Am I a wizard brandishing a wand?

Do I look like Harry James Potter waving his wand and shouting ‘Expelliarmus’ at Voldemort or Ron Weasley yelling ‘Wingaaardium LeviOsa’ at the troll, resulting in its club hitting itself ?

Or, at first glance, do I look like Dumbledore, with wizened spectacles, long robes and an unbeatable Elder Wand?

Ever since the board results were announced on May 29^th, I have been getting phone calls from all over the country; not just congratulatory ones (I scored above 95% and so was eligible for congratulations) but pesky ones too!

Relatives who don’t bother to look up whether I was in this world earlier or not call me up. Their first line starts with ‘We knew you would do well, beta’. Slowly, after many ‘Umms’ and ‘Okays’ from my side , they pass on the phone to their son or daughter saying as I was their ‘Periya Anna’(in Tamil) aka ‘Bade Bhaiya’  aka ‘Elder Brother’, I should pass on some studying tips to them; enlighten them on how to study and score top notch marks.

I take the phone and am mute; nonplussed. That guy on the other side too feels awkward but having a knife over his head prompts him to congratulate me and then ask ‘What would you advise me to do to score well?’ I clear my throat and start with saying ‘Just ensure you read all the chapters well, practice as many sample papers as you can, blah blah blah’, including many ‘hmmms’ whereas my mind is yelling ‘Can’t you take your own decisions, dunderhead!’  

Really, such phone calls annoy me. If I have scored well, it doesn’t mean I am starting counselling sessions. How one studies is up to him; his interests, his habits would matter, my advice would just be another lecture for him.

Individuality is an important aspect in any lively person; you don’t have to blindly follow anyone’s advice. You yourself have to learn how to make good of anything that comes your way; you aren’t a toddler to be taught everything!

A fortnight or so after the results, I am yet to get accustomed to such nagging personalities; tell them that I am not a wizard brandishing a wand; I am just a student who knows how to work; juggling between work and other things!