Project Setup You get the assignment. Everyone pretends to be excited. A WhatsApp group is made instantly, with the default name “Project G...

There are some universal truths in life. Like Maggi will never actually be ready in 2 minutes, or Wi-Fi always dies when you need it the most. But the greatest truth, the one written in the stars, is this: The closer your exams are, the messier your room becomes. I’m not even kidding. It’s like physics, chemistry, and karma combined. Forget Newton’s third law, this is the real law of motion. The “Sudden Interest in Everything Else” Syndrome Exams also trigger a disease where you suddenly want to do everything, except study. Haven’t cleaned the drawer in 2 years? Perfect time. Old Diwali lights lying in a box? Let’s test them. That one sock you lost in 2019? Let’s find it. Basically, your room turns into an archaeological site. You’re Indiana Jones, but instead of treasure, you’re finding crumpled notes and half-eaten packets of chips. Stage 1: One Week Before Exam (Hopeful Era) One week before the exam, life is still chill. You have this fake confidence that “this time I’ll start early...