You wake up with your alarm clock shrieking. Oh, what a dream! Wait, a dream? Ha! A nightmare would be an understatement! Trying to coax your poor little heart out of its current frantic state, you manage to do some last-minute revision before rushing to the examination center.
The scene is pretty much the same as that of the dream, but in reality, you happen to know most of the answers, fortunately. Now, if only you could attempt all the questions within the given time, your neck is saved for the day.
Although you usually mind your own business, you aren’t unaware of the occasional whispers around you, owing to a couple of students who’re taking their exams in a rather unfair manner, deftly dodging the watchful eyes of the invigilators. Oh, but who cares? It’s their life, after all. However, as you get back to your job, you can’t help feeling a twinge of injustice and defiance.
Well, day one is finally over. You promise yourself that you’re going to give yourself one less thing to worry about by not checking or comparing any answer that you’ve written in the exam so far. Alas! The moment you step out of the examination center, your sense of self-regard kisses you a heartfelt goodbye as you come face to face with the harsh fact that there’s a sudden strike and you’ll have to go home on foot. “Bon Voyage,” you mutter to yourself as you start walking in the scorching midday sun, right across the city, feeling tired, hungry, deprived of sleep, and not to mention, exceedingly irritated.
You go through the same theory. Again. And you curse it from the depths of your soul. Again. Seriously, why did it have to be so confusing? And on reflecting on the bygone year, why did you have to miss your class on the day of this particular lecture? You shake your head wistfully. No time for regret when there’s so much left to do. Your eyes are glued back on your textbook. Nonetheless, ‘Mission Revision’ is abruptly halted, thanks to an integral part of the Nepali lifestyle – load shedding.
Groping around in the darkness, you light a candle after discovering that the inverter doesn’t have enough charge to keep itself running. After hours of toiling, you make a complaint to whatever invisible force is ruling the world from up there before calling it a day with two itchy eyes and one throbbing head.
The endless string of exam papers drag on and on. Eventually, your brain becomes a temporary storehouse of information after cramming a yearlong syllabus of study materials, a
large portion of which would most certainly evaporate into oblivion the moment you step out of the examination hall after being done with the said paper.
You get crankier with each passing day, and the fact that the one movie you’ve been simply dying to watch is released in the midst of all this chaos isn’t helping at all. The newspapers are apparently flooding with reviews, and the only people who seem to have not watched it yet are yourself and your classmates. Well, at least you aren’t alone in this! The thoughts of your classmates, however, bring your attention back to the matter at hands – exams! You can’t afford to waste any more time thinking about anything else. But before returning to the familiar world of textbooks, you allow yourself the luxury of another random thought –Was Maya Angelou only thinking about racism and gender discrimination when she penned the famous words “I know why the caged bird sings”?
After what seems like an eternity, you finally submit the last answer sheet, with a triumphant smile. Kudos! You survived yet another exam! After an extremely uncomfortable journey in an overflowing public bus through the sluggish traffic of Kathmandu, you finally reach home, only to get reacquainted with a mirror after what seems like ages. The person that stares back at you is pale and ruffled, with dark circles under the eyes, and has lost some weight (which is probably a perk considering that you’ve actually been trying to lose a few ounces, anyway.) And putting on rosy spectacles, you can safely say that luckily none of the exam papers were cancelled or postponed for any reason.
Examinations were invented to test the aptitude and skills of students on the basis of the answers they provide within a definite amount of time so as to determine whether or not they are qualified to be promoted to the next level. The mark sheets are milestones since students are evaluated according to the marks scored. Touché!
But practicalities aren’t as simple and straightforward as the theoretical concept. In practice, there are several other factors; for instance, the psychologies of everyone involved, the environment, the course structure, and the examination system itself that have to be taken into account.
Nevertheless, life’s getting back on track. Results will be out only after a few months, and it’s another story that they would, of course be preceded by a sleepless night or two. Anyway, for the time being, you deserve your share of rest and relaxation.
Your exams are over, you’re slimmer, you’ve the tickets for the much-awaited movie, and there are some social gatherings to attend as well. At this instant, life seems like a piece of Black Forest cake, and you want to savor every moment. The exam fever has gone away, and you fall into a blissful, dreamless slumber. Perfect! That’s all you ask from life for the moment! Period!
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