#Paperleak will give way to a generation of war-hardened monks

BENGALURU: We are bombarded with news everyday, through television channels that operate round the clock, newspapers printing realms of updates and analysis, and through social media that gives us a filtered opinion about issues. Some news reports fly past you without causing a flutter. But others keep you up at night. I read one such heartbreaking news recently - 10th standard kids have to retake their Board Exam, as there were reports that the paper had been leaked.

There is no greater fear in a child’s mind than appearing for board exams. Long before the exam, you are told horror stories, of how people who flunk their board exams end up working in tea stalls. You are also made to hear tales of how, children who aced their board exams are now IAS officers - doing their family, nation and the entire solar system proud.

As board exams dates come closer, the atmosphere at home resembles that of a war zone. You are quarantined in a room, given books, and asked to stay away from the world. Cable connection is cut off and siblings are asked to stay away from you.

Even your school, which was the hub of all the fun and frolic in the world, suddenly takes on a sombre feel. Friends who had studied and played together for more than a decade are divided into groups called ‘brilliant students,‘good students’ and ‘special class’.‘It’s just a matter of these few months, and you can have as much fun as you want for the rest of your life’- bigger lies have rarely been spoken in the history of mankind!

You are led to the exam hall with your parents handing you final words of encouragement, a water bottle, and a banana. The examination centre has all the cheer of a concentration camp, and you wouldn’t be surprised if someone asked you what you wanted for your last meal. You go through this ordeal for each and every subject you’re taught.

And then, the euphoria of finishing the last exam! Throwing away the papers and celebrating- innocent to the fact that you’d be amidst books in only a few weeks. You experience the strange sensation of having aged years in the last few months - of stepping into the world of grownups even though the gillette razor is still light years away.

The horizon looks bright with prospects of summer vacations and afternoons of playing cricket.All of this comes to a standstill. Only to be kicked in the gut and then told that you have to take the exam again! And not any subject - Mathematics! That fearsome, all-conquering Chengis Khan of a subject that you must stand and face in battle all over again. It could have been Hindi or Social Studies. But it had to be Mathematics.

Millions of kids around the country have to buy rough copies again, dust off the text books, and sit down by their desk at night all over again. I don’t know much about examinations or mathematics. But this much I am sure of – this batch of kids will will grow up to be war-hardened. They will learn about the unpredictability of life. That one must never celebrate too early. I dare say we might get a number of monks in the country in another decade, all thanks to a few crooks who decided to leak the paper. Good luck with the battle, kids! I hope you return from the battle hale and hearty!
          
 (The author is a writer and comedian)