Anadi Tiwari from Faculty of Law, Lucknow and HNLU Shares his Law School Journey
Anadi Tiwari from Faculty of Law, Lucknow and HNLU Shares his Law School Journey and talks about his preparation to get into a law school.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Anadi Tiwari. I am a highly inquisitive individual with a voracious appetite for knowledge and a tireless drive to create. Since I was a child, I have been on a path of self-reflection, believing that each experience, whether successful or difficult, adds to the intricate fabric of my being.
Furthermore, I have a comprehensive educational background as stated in previous questions, which encompasses my bachelors in law from 2018 to 2023 at the Faculty of Law, University of Lucknow. Apart from this, I am currently pursuing my Master of Laws-LLM (Technology and Law) from the Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur.
I have consistently pursued a holistic approach to growth, seeking knowledge not only from traditional sources, but from the many individuals I have encountered along the way. Frankly, it may sound a bit too philosophical, but I had never studied in my bachelors for the purpose of gaining good marks.
The approach I had always followed is to ensure that when I would be in my final year of the course, if any student from the first year of the same course comes up to me with a query about a subject which I had initially studied in my first year, I should be able to answer that.
I have always believed that the encouragement that moment will give to you is incomparable to any marks or divisions you may get. For the purpose of this question, as I have progressed in my journey in this field of law, I have always been ardent in working on my research skills and these initial few months of LLM has been very crucial in helping me understand where I stand and what else can be worked upon.
Beyond the confines of work, I have an ardent interest in teaching or counselling; I find solace and inspiration in this. I have always been helpful whenever I am being needed. These pursuits not only rejuvenate my spirit but also fuel my creative endeavors.
How did you start your journey in the field of law?
This year, my father has completed his 26 years of practice as an advocate. My grandfather, who went to his heavenly abode in 2016, was also a successful advocate in my hometown, Unnao (UP).
Till the end of my final board exam, I was sure about things or career I do not want to pursue or where my interest does not lie. I wanted to play cricket as much as possible, however, due to certain reasons I could not take it to the next level and I stayed a gully cricketer only.
The only thing I could look around and hear about was pursuing law as a career. My younger brother was of 9 years age in 2017 when I completed my board exams. I always thought that I need to continue the law legacy of my father and grandfather because my brother was too small to understand anything and to take any decision about his life and I also did not want for him to feel pressured to take this field.
Therefore, after considerable elimination, I choose to pursue law as a career so as to ensure that the hard work of my grandfather and father does not go in vain and their legacy is continued.
How was your law school journey?
My initial years in the University were a whirlwind of excitement, challenges, and personal growth. Stepping onto the campus as a wide-eyed first-year student, I was eager to embark on a journey that would shape my future.
Prima facie I decided that I have to take part in all the competitions or co-curricular activities I come across. In school, I had something which I may not be able to put in words right now, that made it hard for me to take part in co-curricular activities including the literary ones. However, in the University, the first thing I decided that I have to put all the embarrassment out of my head and just try participating and learning from the events.
The first 6 months were very difficult because the dilemma of not being able to crack CLAT and not getting into an NLU was there. I was thinking that I came to a college which is probably not right for me and how will I survive for 5 years here. As I progressed, this thinking started to vanish as I ensured that I will not stop trying and wherever I am right now, I have to make the most of it.
This is how my initial years went and then we faced COVID which took away from me almost 2 years of my college life but also gave me a lot of good things for which I will always be thankful.
Looking back, my initial years in the University were a crucible of learning and self-discovery. They laid the foundation for the legal knowledge and understanding that would shape my career. While challenging, those years were instrumental in molding me into a resilient, analytical, and patient individual.
What motivated you to pursue law as a career?
The pure motivation which inspired me to pursue a career in law was my father and grandfather, as law, in a way, runs in my family. My father has mainly shared his passion for the profession and experiences, which motivated me to follow in their footsteps. Furthermore, my father also enlightened me about how great advocate my grandfather was, which also further motivated me to pursue this field.
At the end, as stated previously, I wanted to ensure that the legacy of my grandfather and father is continued.
Tell us a bit about your experience while taking the entrance test for admission into LLM courses. How was that experience different from the time you took the entrance test for UG?
It was probably during August 2022 when I was pursuing my internship at the Law Ministry, that I came to know that CLAT PG 2023 would be happening on December 18 instead of next year (like it was happening previously).
I had one more internship lined up at a law firm in September. The first question that arose was whether or not I should do that internship or start preparing for CLAT PG. This was a prominent thought because at our University, we were told that semester exams will happen during December.
However, the internship work and preparing for the exams took a lot out of me. I pursued the second internship as well and frankly, it took a lot out of me and left very little time in which I could have prepared but still I tried revisiting my basics.
One thing I ensured is that I studied the past year papers well so as to identify what all key subjects I should primarily focus on. Furthermore, I tried studying all those subjects which were specifically mentioned in the syllabus of this exam.
Since, I worked for Bar and Bench, I found myself to be a step ahead when it came to remembering the recent cases. On the day of the exam, I messed up a lot. First, I forgot to take my watch and co-incidentally the examination room also did not have any clock. Even though the invigilator was there to tell me the time, I was worried since the CLAT paper requires you to maintain a strategy as to how much time you can give to a particular question. The non-availability of watch made me lose track of the time.
Another thing that I also analyzed was that in my set of paper, the lengthy comprehension questions were at the very beginning which took a lot of time and I was missing out on very easy questions later in that set.
Let me be direct, when the last 30 minutes were left, I was getting thoughts that my paper is going nowhere and I will not be getting good marks in this. My strategy was shattered just because I forgot my watch; however, after 5 minutes of blackout and some tears (within my head), I gathered myself and started attempting the rest questions again because I did not wanted to miss out on the easy questions that follow.
At the end, the only thing I could gather from there was that I was able to see all the questions. However, I knew that I could have done much, much better if I had my watch to track time.
Now, when I think about that moment, I realize that I could be sitting in some other NLU if the mess would not have happened that day but I am thankful for whatever happened.
UG experience of CLAT was way different when in 2018, I was stuck sweating in a centre at Kanpur and my computer was not working for the first 10-12 minutes and everybody else had started taking their exam. I was struggling because of the intense heat in that centre and also because of the fact that my computer had not started and my time was running out.
The invigilators were totally unprofessional. After a loss of almost 15 minutes and a slow processing of questions on my computer, I somehow started my exam. Because of the amount of sweat and fear that I was in, it was difficult for me to concentrate.
Though I was initially told by the invigilator that since you have lost time, you will get extra time to complete; however, this assurance was baseless and false because as soon as I had asked more time from them, they absolutely denied it.
That was a horrific experience altogether. I lost everything in that moment. I was drained of hope and energy and when my father asked me outside the centre as to how my paper went, I could only ask him to proceed towards home as soon as possible. It was then that I knew that I was not going to be selected and that’s exactly what happened.
What were your top 3 sources of information while preparing for the law entrance exam? Did you prepare for the exam all by yourself?
My major sources for preparation for the CLAT PG entrance exam were legal portals like Bar and Bench, which helped me in reading judgments thoroughly. Furthermore, another source was reading the basic law books (the bare acts) of subjects. I felt like bare acts can be my best friends and if I excel them, they can help me a lot.
As far as preparing for the exam is concerned, I took a short course from the Legal Edge Coaching Centre; however, after taking that course, I realized that it was not aiding my preparation the way I thought it would. It was then that I decided to concentrate upon my own method of studying for the exam.
What would you say sets apart your story from others?
Each person’s story is different. Honestly, I had never thought that I would be asked questions related to how I went through this journey. This phase of answering such questions is quite unique as well.
I have my shots of hard work, carelessness, ups and downs, tough phases, but all I have aspired is to do well wherever I am. In my first 6 months of the bachelor’s course at the University, I realized one thing that either I could cry on not making it to the NLU or I can build myself again in the University itself.
Obviously, opportunities were minimal here in the University but I decided to extract my opportunities and work on them without any sheer of embarrassment. I must tell you that when it comes to semester fees of an NLU and my University, it was almost 5 times lesser for me. God had his plans! I am happy that my parents were not burdened with my responsibilities.
When COVID happened, we still had to pay the fees of University. Coming from a middle class background, when I look back now, I feel that God did something right for me. Just wanted to share that by the end of my bachelor’s degree, I was myself capable to pay my semester fees and was even doing that but my father used to always restore that fee amount back to my bank account. My story may not be unique but I am thankful to Suhani for giving me the opportunity to share.
This interview is a part of our series #MyStory where we interview law students and legal professionals.
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Ruchika Mohapatra
Contributing author
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