ICSE ..our Class 10 Boards....
My younger bro Arps (Arpit), just through with his recently concluded Boards, is now on Cloud Nine. There is this somehow so strange but yet so natural nonchalance that grips you after once the last paper gets over!!!!
Maybe it was because it was your first tryst with pressure ..the pressure of being the cynosure of all eyes ..the pressure of securing a percentage which not just you but all your near and dear ones could boast of for the rest of their lives!!!
So "no stone left unturned" would be the most apt phrase to describe our preparation for the D-Day
There is a complete sea change in our attitude towards studies...those hitherto despised books become so endearing
There are so many first times in our life
For the first time, we actually forge a bond of friendship with the alarm clock and wake up in the morning ...the old adage of "Early to Bed Early To Rise" comes alive
For the first time, we have a hard time convincing our subconscious that missing a cricket ODI is not the end of the world...it's just a temporary comprimise with life
For the first time we say no to an offer for a movie ..even if it's featuring our favorite star
....or an invitation to a wedding reception ..foregoing all the ice creams and the pastries ..
"Mera Boards hai na....mujhe padhna hai" is the standard refrain
For the first time the para addas wear a deserted look
For the first time we pray so fervently " O God ......pls pls pls....."
"I want 90% marks.....okay ..okay..."; you kind of bargain with Him;... "80 % will do ...."
I want to be in the 'top 3 '..okay..okay..enough of bargaining yet again ....'top 10' of my school...
I want to at least pass in all the subjects especially Geography ...
I am leaving Chapter 9 of Chemistry...it's a tough nut to crack...kindly ensure that not many questions come from there... "
This is almost like your walking up to a grocery shop with a requirement list and conveying it all in a minute ...
God, the shopkeeper,would so copiously take down all the notes while you speak and then make an earnest endeavour to deliver it all..that too free of cost in this particular case
A slab wise incentive scheme is put into place w.r.t. the results ..just like the income tax rates put by Chidambaram
A thousand rupees for each mark above 450 in best of five subjects....from Papa
A cycle for passing in all subjects ....from Mummy
A wrist-watch for scoring 'x' marks in Accounts from Chaacha...etc etc..
As the exam days approach, the butterflies in the stomach become all the more nauseating..there's anxiety writ all over that face of yours..."Kya Hoga ?????"
On the exam eve..you purchase the most stylish pen ..cost is not a factor ..after all it's the boards..
As you go off to sleep it's .."Papa pls wake me up in the morning at 4.30 ..."
The Kumbhakran by habit over the years is cautious now "What if I snooze the alarm and doze off to yet another round of sleep..that would be disastrous naa..the just too difficult to memorise devils have to be compulsorily revised"
Finally it's the D-Day ..the make or break moment..
you get so conscious and help yourself to yet another glass of water.
After the exams you simply refuse to discuss the paper with your friends "No discussions this time " is the verdict..
"I just wanna ensure that this inadvervent silly mistake doesn't creep in during the discussion and play spoilsport for the rest of my exams..."
So it's a season ..the season of so many 'first times' ..that will take you into the world of nostalgia whenever you want a few years down the line ..when your brother,son, grandson..have their brsuh with reality for the first time ..
This article of mine published in The Telegraph...Careergraph...Word Of Mouth ...4th of April,2001 encapsulates the way I felt after my board exams..
Here it goes..
"Surmounting the Boards challenge is really great"..exclaim all the students of our batch. For some the results are a gateway to the Hall of fame, others wait to study Science after that 80%,for yet more it's an ordeal that they've cleared somehow.The happiest part is that we've bid farewell to History, Geography...
Whether you want to study Shakespeare or not, whether you are interested in knowing what Lord Wavell proposed to Gandhiji or whether Sipu nadi flows from north-east to south-west or not, you have to master 3000 pages of the curriculum, solve 10 years papers, avoid playing and gossiping for at least two months and yet not utter a word in protest...that's preparing for the Board Exams
We've successfully overcome 11 tension laden days including the daunting Physics paper and now wait with great anticipation for June.Now we are the cynosure of all eyes.In a moment we may turn from heroes to zeroes or vice versa.Prizes await or punishment.It's tormenting.It's frustating.It's a harrowing experience preparing for ICSE 2001.Its mind boggling studying for hours together.Yet 183 students of DBL have got their act together and done it.Now the para addas are active again and the air is laden with a buzz of excitement.We're basking in the glory of being matriculates,subject to the results in June.Who'll feature in the toppers list???Who'll score how many '1' points( greater than 90 marks in a particular subject)?? Will anyone score 99s ??Lots of statistics!!Lots of celebrations or........!!!!
Come what may, we are prepared
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