India, Feb. 13 -- As board exam season tightens its grip on households across India, a post on X has struck a powerful chord: "If board exams decided life, half the CEOs would be unemployed. Let that sink in." The viral message is not a dismissal of academics. In fact, it begins with a balanced reminder: "Boards are important. But they are not your destiny." Yet in a country where marks often feel like a measure of self-worth, the post offers something rare - perspective.

Recalling his own Class 12 experience under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in 1979, Vineet Nayar, businessman from Noida, wrote about walking out of a Chemistry exam in "full panic mode". "At 17, I walked out knowing I had messed it up," he said. It was...