Should you embrace this gap?

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With the advent of the admission season, teens’ lives are wrapped up around entrance exams, results and merit lists. But there are a few who choose to stay out of the rigmarole. These students take a “gap year”, a year off from the conventional academic route, to see where their interests lie. But does a gap year make sense in the Indian context?
Career counsellor Shailaja Mulay says the trend is still in a nascent stage in India. “Most students who take a ‘gap year’ in India do it for the purpose of preparing for an entrance exam,” she points out. “If at the end of the year they don’t get through, then that entire period is a waste.”
For those who are interested in making their gap year a soul-searching experience, there is an array of options, including learning a new language, taking up a hobby or volunteering for a good cause. Websites like realgap.co.uk, gapyear.com and gapwork.com, have comprehensive information that can help plan a gap year.
She may not have had access to these resources, but Snehal Gala, currently studying law in the UK, says her gap year marked a period of emotional growth. “I took a break inadvertently after completing my graduation as the funding for my Masters course didn’t come through. I started volunteering for Dignity Foundation and a home for destitute children. Now I can perhaps claim to have a little more emotional maturity than my fellow students.”
Some parents too are surprisingly open to the idea. Shalini Das, whose 21-year-old son is planning to take a gap year break, says simply, “He is young and this is the best time to venture out and explore the world. It is only six to eight months after all. The rest of his life will anyway be consumed by the daily grind.”