My Unconventional Master’s Degree

Completing my Master’s degree was far from a linear journey. It unfolded through uncertainty, difficult decisions, and, most unexpectedly, deeply meaningful human connections.

When I was selected for the SWAR Fellowship and preparing to leave for the induction in Pune, I encountered a practical dilemma. I had to fill out my Master’s examination form, yet there was no clarity about my posting location after induction. Since the location would only be disclosed at the end of the induction, choosing an appropriate exam center felt almost impossible.

The exams were scheduled over 15 to 20 days. Taking such an extended leave, especially at the very beginning of a fellowship, was not feasible. Choosing my hometown as the exam center was equally impractical. Faced with this uncertainty, I made a difficult decision: I skipped my final exams in June.

By December, when the next examination cycle approached, I was determined to complete my degree. However, the schedule remained complicated. Two papers were at the beginning of December, one at the end of the month, and another in the second week of January. Taking a month-long leave was still not an option.

This time, instead of postponing again, I chose to adapt.

With no nearby examination centers available, I opted for Dehradun, a journey of seven to eight hours from my location. The next challenge was accommodation. I did not know where I would stay, and the uncertainty returned, this time in a different form. That is when something unexpected and beautiful happened.

I reached out to a senior from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), who connected me to a didi from the same network. She was from Tehri Garhwal, nearly twice my age, and had graduated from JNV long before I was even born. Today, she runs her own organization in Dehradun.

Despite being complete strangers, she warmly offered me a place to stay. Those three to four days with her and her family became one of the most memorable parts of my journey. Her sisters, too, were from JNV. There was an instant sense of familiarity, as if we had known each other for years. We shared stories of our school lives. She spoke about writing letters from the hostel to her parents, an experience distant from my own yet deeply relatable.

We belonged to different generations and had lived through entirely different school environments, yet the essence of being from JNV connected us effortlessly. It reminded me of the quiet strength of shared institutions and the power of genuine networks that bring people together in the most unexpected ways.

For the remaining exams, I stayed with my colleagues’ families, who welcomed me with the same warmth and openness. With them too, it felt like I had known their families for years. Each stay introduced me to new homes, new conversations, and new forms of kindness. What began as anxiety about logistics slowly transformed into a journey of belonging. In the beginning, I was worried about where I would stay. By the end, I was grateful for the people I met along the way.

Last month, I finally received my Master’s degree certificate and marksheet. It marked not just the completion of an academic program, but the culmination of resilience, adaptability, and trust in the process. Sometimes, when things do not go as planned, they are quietly aligning for something better.

In my case, they truly did. And with the completion of my fellowship, I also completed my Master’s degree in the most unexpected, yet meaningful way.