Battles Are Forever

Okays, contrary to what I said on Facebook, am back with a new post- Bang!
Currently am at Jamshedpur, my mother's home town. The atmosphere is quite good here. Am eager to visit XLRI. You know, every once in a while, I am going to take break from this serious stuff, and write something personal, maybe. But as for now, here is another topic for you all- Our Obsession with marks.


Right from the start of our school days, we are judged on our performance, by the basis of marks- considered as the greatest yardstick available to mankind. I am sure you must have lost count of the number of tests you have given, and will give in future. There seems to be no end for them. Of course tests are essential, and I wont go into any debate( Let Kapil Sibal do that, maybe he will stop 12th board exams next).


But the thing, is these tests create competition. An insane competition to succeed. To become the best. To beat your opponent. And smell the sweet flavour of victory. But this feeling often takes a disastrous toll on the student, especially when he/she is young. A healthy competition is fine, and no student in India is unaware of this fact. Come on, there is competition anywhere and everywhere. You cannot avoid it. You need to work hard and give your best, and leave the result upto God. Instead of worrying about the result and the marks. Except of course, we humans do exactly the opposite. We keep worrying till all our hair drops out in anxiety, or we literally tear it off our head. Sometimes, our parents do the same. 'Whats gonna happen if I dont get 99% marks this time?' 'What if I marked the answer of that 0.5 mark question wrongly?' 'What if that XYZ scores better than me this time? What will I do?' 'What if I dont get into IIM A? What face will I show to my parents? (I know the answer to this one-'Obviously your own.')


Since long back, Lord Krishna has remarked, 'Karma kar, Fal ki chinta mat kar.' (I apologise if thats not the exact translation, but it loosely signifies the same) or Keep Working, do not worry about the result. But do we really do it? I doubt it. Even before we actually give an exam, we start worrying about the marks we will get(later). Before we sit for any competitive exams, our mind contains hundreds of negative thoughts, mostly relating to failure to qualify in such an exam. It has been scientifically prooved that excessive worrying causes health problems, as well as ruins your efficiency. So why are you bothering so much on the results, when you should be thinking more about the exams itself. If you are a hard working, and have prepared your course diligently, there is no cause for concern. And even if you are a hopeless good-for-nothing student, there is still no cause for concern. After all, you are going to fail either way. Why crack your head over it?

Jokes apart, I have seen many students, becoming 'marks' fanatics. They are completely obsessed with scoring high marks. Even a difference of 1 mark is like the difference between Heaven and Hell, for them. Parents are also to blame for this. I have personally seen parents of many young students, going to school and arguing with the teachers, as to why their ward has scored low marks(mind you, its low according to them, the child may have scored 89 out of 100, for all that matter) in so and so subjects, whereas some other student has scored better. This situation is indeed pathetic. Nowadays, we live in an era, where marks are literally thrown for students to catch, in bundles. You may have read in the newspapers that students are getting 96-99% marks total, regularly. Marks have lost their value. A few decades ago, a student getting 60% was considered as a genius. Now, he will just be considered as a below average or poor student, since majority of the students(including non-deserving ones) are scoring above 90% regularly(especially in CBSE, and ICSE boards). So naturally there is cut-throat competition between the students. Everyone wants to score the highest. Feelings of hostility result as a consequence. Teachers blatantly overlook this situation. The competition is anything but healthy or sanguine.


But, frankly, how does it matter if one guy scores 91 in one subject, and the other 92? Does this mean that the one who got 92 is far better than the other? Rubbish. Its our mentality that needs to change. And we need to start early, from the basic school level. Parents need to encourage children to participate in all activities, including studies, but not get carried away by marks(unless they are indeed scoring very less). Marks is the least efficient technique to measure a person completely, I personally feel. (Recollect Taare Zameen Par) But sadly, all schools, universities, colleges, companies, etc, seem to think otherwise. I wish they would consider the other parameters of a person as well, before eliminating him/her on the basis of marks alone.


I can recall a situation, when the mother of one of my friends, went into an uproar, when my friend stood second instead of first. She caused a hangama in the school, and almost made the teacher go crazy. Poor guy, he was totally embarrased. This ranking system should be abolished, first of all. In fact, many young students have committed suicide after failing in their exams. (Some actually killed themselves just on the basis that they thought they would fail, even before the result was declared- just imagine the pathos). And countless others tend to go into depression just by scoring less. Parents scold them mercilessly which debauches their situation even more. This is one of the prime reasons, why so many people are afraid of failures. Remember, no person can truly become successful, before he tastes the enigma of failure.


Anyways, I have typed a lot for now, and must go for lunch, before my own mother causes an uproar(just kidding, she rarely, if ever does that).

See you all soon, again...

and a yeah, a Special thanks to all the guys who are reading and posting their comments in my blog. I am really grateful.

Adios!