PVPF 2024

Interview with Avinash Agarwal, Author of "Stop Being a Maggu"

on Nov 01, 2022

Avinash Agarwal is a Gen-Z parent, a Study Skill and Habit Coach for students, and the author of five best-selling books. He has been working in the field of mentoring for over 15 years, with the intent to understand a topper's mindset and what it takes to crack prestigious competitive exams. He firmly believes every child can be a topper. Through my books and online programs, he endeavors to impart the right learning strategies, techniques, and mindset to students to convert their potential into performance.

Frontlist: What inspired you to compose a book about students' apprehensions while preparing for competitive examinations?

Avinash: As an economy of 1.4 billion people, clearing any competitive exam in India comes with a mountain of pressure, which the students have to deal with. It is less about their understanding of the subjects and more about their ability to handle the pressure—those who succeed in having a focused approach get half their work done. My interactions with thousands of students in the last 15 years taught me this. Once I understood what truly is required for a student to crack any competitive exam, I felt driven to write this book.

Frontlist: The theme of this book slightly resembles the popular show 'Kota Factory.' Did you draw inspiration from it to devise plots and characters in your book?

Avinash: I have not seen Kota Factory, but I know it covers similar grounds. Many people, including my son, have seen and told me about it. But no, it did not influence me when I was devising the story.

The place is a coaching hub for aspiring IITians. Being an engineer myself and my younger brother an IITian, I share a prolonged connection with it anyways. I felt it was best to establish my characters in Kota to connect with the target audience of my novel, which are the aspirants, who leave no stone unturned in their preparation, yet flunk in the exams due to the lack of a proper mindset and study techniques.

Frontlist: You have named the main character of your book 'Abhyas,' which translates to 'practice.' What was your intention behind naming him that?

Avinash: Good question. Naming your characters is one of the most parts of writing a story that can connect with the readers. 'Abhyas' was the very first name I thought of. It instantly defined my protagonist's broad personality as a hard-working student, which I believe most aspirants in our country are. However, they lack the ability to convert their potential into performance, which requires clarity of mind and appropriate study practices.

I intended for the readers to understand that a hard-working characteristic is undoubtedly essential. Though it is not everything, your 'Abhyas' (your practice) lacks the right approach to a given competitive exam, which I have tried to tell through the story.

Frontlist: 'Abhyas' has been often subjected to bullying even before he was admitted to 'Genius Coaching Centre.' What policies should educational institutions adopt to prevent bullying?

Avinash: Though some actions, such as the anti-bullying helpline, have been taken off late, I feel a lot remains to be done, beginning with a dedicated team of student counselors in every educational institution to ensure all the students are made aware of what bullying comprehensively stands for and to take care of the grievances pro-actively.

There can be routine communication between the student counselors, the teachers, and the parents to address the concerns of every student.

Moreover, I have noticed the IT division is not always the best, which comprises proper monitoring of CCTV cameras installed in an establishment. Institutions should also have a backup to deal with unfortunate incidents, shall they happen, having police and hospitals nearby.

Frontlist: Abhyas is often reluctant to express himself and struggles with anxiety and low self-esteem. How can we cooperate with such individuals, so they feel at ease around us and speak their minds without fear?

Avinash: It is pretty common for students to feel discouraged or deal with low self-esteem. Students usually compare themselves with others, feel dissatisfied with themselves, and undergo a variety of emotions that they cannot express with their loved ones. Parents and mentors also, at times, burden students with insurmountable expectations which obstruct their capacity to give their best.

Hence, it becomes necessary for teachers or parents to ensure they give them the right space to speak their minds, ask them about their quotidian activities, avoid being authoritative, and, most importantly, spend time with them outside of asking about their academic progress.

Frontlist: You have a background in Engineering and have won some prestigious awards for your contributions to the field. What influenced your transition toward writing?

Avinash: As the Director of Disha Publication, my wonderful team and I have been in constant pursuit of providing our youth with the best exam preparation material to ensure their success. It has been one way of making a valuable contribution to creating an impact in their lives. Though, I realized there is excellent potential in writing books that highlight the internal conflicts students face, such as self-doubt, meeting the expectations of their parents, lacking clarity of what they want, stepping out of their comfort zone, avoiding distraction, and so many other things that restrict their growth.