Twenty Idiots

                                       
It was the second Sunday of April 2011. I was on invigilation duty in entrance examination of IIT Roorkee. Twenty candidates out of twenty-four allotted to the room, were present. IIT exam. has evoked a strange interest after Three Idiots.

I was keener to know the faces of prospective engineers in my room than they would have been in appearing for the examination.

The bell rang. Booklets were distributed in order. It started like any other exam. After some time, the environment became a little loose on their part. Out of them only six were seriously doing their part of exam, two candidates were serious in enacting the scene of being serious, actually they were not.

It appeared they didn't know anything and were passing time.

Six candidates were somewhat busy like average students doing their best as they could. One was passing time by looking at me and my colleague on duty in the same room. He would rotate his gaze as soon as one of us would see him doing so.

Two were bold enough to pass time looking outside the window. One was simply passing time by keeping his head down and relaxing.

Two of them were creative enough or were passing time creatively or could not resist but showing their creativity and passion.

One of them was making picture of, as was seen from that seat.

The other, a girl was making pictures of dresses on the blank page of her question booklet adding captions depicting her own emotions like 'A budding designer', 'Flop of dreams unlimited'.

Watching all this inside the examination room, I was thinking about Whose dreams? their parents', of the society or their own, still not able to come to the conclusion.

(An old post published now.)

My Inspirational Tree

This tree has been there in my records fro many years. I found it full of leaves after a long period of seeing it dry and almost dead.

It gives so much positivity.

Guess the place.

What Is Your Age?

Oh! What a question?

The only question in society that a person doesn't answer correctly, especially women, even if the other person is in a perfect position to know it accurately.

Why? Why do we hesitate to answer this question, that too correctly?

As we grow in years, we want to show ourselves younger and younger.

I remember, a few years ago, we were six in number, gossiping in free time. We were talking about the problems of growing age. One of my colleagues on the verge of retirement (retirement age being fifty-eight years) interrupted another one saying, "Whenever I make two braids of my hair, my husband says, you look so young, you can get married right now" normally indicating an age bracket of 18 - 22 years (as per her version).

Oh my God!

We all smiled sarcastically, knowing well how old she was at that time.

What I am noticing for the last few years, that as my birthday approaches, I become serious. Serious on the one hand and happy on the other.

Birthday presents make me happy? Nah.... people calling, me wishing me Happy Birthday.......that's it.

Then why do I get serious?

Oh! I am also nearing a certain age.

Every year I have tried to make one resolution or another to improve my life and lifestyle. For the last two years, It was to consider myself as I would be ,a decade back.

This serious issue occupies my mind only before or immediately after my birthday.

Otherwise, when I am among my students, I am a little older than them. Occasionally, I refer to my age indirectly, quoting the number of years for vouching my experience in dealing with the students' problems. But, no,never ever  had I revealed my real age.

When there is back ache due to standing for long hours, then 'Age' reminds me How old I am. Then again, I become serious.

When I find something new or colorful hobby on Instagram, Pinterest etc. instantly I go back on my timeline and find myself fresh and energetic.

Today, same thoughts have occupied my mind. I just googled, what is your age?

Ha ha.

This is what Google's search results revealed:

First link it provided: Age Test-It promised to calculate a person's real age.

I thought, "Why not try this one?"

On opening the test, first I found if any e-mail I.D. is required. No, It was not required. It paved the way ahead.

Then they suggested to answer various questions honestly and instantly to get the accurate result. I decided to go honestly. Even If the result declared by them is unfavorable, It would not be caught How old I am. They assured complete secrecy.

I performed it honestly. The result: Wow! 28 years...I just felt the same as I was at that age.

It encouraged me to go for one more test. It again offered a set of twenty multiple choice type questions. It was their instruction to choose one answer to each question which comes to your mind first.

The result: "You are 37 Years. "Wow! That's also good.

Then, went on to try the third. It revealed a shocking 62 years. No, this is not possible. Luck favored me this time, honestly telling, the screen shot could not be saved, and the window got closed instantly in this effort. Otherwise also, I am Not That old.

Then another test, wow again.

What else can give me so much happiness on the eve of my birthday? Now, no more tests to check my age.

Let me move to another section. Emotional age.

Oh! here, so many questions don't belong to me, have not been made for me, or I am not made for these questions. Let's leave this area.

Then comes the next. Then Macmillan's website offered test in learning of English language. There was a set of some multiple choice type questions along with images for each, one after the other,for each level. I crossed many levels and finally they announced Passed the Final Intermediate Level, congratulated me and asked me to browse their website now for next work.

This time not to inflate my confidence beyond reasonable level, again screen shot could not be saved and the window got accidentally closed.

But I am happy. I have decided to  answer this question happily ,honestly and accurately that I have struck half century.

(Old post published now.)

Spider Teacher

The title of this blog seems to be evoking an ugly scene of a spider, most people hate to see. But this spider became the center of attraction and a model for clicking pictures by my Nokia c5 camera. I happily use to click with, for uploading pictures on my Facebook account. 

One fine evening, I just went outside our drawing room to see something, When I saw this spider busy making the web. I had never watched a spider at such work, weaving a web.

 I just brought my cell phone and clicked a picture. Then clicked another picture. Then one more picture from another angle. Then another picture - when the full size of that spider was visible.

On coming in and showing the picture in my cell phone to all in the drawing room, everyone was keenly taken outside to watch that spider. One followed another, to view all this. Some more pictures were clicked.

It was within ten minutes that this spider turned out to be a 'model' from a lone creature. Soon I felt like a wildlife photographer.

I wondered, how a simple thing can turn out to be so interesting and a blog can be written.

I kept on thinking about the patience, artistic skills , concentration of that spider, that can only be viewed from the picture.

Above all, It reminded me a great story of a great king Bruce having learnt a great lesson of perseverance from this tiny creature.  

This is an old post published now.

Attitude Means a Lot

                                          

 
The idea of writing blog struck my mind again, after a long span of about 15 months. What to write? Then thought, some issue of common interest should be taken.

Ok, where there is a will there is a way. Yes, I think it's true. I was asked to take substitute period in class XII D. I eagerly went there to see that only 33 students were there, first good sign.

I entered the class and could understand the acceptance of my going to their class, by the students as they greeted me with a simple nod. I asked them to remain busy with their work (and let me be busy with my work (writing blog). After 2-3 minutes I took out a piece of paper from a register lying in the drawer of lecture stand and started scribbling on that.

I looked outside towards my right. What I see beautiful trees, one Guava tree and three Papaya trees loaded with unripe fruit. The tallest of the Papaya tree was hardly 6 feet, with its central leaves crumpled with some disease. Exactly under these trees, there were Kochia plants (may be some other, as I am not able to give the right spellings) thanks to the owner of the kitchen garden for maintaining such green spaces in the school campus, in the absence of which a person like me cannot breathe.

All this is necessary to break the monotony of nonstop teaching also.

Then, I looked towards my left side. From the door side, a classroom in the adjoining wing was seen. Inside the room, What I see, little children facing the results of frustration of the teacher as well as their parents. Why teacher-she has been handed over a brigade of about 50 fresh minds like clay, naughty enough to catch everything negative from the environment. Why parents - because they are too busy or too ignorant of their duties towards their children, of their good upbringing. 

Then again, I saw them, whom I was supervising, they were also too busy to know about what I was doing all about. 

Then I looked up - the roof, three fans humming.

3 fans, 33 students and 1 teacher are more than enough to create noisy environment. But no. There was no noise. At least it did not enter my ears. Then a bell rang asking me to move to my own class XII C, to teach my subject which I really enjoy. 

Moral:

1.Change the attitude according to the requirement.

2. You can write anything for blog If you want, provided your intentions are good.

3. If you want to do something, start at once, quality can be improved by experience.

This is a very old post, published now.

Facebook Addiction

                                       

 
It is a matter of shame for a literate person, who has not heard of Facebook, in case he owns a computer and got internet connection installed the matter is more shameful if he has not opened account on Facebook.

It is a status symbol to have an fb (nickname of this lovely friend) account, as no one wants to be tagged with the 'backward' in the modern times. Ok, now that you have opened an fb account, you should have a long list of friends, to show how powerful you are, how social you are, how influential you are.

Let's see how this process starts from one your sincere friend. Yes, he or she is there for genuine friendship, now his friend will send the request to you or vice versa through dear 'fb'.

Now, friend's friend will be the new link for more and more friends ....and this process continues till you realize your incapability to shoulder the burden of more friends. Some friends are there to lift your spirits, some are there for some specific reasons-studies, job etc.

But most of the friends are there only for entertainment, posting pictures of themselves, posting funny/serious/sentimental/status in need of satisfying the hunger for comments.

I also used to do all this but used to update the status only as per my current state of mind. However, I used to read others in my list. I also used to see others' pictures and of course comments. The comments showed purely a well thought out pattern rather than well felt pattern. The comments clearly showed a fake appreciation and criticism.

I kept on wasting my precious time on reading all this and writing comments where I genuinely felt interested. Rarely I could get any motivating experience from fb. So, I decided to deactivate my lovely fb account for how long even I don't know.

I saw the preview of this blog, during this brief time span I felt an instant urge to upload this blog on fb so that all in my list could see how literary I am... ha ha ha

This is very old post brought to life today.

Who Will Take Care of Them?

Who Will Take Care of Them?

In the journey of life, there comes a phase where school students of senior classes find themselves outgrowing the guidance of their parents and teachers. This period is marked by an increase in rights, a surge in energy, and a burgeoning intelligence that demands direction towards positive channels.

The question arises: who will ultimately take care of these students as they navigate this crucial juncture?

As adolescents traverse the intricate path between childhood and adulthood, their rights expand, often surpassing their level of knowledge, understanding, maturity, responsibilities, and etiquettes. This phenomenon can create a gap, leaving them seemingly unstoppable. 

It becomes imperative for society to step in and provide the necessary support and guidance to harness their potential in a constructive manner.

One of the key challenges lies in recognizing that these students possess a wealth of energy and intelligence that, if channeled correctly, can pave the way for a meaningful and fulfilling life. The responsibility to guide them does not solely rest on their parents or teachers, but it extends to the collective efforts of the community and educational institutions.

To address this, schools should evolve beyond traditional educational approaches. Instead of merely imparting academic knowledge, they must focus on holistic development, nurturing the emotional intelligence, critical thinking skills, and social awareness of students. This involves creating an environment that encourages curiosity, creativity, and the pursuit of knowledge beyond textbooks.

On the other hand, Parents need to adopt a supportive role, acknowledging the changing dynamics in their child's life. Open communication becomes paramount, allowing for the exchange of ideas and concerns. It is crucial for parents to understand that their role is not to control but to guide, facilitating the development of responsible and empathetic individuals.

Society as a whole should recognize the potential of these unstoppable students as future contributors to the well-being of their families and the prosperity of their motherland.

Beyond the educational institutions, Community initiatives, mentorship programs, and extracurricular activities can play a pivotal role in providing avenues for the constructive channeling of their energy. NGOs, counseling services, and mentorship programs can provide additional support to students facing challenges that extend beyond academic realms. 

These external resources act as bridge between the academic environment and the broader societal landscape, ensuring a more comprehensive approach to student well-being.

In conclusion, the Indian scenario demands a reevaluation of the roles played by parents, teachers, and society in nurturing the growth of senior school students. Adapting to the changing dynamics requires a collaborative effort to create an inclusive and supportive ecosystem that recognizes and addresses the evolving needs and rights of the unstoppable senior students.

Obviously, the overall expectation is from National Education Policy (NEP)2020 which has been designed to meet innumerable objectives including solution to the above-mentioned problems.