Friday, December 5, 2014

WHEN NAP EQUALED SLEEP...

          The first thought after completing the last examination of the third semester was to write this. But, home made the change. Eating and sleeping became the primary activities while Facebook and Whatsapp occupied the rest of the time. After getting accustomed to the home atmosphere, there was a picnic and finally now on the verge of my going back to college, there is no other day and I am forced to complete it today.
          Sleeping hours are never long in hostel life as most of the guys sleep at dawn and wake up some half – an – hour before class starts (Few people have got that talent to get ready even in the last five minutes) This regular habit has never been stressful as we used to get at least 4 to 5 hours of sleep. But the last fortnight of each semester never resembles the other normal days. EXAM FEVER!!!
          The affiliated colleges have strict schedule with some even allotting separate time in the name of Study Hour. But, the benefit of our University lies in the fact that we’re always left free with very trivial limitations (Of course, this triviality can take up its gigantic form, at times. But never mind!). The evilness of this benefit can be felt during the exams as none would’ve touched the book except during internals. Even internals can’t shake some stern guys, who must have vowed some day that they would turn the pages of a subject book only at the time of end semester.
          This time, the bad omen started on November 11, though the official date was November 10. The discrepancy lies in the fact that the Mathematics paper was easy (at least for The Mechanical Department). Crossing Math was an icing on the cake; my only fear was the lack of final preps as the day before was my birthday. I had to be online throughout the day as replying late for the wishes would hurt someone (Ok, here is the direct reason. It is the only day when girls would text me. At least by that way, I could develop conversations). I was relieved after 12:30 PM on Nov. 10th as I wouldn’t be involved in something full of numbers, apart from SuDoKu.
          However, that isn’t it. The second paper was like combating Timur Lenk in Samarkhand. Thermodynamics had to be finished, somehow. There were brief chit-chats in the hostel, after which almost everyone got into the business. Mugging up and getting screwed up with Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics is a bit different and much difficult from reading through Playing It My Way or The Alchemist. Thermodynamics is the only subject which requires ‘only’ one book to be read, containing not more than 800 pages (!!!) Seniors had already stated that nothing would be asked beyond that book. But what they meant was evident only during those last three days.
          Different reading habits of people came to the limelight in those good days. One would hold his breath, while continuously chanting some theory, like Shankar Mahadevan singing Breathless, and after 40 – 45 seconds, he would exhale for with a noise resembling that of an athlete, who had run 1500 meters; Another would be rocking his chest and head with his hand in order to provide an easy passage of answers into the brain; Some other guy would be reading with his ears shut with hands or an unconnected headset, in order to prevent external noise.
          There are some distinct peculiar cases in this regard. For example, the people staying at the adjacent room to ours would start preparing only in the afternoon of the last day before any exam, no matter how many days are given as holidays; One guy in the opposite wing would always lament in a sober and sorrowful tone that he couldn’t prepare and concentrate on the subject, although he would have finished three or four revisions by that time, apart from completely reading the book, including Contents, Prologue and Epilogue once; And, another would be spying the rooms all over the hostel to check if someone has read something, which he had no idea about, holding his mobile and pretending to be speaking with his mom; There is this guy, who would always take a break of an hour at around 11:30 PM to speak with his girlfriend.
          All these happened before Thermo and people could be seen roaming here and there from one wing to another to get rid of the doubts, which were nothing short of endless. The hostel typically resembled Chennai Central Railway Junction all the three days. We were fretting on who would be setting the question paper and how difficult it would be. Some, with low internal marks, even went to the extent of not opening the book, deciding it would be of no use.
          Finally, Nov. 14 arrived and as expected, whatever we skipped was asked. Finishing the exam was never the problem as after the first 30 minutes, I had completed what I knew. The remaining time was spent on preying here and there and hissing the person sitting before to show something he had written. Perhaps, it was an indication by the fate, slamming, “You’re not children anymore to celebrate Children’s Day. Suffer and go to hell!!” What was much more distressing was all our painstaking work had gone in vain, in a matter of three hours. November 13 was a historic day for cricket as Rohit Sharma brutally defeated Sri Lanka by 13 runs single – handedly. The students of the Computer Science department were enjoying the entire match, as theirs was a comparatively easy examination, taking Thermo as reference. We could witness Rohit’s assault only in the last stages, when he crossed 180 or so. The very next day, one man, the question paper setter, had assaulted us cruelly as a one – man army.
          The intensity of the aftermath was such that someone who said he would just pass was taken into task with full flurry of bad words. Friends from adjacent hostels curiously enquired about the Sivarathri, as all the lights in each and every room of two floors, which are occupied by the Mech students were kept switched on throughout the night before exam. I slept only 2 hours, for which one of my friends exclaimed, “Two hours! Fuck you, I slept for only 45 minutes.” We had become followers of Virus, who would take a power nap of 7 ½ minutes. The blabbers and abuses went on for the whole day after which the full hostel behaved as if the all the exams had been completed.
          Everyone slept the whole evening and some didn’t wake up even for dinner. The next hurdle was Electronics. (I always wonder why, in the name of Gospel, we are made to study subjects of other depts even after entering second year, while the others have to study only the subjects that is most related to them) Thinking of Thermo, this was nothing and so we didn’t complain. The questions received mixed response, with the majority giving Thumbs Up. Following it up came Electrical Engineering which got the same kind of reception as the previous one.
          Kinematics of Machines was up on the cards and there was only one day (Even if there were three or four days, our degree of preparation would be the same. Yet, this lack of holidays can be stated as reason for scoring low marks during the time of result). This is a subject that can range from easy to diabolical, depending upon the staff handling it. Upon God’s grace, we got a staff whose questions would always be easy or moderate. This was sailed with few hiccups.
          The last in the list was Fluid Mechanics. The disadvantage of the final paper is that we become set to get back to our respective hometowns that the prep always goes in a slumber. There are two batches (or sections, as in school) of Mechanical and I belong to the second batch. People of the other batch had already experienced the inhuman nature of the subject and they were making hardcore preparations, while we people of the second batch, didn’t know the other face of the coin and were enjoying the first day (The internal question paper given to the other batch seemed Greek and Latin to us and they mocked us by stating our internal paper for Fluid Mech was like learning alphabets). A shocking revelation came to the center of attraction only when the syllabus book was opened; many parts of it weren’t covered. The staff couldn’t be made criminal as we mass – bunked many of his classes and there was this IV thing, which entirely washed a week of working hours away.
          We had to bang our heads in walls and tables and somehow finished the last hour prep. Our only hope of our staff (the Professor in charge of the second batch) setting the paper plummeted and boomeranged on seeing the first half of the question paper. It was set in such a way that every question could be answered only partially. Since the time to rejoice was fast approaching, nobody cared about the level of difficulty and mobs of young men were leaving the halls in a hurry in the first hour itself, eager to get back in the first bus or train they could see.
          After completing the last leap, we were extremely tired and exhausted but wanted to be ecstatic and jubilant to the core. There was music everywhere as the speakers roared Danga Maari Oodhari and Merasalaayiten. Sounds of o podu and hoo – haa echoed and resonated around the vast campus and finally, we were free to heave a sigh of relief.
          Returning to the native place, more shock awaited as the truth that none of my friends, mostly from the affiliated colleges, were taking up the exams only then, affected me. Staying without your friends idly at home is worse than reliving those examination days, perhaps. What say?

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