Board exams once again postponed in India. It is definitely hard for parents and students to accept this. My own niece is preparing for the boards in Chennai and I know how painful this whole process can be. What can we do ? What can be done ? What is, simply is…
IIT entrance examinations.
Who does not know about IIT in India. The prestigious exam that could give admission to the most prestigious university in India. Students attend coaching classes since early middle school years. However, these days I am told that the preparation starts all the way from kindergarten!
Rita and Madhu, the children of an average middle-class householder Ramu, shared the same room. The room served as study cum bedroom. On one wall was a poster of the periodic table and on the other side a table with trophies displayed on top, all rusted and losing luster. Rita had even converted one wall into a photo gallery. They had ergonomic, economic, rollable, bamboo sleeping mats as beds. It was not only a space saver but also strengthened their backs!
It was an epic day in 1989, the day of the IIT entrance examinations. It was such a relief for Rita as she could finally clean up the room to reclaim her lost space. ‘Briliant’ study materials and the ‘Agarwal’ study packets were consuming her room and mind for the past four years. Every first Saturday of the month a study packet would be delivered from Agarwal and needless to say that Brilliant notes started piling week after week. This has been going on for four years!
Madhu, would never allow Rita to touch his books, they were his valued possession. It was as if a priority based doubly linked binary tree index was loaded in his brain. He would exactly know which booklet to retrieve from that massive clutter.
Madhu was a studious and intelligent student in school and everyone was expecting him to crack the entrance exams. There was no sign of pressure or stress on Madhu’s face. He was an ardent devotee of the Goddess Saraswati and it came as no surprise that his mother suggested him to pay visit to the temple that was just 2 km from his house. Madhu took his moped and went to get the blessings of the Goddess of wisdom. He got the sacred ash from the temple and applied on his forehead. On his way back he was merrily whistling to the tunes of his favourite Hindi song, ‘ruk jaana nahin tu kahin haar ke’.
Madhu was riding the moped at less than 40km/h. From nowhere, literally nowhere came a buffalo and crashed on his moped. Elbow dislocated, he fell down and cried in pain. His friends escorted him home. Eyes welled up, his mother did not know how to console him. Madhu just whistled ‘ruk jaana nahin tu kahin haar ke, kaanton pe chalke milenge saaye bahar ke’ and explained to his mother, ‘ Life throws up situations, tests one’s resolve and patience. If one can just do what is needed and what is right, the results will be immense. Just mulling over or musing about things and situations won’t do’
Rita was shocked. Did that mean she would have to have the patience too? To live in the middle of the mess for another year?