The Desert Within (on Hiatus)

Kota was the first place where no one could see what he was becoming. Souvik Sasmal, seventeen and a former valedictorian, finds himself living alone as he prepares for JEE in the coaching capital of India.
After the first few months of excellence, he had tasted freedom- and didn't know how to stop.
Now as the new year starts, he finds himself in a high-pressure system, trying to navigate through the curriculum, parental expectations and teachers that demanded his absolute best, while also fighting his addiction, procrastination and self-loathing.
Somehow, he had been chosen for the "Star Batch" despite his poor results in the last three tests. But "pumpkin kids" were not fit for survival in such places.

Kota is not a place for the weak.

Aparna Roy, sixteen and brilliant, has just gone through the most important exam of her life : the CBSE Class X Boards .
Now she has no idea what she wants to do with it. When you do not know what you want, you choose whatever sounds viable enough. Her father had already decided."NEET."
She jumps head-first into the well-oiled coaching system that her present home, Kota offers, not bothering to ask herself if she truly sees herself becoming a doctor.

But half-hearted conviction does not survive competition.

Souvik and Aparna, neighbours and fellow teenagers find themselves alone and then together in the ruthless coaching environment of Kota. They must decide who they are before the system decides for them.