The exams are furious and an integral part of child’s growth as a person and it makes them tougher day by day. For me seeing people elderly to me appearing for Board Exams (Usually 10th and 12th are referred as board exams) was an experience in itself. I could remember the tense faces of parents sitting outside the school and waiting for their springs to come out of the exam hall. If anybody comes out with a smile it was a celebration and for some it was not a good day for them it was crying and mourning. The pressure used to be intense and every appearing candidate was terrified to extent that people with low level of handling of nervousness used to break down in the bus, if not bus then while entering the exam or while writing the exam itself. I was lucky in these aspects my dad never put me under any kind of pressure and mom being a professional teacher always helped.
I always felt that being practical before the exam helps in terms of keeping your parents expectations at bare minimum level, this was the case with me in subjects like Social Studies, English and Hindi. When it came to Mathematics and Science there was no excuse, if I trust my memory I told myself that if I have some self respect then to gain this self respect I would never compromise for less than 90 marks in Math and Science. After this it was a smooth ride in 9th grade. When all of reached 10th grade then there was a speculation that who’s going to top and become a topper in the board examinations with his names flashing all over the notice boards in school and offices.
The 10th grade started with people joining tuitions with various teachers and extra classes. But, I was always chilled because people went for tuitions of mathematics and science and for me I had my dad helping me with mathematics and sister helping me with science. Mom had a clear cut perception of how to beat cutting edge competitions, solve as many mock papers as you can and of u are able to finish 3 hour mock test in 2 hrs then you are good enough to have an hour of spare time in the exam hall and attempt tough questions. This rule for me was only applicable for Math and Science. To make the mocks exciting my mom used to ask me to write from 3 PM after noon and if I finish the same in 3 hrs then play time would be 6-7 PM, else the quicker you are at completing the mock test you gain more time to play. So for me it was really a lucrative offer to touch that level of comfort. I started solving a 3 hrs paper in 1.5 hrs and hence used to get 2.5 hrs of play time which was great and I used to freak out with my friends.
I never stretched myself and continued at the consistent phase. Then came the Month of March which was really bone chilling. Papers started and I saw my competitors staring at the Green Board before entering the exam hall every one shared the mutual feeling of having their name on the board, even I wanted my name on the Green board but I knew I need to get good marks in English and Hindi to get my name on the board.
Mathematics Paper Day:
This was one of the memorable day of my School Life. Since the center for examination was not in our school we had to travel to a different school and take the exam. We reached the center and I was busy with Last minute revision. We entered the Hall and the mathematics paper was distributed among us. All I wanted to do was to score just 100 in this paper, why because my dad also scored cent percent marks when he passed his 10th grade. Only competition which I was facing that day was from my dad and I wanted to beat him at any cost. I started writing the paper and everything was fine till the time I came across a question which had a printing mistake and I reported the same to the invigilator but since it was a board exam nothing helped. I answered all the questions but the last one which was from Tax and computation and I got a negative answer for the question, I had my doubts on that one and I solved it. So, moment the final bell rang I had my instincts that I could not score cent percent marks and I was stunned. Before coming to this center I would have scored cent percent in at least 20 mocks over last one month. The whole class moved out of the hall and I was alone finding it hard to believe that I could not do it.
My mathematics teacher Mr Pramod Kumar Sahoo was counting on me big time and he had high hopes on me he came to the room looking for me. I was sitting on the desk with my heads down, he came and asked me “Hey Dibyendu, what did you do for the question which was wrong”, I said “Sir, I remembered how the question was in the book and I wrote that the question should be like in the book and I wrote the answer”. By that time I could not control my feelings and I broke down telling him “I am sorry sir I lost it and I won’t be able to score 100 here”. He gave me a gentle hug and told “It makes no difference, for me you are among the best students with whom I have come across”.
By that time a Teacher from the School where we were writing exams came and asked “Why is this guy crying, Is he going to fail?” This made Sahoo Sir Wild and he said “Look at this guy does he look like a student who’s going to fail, he’s down because he’s not going to score 100/100 in mathematics, yet I can bet that this guy is going to score better marks than any other student from your school in Mathematics”. Bang!! This was a challenge thrown from my teacher to an unknown teacher on me. Only when I came out and met with my other classmates I came to know that paper was really tough as per the standards. When I reached back home mom asked me “How much is the score?” and I said “Anything from 90 to 95”. She left with a smile came back with bowl of gajar ka halwa seeing which I said “Wow, I love Gajar ka halwa”. I can bet on my mom’s gajar ka halwa to an extent that if Osama would have had it before planning 9/11, he would definitely change his plan because of the greatness in the taste of it.(sorry for loosing track again but can’t help about me feelings when I hog the bowl of gajar ka halwa, ,my mouth is watering now also while writing this ).
After having lunch and halwa I switched on the TV to see the Dexter Lab on cartoon network, which till date continues to be one of my favorite programs. The news showed incidents of students in delhi trying to commit suicides after the Mathematics paper was over. My dad was on a tour to North block New Delhi. He was also worried there, but not to show his concern to me he asked one of his subordinates to give a visit at home and check out how I fared in the exams. My dad’s colleague came and with a pleasant smile he asked me “Son I heard in the news that paper was very tough, Can you show me”, I said “Sure Uncle I’ll go and get paper”. We ran thru all the questions, by the time we ended the discussion he said “Great job son I think what you expect is the right marks”. Then he gave my mom a gentle smile and it was understood that I did well. Then he went out to STD booth and updated my dad with the status of how I fared in the exam.
My mom always taught me to be practical and all she told you won’t get anything more than what you have written in the Answer sheet. She always expected that my calculations about how much I am going to score should be realistic within a margin of 10 marks. So I was blunt rather than celebrating after the paper I used to sit with a pencil and write how much I am gonna get for each question. So I used to tell her how much I am going to score beforehand itself. I think this thinking should hold good for whatever we do. This will help a person to realize the right amount of outcome and not to expect a miracle unless the hard work equates the same.
I always felt that being practical before the exam helps in terms of keeping your parents expectations at bare minimum level, this was the case with me in subjects like Social Studies, English and Hindi. When it came to Mathematics and Science there was no excuse, if I trust my memory I told myself that if I have some self respect then to gain this self respect I would never compromise for less than 90 marks in Math and Science. After this it was a smooth ride in 9th grade. When all of reached 10th grade then there was a speculation that who’s going to top and become a topper in the board examinations with his names flashing all over the notice boards in school and offices.
The 10th grade started with people joining tuitions with various teachers and extra classes. But, I was always chilled because people went for tuitions of mathematics and science and for me I had my dad helping me with mathematics and sister helping me with science. Mom had a clear cut perception of how to beat cutting edge competitions, solve as many mock papers as you can and of u are able to finish 3 hour mock test in 2 hrs then you are good enough to have an hour of spare time in the exam hall and attempt tough questions. This rule for me was only applicable for Math and Science. To make the mocks exciting my mom used to ask me to write from 3 PM after noon and if I finish the same in 3 hrs then play time would be 6-7 PM, else the quicker you are at completing the mock test you gain more time to play. So for me it was really a lucrative offer to touch that level of comfort. I started solving a 3 hrs paper in 1.5 hrs and hence used to get 2.5 hrs of play time which was great and I used to freak out with my friends.
I never stretched myself and continued at the consistent phase. Then came the Month of March which was really bone chilling. Papers started and I saw my competitors staring at the Green Board before entering the exam hall every one shared the mutual feeling of having their name on the board, even I wanted my name on the Green board but I knew I need to get good marks in English and Hindi to get my name on the board.
Mathematics Paper Day:
This was one of the memorable day of my School Life. Since the center for examination was not in our school we had to travel to a different school and take the exam. We reached the center and I was busy with Last minute revision. We entered the Hall and the mathematics paper was distributed among us. All I wanted to do was to score just 100 in this paper, why because my dad also scored cent percent marks when he passed his 10th grade. Only competition which I was facing that day was from my dad and I wanted to beat him at any cost. I started writing the paper and everything was fine till the time I came across a question which had a printing mistake and I reported the same to the invigilator but since it was a board exam nothing helped. I answered all the questions but the last one which was from Tax and computation and I got a negative answer for the question, I had my doubts on that one and I solved it. So, moment the final bell rang I had my instincts that I could not score cent percent marks and I was stunned. Before coming to this center I would have scored cent percent in at least 20 mocks over last one month. The whole class moved out of the hall and I was alone finding it hard to believe that I could not do it.
My mathematics teacher Mr Pramod Kumar Sahoo was counting on me big time and he had high hopes on me he came to the room looking for me. I was sitting on the desk with my heads down, he came and asked me “Hey Dibyendu, what did you do for the question which was wrong”, I said “Sir, I remembered how the question was in the book and I wrote that the question should be like in the book and I wrote the answer”. By that time I could not control my feelings and I broke down telling him “I am sorry sir I lost it and I won’t be able to score 100 here”. He gave me a gentle hug and told “It makes no difference, for me you are among the best students with whom I have come across”.
By that time a Teacher from the School where we were writing exams came and asked “Why is this guy crying, Is he going to fail?” This made Sahoo Sir Wild and he said “Look at this guy does he look like a student who’s going to fail, he’s down because he’s not going to score 100/100 in mathematics, yet I can bet that this guy is going to score better marks than any other student from your school in Mathematics”. Bang!! This was a challenge thrown from my teacher to an unknown teacher on me. Only when I came out and met with my other classmates I came to know that paper was really tough as per the standards. When I reached back home mom asked me “How much is the score?” and I said “Anything from 90 to 95”. She left with a smile came back with bowl of gajar ka halwa seeing which I said “Wow, I love Gajar ka halwa”. I can bet on my mom’s gajar ka halwa to an extent that if Osama would have had it before planning 9/11, he would definitely change his plan because of the greatness in the taste of it.(sorry for loosing track again but can’t help about me feelings when I hog the bowl of gajar ka halwa, ,my mouth is watering now also while writing this ).
After having lunch and halwa I switched on the TV to see the Dexter Lab on cartoon network, which till date continues to be one of my favorite programs. The news showed incidents of students in delhi trying to commit suicides after the Mathematics paper was over. My dad was on a tour to North block New Delhi. He was also worried there, but not to show his concern to me he asked one of his subordinates to give a visit at home and check out how I fared in the exams. My dad’s colleague came and with a pleasant smile he asked me “Son I heard in the news that paper was very tough, Can you show me”, I said “Sure Uncle I’ll go and get paper”. We ran thru all the questions, by the time we ended the discussion he said “Great job son I think what you expect is the right marks”. Then he gave my mom a gentle smile and it was understood that I did well. Then he went out to STD booth and updated my dad with the status of how I fared in the exam.
My mom always taught me to be practical and all she told you won’t get anything more than what you have written in the Answer sheet. She always expected that my calculations about how much I am going to score should be realistic within a margin of 10 marks. So I was blunt rather than celebrating after the paper I used to sit with a pencil and write how much I am gonna get for each question. So I used to tell her how much I am going to score beforehand itself. I think this thinking should hold good for whatever we do. This will help a person to realize the right amount of outcome and not to expect a miracle unless the hard work equates the same.
Comments
Again a very well written post and after reading this i was thinking for some time that why in India board examinations are considered as an acid test for the students. Students suffer from tremendous pressure from parents and teachers to perform best.
Their internal performance doesn't matter and what actually important is the scores of the board exams. So anyhow they must get presentable scores and because of this reason we always hear incidents of students trying to commit suicides...