On an early Wednesday evening, a group of about 30 people, mostly women, sing bhajans at the Radha-Krishna temple in the Talwandi area of Kota, Rajasthan. Two walls of the temple are covered with handwritten wishes and messages. Most of them are from the lakhs of aspirants who throng the coaching centres of Kota every year with the hope of getting admission into India’s best engineering and medical colleges.
One message reads, “Sorry, Mom and Dad for not being the best kid of yours. But I’m trying hard. God, help me become a good doctor.”
Some of the messages are high up on the walls. The students must have stood on tall tables or climbed on shoulders to write them. A caretaker says at least 500 students visit the temple daily.
