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When Alliston Dsouza went a little dizzy while answering the CAT 2016 exam at a centre in Pune, he thought it was the toughness of the paper. Only later did he realise was actually the antibiotics that were pumped into him to keep him going for the paper.
Aliston, a 22 year-old Andheri (Mumbai) student took seriously ill some 15 days before CAT 2016. High fever, cold, and a stubborn cough. “I had been to the doctor and treatment was on. However, the week before the exam, I turned a little worse and had to be taken to the hospital almost everyday,” Aliston told PaGaLGuY. With Dengue and Chicken Guinea, Aliston was subjected to s series of medical tests.
According to Aliston’s mother, her son had turned weak and had to be put on heavy medication for which he was kept in the hospital for many hours every single day. “We advised him to give up on CAT this year but he did not want to,” his mother informed.
For Aliston, it was the question of coming so far and turning back. “I had joined a coaching institute and had prepared last few months, so it did not make sense to not take the exam.”
When asked how his health coped during the three hour paper, Aliston said the antibiotics made his sleepy and dizzy. “I was almost sleeping during the exam. That was the bad part. Because I knew the answers but could not get myself to answer.”
His review of the paper, hence, in understandable. “It was a tough paper for me. Wish I had the last 15 days to brush up,’he sighed.
To make matters worse, Aliston was allotted an exam centre in Pune. The travelling to Zeals education centre Pune from Mumbai on a cold morning worsened Aliston’s condition. However, Aliston’s entire family accompanied him to Pune – just to egg him on.
Aliston could barely touch his study books for most of November. Much of his time was spent in hospitals and pathology labs. “But that is okay. I took the effort to take the exam. And that is satisfying. Had my paper gone well, I would have definitely felt better though,” he confesses.
We, at PaGaLGuY salute Aliston’s spirit and those of other CAT 2016 candidates who may have weathered many a storm to take the exam.