We all say knowledge knows no age. But how much old do you think is old enough to get your education done? Twenty? Twenty-Five? Thirty? Forty? Well recently, Raj Kumar Vaishya from Patna (Bihar) has passed his MA (economics) examination from Patna’s Nalanda Open University (NOU) with a second division at the age of 98.
The profound old man who actually had completed his UG in 1938, expressed his happiness at this achievement. He says-
FINALLY, I HAVE FULFILLED MY LONG-CHERISHED DREAM. NOW I AM A POSTGRADUATE. I DECIDED TO PROVE TWO YEARS AGO THAT EVEN AT THIS AGE, ONE CAN FULFIL THEIR DREAMS AND ACHIEVE ANYTHING. I AM AN EXAMPLE, HE TOLD IANS IN PATNA.
Vaishya also added that he has been trying to send a message to the youth that one loss in life should never be accepted as a defeat.
I WANT TO TELL THEM NOT TO GET UPSET AND DEPRESSED. ‘MAUKA AUR AVSAR HAR WAKT REHTA HAI, KEWAL KHUD PE VISHWAS HONA CHAHIYE‘
(Opportunities are always there. One just needs to believe in himself)
He said-
IT WAS REALLY DIFFICULT FOR ME TO WAKE UP EARLY TO PREPARE FOR THE EXAMS.
According to NOU officials, Vaishya was so determined to get a postgraduate degree that he sat for a three-hour MA first-year examination in 2016 and the final year exam in 2017 along with students younger than his grandchildren.
Moreover, he used English as his primary language and wrote dozens of papers based on his knowledge that fetched him the degree.
By doing this, Vaishya has practically set an example for millions of people who use age as an excuse to give up on their dreams.
For this achievement, the man was recognized by the Limca Book of Records earlier this year, as the oldest man to apply for a postgraduate degree.
Vaishya, who enrolled for the course in 2015, said he has no plans for a Ph.D. yet.
After working for over three decades, he retired from a private firm in Jharkhand in 1980 and then decided to study economics to understand the problems being faced by the current society as a whole in our country.
THE IDEA WAS NOT TO GET A DEGREE BUT TO STUDY ECONOMICS. THERE ARE MANY Ph.D. STUDENTS WHO HAVE SUPERFLUOUS KNOWLEDGE
-He said.
I FAILED TO PURSUE A POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMME AT THAT TIME DUE TO FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES.
On personal backdrop, Vaishya is a vegetarian and an admirer of simple, traditional Indian food. Also, to our amusement, Vaishya can read without glasses and write dialects perfectly in both Hindi and English.
