Read Exam Fever - Part 1 - Burning the midnight oil
I Promise
3.00 a.m.
The rains
seem to be abating a little I notice with alarm. ‘How can you, ye Gods? This is
the first time I am asking something of you. I have faith in you; maybe it’s
still raining heavily in Sector-9. Please let it keep raining. I’ll study day and
night henceforth. 10 hours a day, nay, 20 hours a day shall I study and walk
all the way to Siddhi Vinayak wearing
only one chappal,’ I vow.
With this
fervent appeal, I attack with renewed vigor the dreaded mounds of knowledge. I
pick out a slim stapled bunch and look at the theorem in front of me. They
expect me to comprehend and reproduce this gargantuan piece? How come I don’t
have the faintest recollection of having come across this stuff? I peer more
intensely at the notes. The handwriting is not that of any of my usual
notes-sources. I am smart that way! At the bottom right hand corner of the last
page, I spy the name of the notes-creator. Hmm, the name doesn’t ring a bell…yes
something is wrong. I finally deduce that these must belong to my brother, two
years my senior. Cursing him under my breath for messing up my notes, I
segregate the treacherous set of notes; mentally marveling that my brother has bigger
horrors to deal with.
Ahh, the
next bunch seemed promising, I know everything! My hands flick one page after
another with amazing speed; my deflated ego, bolsters a mite at having studied
something so well. A doubt niggles. I look at the date on the notes, they are
dated a year ago. Who on earth mixed trashed, last year’s notes with my carefully
sorted current study bundles? My mind wanders to last evening’s fight with my
brother. But even by his standards, this kind of sabotage is too devious!
Arghhh…just my kind of luck!
3.34 a.m.
A trip to
the balcony informs me that the rain Gods haven’t heeded my prayers. The sky
that had been pregnant with possibilities has aborted the mission and crushed
my hopes.
I return
to my study table. Anxiety and despair at rebuttal from the rain Gods, fuel me
with a new kind of energy, one determined to even out the odds against me! I
decide on a new course of action. In fact I wonder why I hadn’t thought of this
earlier.
The
Question Bank! I will simply go through this treasure trove which carries question
papers and their solutions from the last five years. Why pore over countless
pages of useless information, simply concentrate on the questions that are
regurgitated year after year! Brainwave, this!!
I breeze
through one set. It is rather easy to answer questions when they are
accompanied by the solutions. My effortless run makes me itch for a challenge.
I decide to attempt the next question set without looking at the answers. This
attempt reminds me of a scene from my favorite Bollywood movie, ‘Lagey Raho Munnabhai’. I seem to have
been afflicted by some kind of a ‘chemical locha’
wherein my brain responds to questions only when the answers are known or
accessible. Without access to the answers, I know nada! I am well and truly in a soup!
4.15 a.m.
I need
some cheering, like desperately. Food usually comforts me but tucking into another
bowlful of curd isn’t appealing. I contemplate between waking mom for a cup of
tea and making one myself. A bit of diversion will no doubt refresh me and of
course the tea will keep me awake. So I potter around the kitchen and in a
jiffy produce a brew much more fragrant than anything my mother concocts. I
must tell her to make this…ermm…yes, Chamomile tea, it really is exotic! I take
the cup upto my room and make myself comfortable on the bed. It doesn’t taste as
good as it smells but still nothing beats the feeling of a warm cuppa on a
lonely, rainy night. My eyes are red and itchy after poring over the mountains
of notes. The rains have started pelting once again and their steady beat
soothes my jangled, tensed nerves, slowly and steadily as formulas, diagrams,
equations fly past me at a dizzying rate.
8.01 a.m.
The
sudden, jarring grate of the mixer from the kitchen has me waking with a jerk
and a palpitating heart! I snatch up the blasted bedside clock, knocking over
the tea cup and staring at the time in horror! The day outside looks bright and
sunny. So much for my prayers, no dawa nor dua can save me now!
‘God,
help me through this one,’ I chant desperately, jumping out of bed, hurrying
through my toilette and grabbing my exam paraphernalia.
Mom is in
the kitchen as usual, busy with breakfast, while dad and big bro are arguing
over the newspapers. I can’t believe that these people are having a routine day
oblivious to the trials I’ve been through the previous night or the disaster
looming ahead of me.
I ignore
the tantalizing smells of Aloo paratha wafting from the breakfast table and avoid meeting mom’s eyes that are
following me. With the courage of a soldier off on a “Mission Impossible”, I hurriedly
mutter a goodbye and make my way to the door, muting out mom’s plaintive calls
asking me to sit down for breakfast. Such civilian niceties were not for me; I am
off on a battle I can’t hope to win.
As I am
about to slam the door shut, I hear dad asking mom, ‘Isn’t it a holiday for
everyone today?’
‘No one
tells me anything these days,’ Mom starts off. ‘Who’s been having my Dream Sleep
tea and leaving the box open?’
I stop
dead on my tracks. HOLIDAY?? I snatch up my bag and pull out the exam time
table.
Who makes
these absurd, NO, thoughtful exam timetables?
All I
understood is I can die another day! Today Aloo
Paratha beckons.
‘I promise, I promise, I promise God, I'll be better prepared, next time
around!’
Phew!! Nina sure has some wacky experiences and memories tucked away in her diaries!
Phew!! Nina sure has some wacky experiences and memories tucked away in her diaries!
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Read other stories from Nina's World:
14. Home Shanti Home
Disclaimer: All the characters in the Nina's World series
are fictional, any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental
and unintentional.
Copyright © 2017 KALA RAVI