Outside exam centres in India, the scene is almost always the same. Be it board exams or competitive exams, you’ll find parents sitting outside the gates – some standing under the scorching sun, some carrying water bottles and tiffin, while others silently praying for their child’s success. It’s a sight deeply woven into our exam culture, where the stress of students often extends to the entire family.
Recently, a post on X brought this into the spotlight again after it shared pictures of parents waiting outside a UPSC exam centre, calling their wait a form of “tapasya.” While many resonated with the emotional angle, others felt this behaviour was being unnecessarily romanticised.
This ‘Tapasya’ of parents is never covered by cameras
Family waiting outside as #UPSC aspirants write exams inside exam hall 🥲 pic.twitter.com/5svyJYCPlf
— UPSC CSE WHY (@CseWhy) August 23, 2025
Aspirants appearing for UPSC mains are adults, often 21 years or older. At that age, is it really healthy for parents to wait for hours outside the exam hall?
People argued that glorifying this only piles on more pressure, both on parents who feel they must be present and on students who may feel suffocated by such constant involvement. Some even pointed out how this “infantilization” of grown-up aspirants feeds into fragile egos later in professional life.
Have a look:
Stop glorifying this.
You’re an adult since you’re giving UPSC mains you must be 21+ still you’re expecting your parents to be waiting outside the center, romanticizing and calling it ‘tapasya.’ Something is wrong. This creates unexpected pressure on both ends. https://t.co/PFmPFOpoZV— Sakshi (@333maheshwariii) August 24, 2025
Why do 27yo examjeets need mummy papa to accompany them and wait outside exam centers? I didn’t have my parents accompany me even for my X Boards 🙄 https://t.co/OaWoQmrlj4
— Honeybadger (@9honeybadger9) August 24, 2025
This.
This is the picture of an India that did not take manufacturing seriously in the 1990s. Parents waiting outside examination halls. Youth wasting away their entire twenties preparing for an exam. https://t.co/jrarNSOIA6
— Ritvik Chaturvedi (@critvik) August 24, 2025
This isn’t ‘tapasya’, it’s greed. In India, parents cling like leeches even after 18, unlike the US where kids are set free. Here, they hold on till their last breath, suffocating the child’s own life. https://t.co/R0fHafCVEY
— Aaranya (@VoiceofAaranya) August 24, 2025
My senior Saurabh Khanna once said a profound line about JEE – apne yahan exam sirf baccha nahi, pura ghar deta hai. https://t.co/mlezrUch8D
— Shailendra Patil (@Shailendra_P91) August 25, 2025
my parents didn’t even come to drop/pick me up during my 12th board exams bcs they said I was old enough to travel by myself (which I was lmao) https://t.co/AE9A1WcLEm
— 🧍♀️ (@shrubaby02) August 25, 2025
Infantalization of grown ass UPSC aspirants is exactly why they have such fragile egos when they become officers. https://t.co/pmLrBRHsBu
— we are all complicit (@_mamamouchi) August 24, 2025
Parents and their adult kids need to understand that by the mid 20s, one should be mature enough to stand on their own. Let them face the stress and fear of being alone. I guess that’s how resilience grows.🤙🤙 https://t.co/bb7nfxtjn5
— के .🇮🇳 (@tk02180) August 24, 2025
Pity on students who are one step away from becoming so powerful that they would rule a district or sub-division but can’t come to examination centres without their parents. https://t.co/8ara3ZYYgi
— Mayank (@mayankreports) August 25, 2025
Indian parents should strive their children to be independent at the earliest. We are a bunch of emotional people. Though I am also flooded with emotions, being practical is a trait that should be valued in today’s era. https://t.co/IRdh2kF6bt
— Monisha (@monishadikshit) August 24, 2025
In Indian families, care and sacrifice are expressed through actions like waiting outside exam halls. But in a society where young adults are struggling to find independence, perhaps it’s time to rethink whether such practices are support or silent pressure.