Stuck again in exams!

School life has every one of us yearning for more of the same time in our life back again. Heck! Some of us are plain enchanted never to let go of the time of our lives spent in the brick-red and beige compound of the school campus. We have a lot of memories of the contented past of St. Vincent`s Convent School carved out of steel in the form of an arc with a metal board by its side with the listing of the school`s timing on its front side and the line ‘Avoid Casual Sex’ on its back. I bet you haven’t forgotten that yet.

Well, spending 13 years of my childhood in the school, there were at least 39 times during which I had a feeling of nausea, gloom and terror on my face. Yep! The 3 terminal exams each year. But each time I came out alive! I must be Hercules!

Common guys! I am not the only one who`s been through this phase! To tell the truth, I had been run down by fever in the months of August, November and March… every year! My mum was naturally worried about this exceptional disease I had contracted. The doc prescribed me 6 bottles of a syrup I had to drink thrice everyday! Miraculously, my ‘disease’ had gone for good after the full course of gulping them down one by one. It was then my mum told me that I probably had fever due to my exams because inconspicuously it always started on the day they begun and always ended with the last exam. I was appalled…and amused at the same time. There have had been no problems after that though, leaving me with no excuse to offer whatsoever for my deteorating percentages! What a sham!

But seriously, I still reckon those days when I went to write my exams dressed hurriedly, with neatly ‘champak’ styled hairdo, perched on my cycle, pedaling furiously to reach at the time after which the guard wouldn`t let me in. Interestingly, the scenario of a situation like that always captured my mind. Hey! How many do u remember?

1.       Demanding new pencils, erasers, sharpeners and rulers before every terminal.

2.      A pack of new crayons or water colours before each Drawing exam.

3.     A new geometry box, neatly arranged with a sticker at the back telling it is yours.

4.     Ink pens and Gel pens all refilled and quenched because of the threat that the teachers wouldn`t give any marks if we wrote with a ballpoint pen.

5.     Your mum constantly nagging you to Read! Read! Read!

6.      Memorizing the poems for the questions in the 2^nd optional.

7.      Your tuition master bent on making you swallow all the notes as a whole so that you can puke it in the paper all in one go.

8.    Writing the names of the poets and their works on the pitch-board and on the palms for Hindi/Oriya paper…”Ye panktiya kis kavita se li gayi hai? Kavi ki vyakhya kijiye.” God! I hated those questions!

9.      Playing cricket with the pitch-board and a plastic ball in the 1 hour recess between 2 sittings.

10.   Bringing 2-5 rs for mixture, puchka or ice-cream during that time.

11.  Messing with your rickshaw-wallahs.

12.   In the exam hall; turning around and seeing who the hell needed the 1^st additional for the day.

13.   Going to the toilet on purpose just to see who was doing what in their respective classes and then exchanging giggles on the way back.

14.  Sneaking chits out from below the pitch-board, from your socks, shoes, the hollow inner of your necktie, your belt and hell yeah- from your underwear as well!

I was caught a certain time in class 6 trying to copy answers from a friend. The invigilator, a new teacher, wrote down my name on a piece of paper and then took me to our principal. Our principal called me in her office and asked me why I cheated.  I told her frankly that I had a weakness in the subject and feared that I wouldn`t do well if I had not done so. I was expecting a rather rough ride ahead with her threatening to call my parents. But I guess my lucky stars were all aligned correctly that day. As my punishment, I heard this from her,” Come, join your hands and pray that you wouldn`t do it again.” Hell yeah I was going to do it again if I knew the punishment would be this!

15.  Ever called your friend for copying his answers and realizing that the teacher was watching you the whole time without a comment?

16.  And then after the final exam being over, waiting near the mango tree or the cycle stand for every one to assemble and then discuss the plans for the next 15 days to come.

It`s fascinating to notice how granted these events were in those times; today somebody had to point them out to rejoice them…once again. Adios school days; the exams especially.