Relating exams to...."Mythology"!

Exams, exams! They’re a terror. And I just needed a break from my studies when this idea of relating certain aspects of exams to certain events, characters etc. in the Indian mythology, popped up in my mind. Here are a few analogies.

1. THE COURSE: the course is just like the way to Lanka, which Ram travelled to get Sita back, with so many hardships, and the most problematic hardship being the vast ocean between Kanyakumari and Lanka. The ocean was crossed only when the ‘Ram Setu’ was built. Hence, the course is like a vast ocean made up of subjects, with a huge wave of six new subjects to be faced every semester. And this vast ocean can only be crossed with the help of some such ‘Ram Setu’.

2. THE EXAM: The exam, or the ‘pariksha’ (as it is known in Hindi/Marathi), could be related to the ‘Agni Pariksha’ that Sita had to go through to prove her sanctity. The exams that we go through are no less. It is proved that you have studied only when you pass these exams…oops! I mean ‘Agni Parikshas’. The only difference here is that Sita had to go through this just once. We, the students, have to go through it more often.

3. THE QUESTION PAPER: The question paper is just like the ‘Chakravyuh’. Only adept people can ‘easily’ solve the question paper.

4. THE TEACHER/THE QUESTION PAPER-SETTER: The teacher or the question paper setter is like Krishna, for he/she provides you with guidelines to go about the exams, just like Krishna provides guidelines to go about life in the ‘Bhagvad Gita’, The teacher could also be related to Krishna because he/she provides you with a question paper as long as “Draupadi’s Sari”.

5. THE RESULT DAY: The result day is the day of a face-off between the teacher and the students. Hence, this is simply relatable to the day the Kurukshetra war began or the day Ram and Ravana came face to face for a war. This is the day that creates history. I better not mention who takes the role of Kauravas/Ravana and who takes the role of Pandavas/Ram. No controversies, Please!

6. THE DEGREE: The degree is just like the “parrot’s eye” which Arjuna aimed. So, when the teacher asks you, “What do you see while you aim for the degree?” you should simply reply, “I see the degree only”.

7. And finally, WE-THE STUDENTS: The students are the sufferers. Hence, they can be related to Sita and Draupadi. But well, we would love to take up the role of Kumbhkarana and just sleep peacefully!

Travelling

      The other day, I came across a quote. The quote said, “Travel. As much as you can. As far as you can. As long as you can. Life’s not meant to be lived in one place.” I totally agree with this quote. Travelling is something that provides you experiences, that gifts you memories that you can treasure and you can cherish lifelong. But well, is travelling only confined to packing bags, reaching the destination, discovering the tourist attractions of that particular place, satisfying your taste buds with the delicacies the place has to offer, clicking lots of pictures, packing up and coming back home and exclaiming ‘ghar toh ghar hota hai!’ , and then probably writing a travel account? Is that all travelling offers? Is that travelling all about? Well, I believe that’s NOT what travelling is.

        All of us, whenever we travel, do come across solitary moments. Moments where there is only you but there is nature to accompany you.

       When you go for boating late in the evening in complete darkness, even though there are people around you, you only feel the flow of cold water as soon as your hand slips into the water. You only feel the light of the stars- stars that fill the sky, and you feel complete silence! Now that’s something travelling has offered me.

       When there is a waterfall a few kilometers away, the music of the gushing water, late at night- a silent night, seems like a lullaby. That’s something travelling has offered me.

       Early in the morning, when you step out of a tent, in a desert, in the month of November, the drops of water falling from above, that touch your skin, that feel as cold as ice, those which make you go numb. That’s something travelling has offered me.

      I have travelled very little, and hence, I don’t have many experiences to describe.

      But, another question, rather questions, keep popping up in my mind, when I talk about travelling.

      When we listen to our favorite music, the journey that takes place from the beginning of that particular music track to the end of it; isn’t that travelling? Travelling through our favorite music?

     The journey that takes place when we read a book, from the very first page to the last page; isn’t that travelling? Travelling through words?

      The journey that takes place when we meet people; From a person being unknown to us to that same person being completely known. Isn’t that travelling? Travelling through the souls of different people?

      And most importantly, the journey of our life. From the time of our birth to the moment we breathe our last. Isn’t that travelling? Travelling through our own life, to know ourselves better?

    It is rightly said- “Life is a Journey”, because, I believe that every moment we are travelling. And hence, for me, travelling is not a hobby. It’s an experience!