JEE, NEET aspirants in Kota scribble wishes on temple’s ‘wall of beliefs’

Priest Trilok Sharma said the temple is repainted every two months because the walls often get filled with wishes and there is no space for others to write

"Please let me get selected in NEET 2023", "Dear God, please give my concentration back", "AIIMS Delhi please", "IIT Delhi for me and Google for my brother" — these are not part of any diary but wishes scribbled on "wall of beliefs" at a temple in Kota by scores of coaching centre students.

Lakhs of students come to Rajasthan's coaching hub Kota every year with dreams of getting into some of the country's most prestigious engineering and medical colleges, but many soon find themselves bogged down by hectic routines, peer pressure and the burden of expectations.

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According to the priests at the Radha Krishna temple in Talwandi area, the faith of students has been so strongly cemented over the years that the temple has to be repainted every two months.

More than 300 students visit the temple daily, they said. A record two lakh students have enrolled in various coaching institutes here this year.

Initially seen as defacement by the temple authorities, the "wall of beliefs" was named after the temple became popular in early 2000 when a few students who had scribbled their prayers cleared the engineering entrance exam IIT JEE and medical entrance tests.

"Long back, when a few students came to pray here, they scribbled their wishes asking for their selection in IIT JEE or medical entrance tests. A few months later, parents of two students visited the temple and offered to make a donation for the temple claiming the wishes of their children scribbled on the wall have been fulfilled and from there it became a trend.