acads...

i spoke to a school teacher of mine today. Mrs. Jayashree... the moment you look at her you know that that is what you want to be when you grow up. the amount of grace, beauty and kindness she portrays is unexplainable. she has been one of the major influences in my life. she was the one who first commended my writing skills. so of course i wont ever forget that. many a times we would stop her in the corridor and begin a conversation that would cover all topics from politics, history, poetry and what not... thank you Mrs.Jayashree for all that you have brought into my life! they dont make teachers like her anymore. its the old school... and oh so valuable! i pity the new generation for their loss... i really do.

i have also spent some time with a schoolmate of mine. she was a kid then, 4th class, when i passed out of school. she told me that my school now had an iit foundation course and students were being forced to join it. i felt awful. i was thinking that my school will forever remain those old world heavens. but the grind has crossed the convent walls also. will they never leave? i myself went to a foundation course. i don't regret it, but that wasn't in school. school was our learning paradise. in St.Ann's i grew as a person, all around, all sectors. the acads never pressurized me. i studied and played at the same time. i understand that as time goes on the stress starts acting on younger and younger kids. its stupid! I'm sure no one who has been through this grind will ever recommend it to someone else.

then again... i am of the group that believes in all round development. i believe in reading books, developing arts, wasting time over extra curriculars... i think at the end of the day these matter. not just your acad excellence... yes acads matter. they definitely do. but not to the extent of forgetting everything else. marks never made sense to me( okay i confess was near the top at school... never worked with that aim though). which was perhaps why i never made it into an IIT. i still believe in studying at my pace, on my terms. i study and understand things my way. i cant survive in a corporate college and get lost in the crowd.

i don't see why our new generation, our brilliant new minds should be sent through this torture. i know loads of students who have gone through the grind, and they hate every bit of it. they promise themselves that never again! but it just doesn't happen... this damn society will get to them. it will... no matter what! what is it that it wants in the end? there are loads of the best minds in our country who are squashed in this game and end up in death. suicides in IITs. suicides, everywhere, anywhere, during exams. does it make sense? LIFE... to be thrown off for a mark sheet? shame on you society! it is you just you who is driving us crazy! we cant keep up to your expectations. give us some breathing space. some space to live...

in 'the bridge across forever' richard bach says "anyone desperate enough for suicide should be desperate enough for creative extremes to solve problems: elope at midnight, stow away on the boat to New Zealand and start over, do what they always wanted to do but were afraid to try." all you pals who wanna give up on life... please think about for a moment. is it worth it? its your life buddy... no matter what the others say and expect. you are the mastery of your destiny. what ever the problem... it will be okay... you can work it out. even if all seems lost today... there is another tomorrow. please think about it. failure isn't the end of the world. it could always mean a new beginning and you have to be able to make that new start...