India, May 21 -- Dear children,

You may never read this open letter I am writing to you - or perhaps you will, from the balcony of the world you chose to ascend to after the NEET-UG examination was cancelled. Already distressed by the paper leak and the lapse in the system, the news of your deaths came as a horror to me, and I am crestfallen. I sincerely wish to have a conversation with you, between the two realms to which we now belong. This is not a newspaper column; it is a heartfelt epistle written in the knowledge that I may never receive a reply. Or perhaps I will - from those who read this - and their responses may help stop the growing trend of young people choosing self-annihilation instead of courage and confidence when the sys...