An exam to remember

Exam days could have been testing times during academic life for many. Now that most of us have graduated, not necessarily always with flying colors, it shows we have managed to withstand the test of time. Nevertheless, an exam as an adult assesses how much we have grown beyond exams as grown-ups. I had one such opportunity and so was it for every batch mate of mine who had opted for a yoga course at a Bengaluru varsity.

I don’t think anybody was concerned with an impressive scorecard or wanted to secure the first rank. Passing or reasonable marks could have topped the priority chart for a majority of candidates. It was distance education and people came from far off to appear for examination spending a lot of time, energy and yes, money as well. So, everybody kept no stone unturned to ensure things fell in place and everything moved swiftly. Given the ‘magnanimity’ of subjects and efforts everyone took to reach there, the exam-oriented approach was perfectly justified to an extent.

Everybody was on the same page irrespective of professions, age brackets and demographical backgrounds. From group studies, hooking on books in quiet corners, referring to last examination papers, offering testimonials of past students to reading notes till the last moment, it all resembled any board exam environment. I enjoyed it up to a point it reminded me of my school days but I kept reminding myself, the exam was to test wisdom and not intellect.

Do we really grow beyond books? This question haunted me, as exam dates were nearing. At home, it was difficult (though not impossible) to ask too much time for studies while as a professional, it was not on. I wasn’t sure if I could finish off even glancing through the books till the exam date drew close. Yet, I decided to refrain from rote learning and that little time appeared to be a plenty.  It was a conscious choice, so I thought it would be better to imbibe than parroting.

It doesn’t matter how many summers we see; exam-oriented approach shows we haven’t tanned it out. Hair could be grey, but the student in us is so green that it doesn’t allow us to become a learner. From childhood to adulthood, a lot of water had flown from under the bridge but maybe, that exam fear is still rock-solid somewhere deep down in our minds. At times, it was very immature like people walking in late or even found cheating.

Many of the course participants were trying to switch to yoga from their current profession and this was like crossing a Rubicon and examination was the least challenge in the scheme of things.  Yes, I wasn’t an exception but every time when ‘typical’ exam approach woke up in me, I put it on local anesthesia. Yes, one thing that struck me that, yoga is a science to turn inward and had we lived up to its true purpose, our pens could have tuned into philosopher’s stones.  

-KanChan   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Living Alternatively: A Blog Series with Those Exploring a Different Way of Life Caught in the midst of meeting professional deadlines, family and social commitments, and securing our future emotionally and financially, most of us seem to have embraced stress and the rising insecurities of modern-day life as the new normal. However, we try to walk that thin line; balance eludes most of us as life slips through our hands. While catastrophes like limited resources, climate change, conflicts, and the sword of war hanging between countries can strike us unheralded, a minimalist life or an alternative way of living seems like a myth. This new blog series seeks to interact with those who have been 'leading a different way of life.' Natural Rhythm of Life: Chitra Nandan Let's start with Chitra Nandan, a humble, unassuming person who loves to explore places, nature, and people. Self-proclaimed friend of nature, we would often mistake her simplicity and introvertedness fo...
Read more

Old Monk in New Bottle

Image
And the mystical monk landed on the shores of the Wiseland, which he had left four decades ago in the pursuit ‘Enlightenment’   A sea of people had come to receive him… what if ‘atheist’ government had issued orders to ban monasteries and forced many ‘monks’ like him to return to their motherland… This mystical monk was sure of the ‘grand reception’ in the Wiseland, his motherland… He had hoisted his sails when the wind was just right… The monk had harbored the thoughts of offering sermons and discourses to the men of Wiseland as he guessed they would be in the need of ‘Wise words from the mystical man’ He had prepared to talk about Life, God, Spirituality, Relationships, Meditation, Laws, Beauty and Death ‘Wait, hear us out before you speak, said the First Citizen of the Wiseland ‘We have heard a lot of discourses. We know Sermon on the Mountain. We have heard of Vedas and yes, also read the ‘Prophet’ by The Kahlil Gibran’…. ‘We are a civilized country. We are li...
Read more

In good faith

It’s no child’s play to keep a tradition going and if one breaks, it comes as a rude shock. Dramatic closure of Britain ’s 168-year-old tabloid, News of the World, has stunned the world. It hurts even more knowing the reason. Facing allegations of illegal phone hacking of a murdered girl, rape victims, families of dead soldiers, politicians and celebs, the revered British tabloid will print its last edition on Sunday, July 10, free of advertisements, focusing maximum on content. Media baron and owner Rupert Murdoch maintains that given the enormity of scandals and owing to mounting public pressure, closure is the only way out… How does it look? Is it just another incident? I cannot look at it that way. No, not only because it’s concerned to my fraternity. When I look at it from humanitarian point of view, I can see that the entire chain of events has wider, deeper and vaster implications. A lot is happening behind the curtains and when I say this, I am not limiting myself to the incide...
Read more