41 The Boards
‘The Board Exams’ – these three words struck terror in our hearts, because they marked a watershed moment in our lives, and would determine our future careers. In the school year 1968-69, I entered the 11th Standard – our last year in school before we took the boards and exited school life. So in early June of 1968, with the onset of the Bombay monsoon, I sat in the 11th Standard, Division A classroom and readied myself to go to battle!
I really wanted to do well at these exams but, being weak in Maths, this would certainly affect my overall percentage, so I had to find a solution. I soon discovered that I could drop Maths safely as I was not planning to get into the Science stream in college and thus elected to do special Geography. But to do this, I had to get the permission of the School Principal. I enlisted the help of my Father and we both went and met Fr Aran, the School Principal. After much debate, Fr Aran finally relented and allowed me to opt for special Geography and miss out on Maths.
With this one problem safely tucked away, I decided to study regularly instead of waiting for a week before the exams as I was usually wont to do. But of course, though the spirit was willing, the flesh was extremely weak and I slowly lapsed into procrastination and time drifted by. I kept reading self-help books on how to stop procrastination but that was just to keep the guilt away! By the way, I have still not overcome procrastination even at the age of 68!
In no time, we entered the New Year 1969. In February, the school gave us study leave for the month of March as the board exams would start in early April. Before that, the Class of 69 would have its own farewell party before breaking up for the study leave. I was selected to give the farewell speech and to thank the school and its staff – I am reproducing below the speech that I wrote and delivered at this farewell:
The three weeks before the exams was sheer hell – the days were vanishing! Anjum, my childhood friend and I decided to study together at night, fortified this with gallons of hot coffee to keep us awake!
Finally the D-day arrived! Luckily Anjum and I, though in different schools, had the same examination centre in the crowded locality of Noor Baugh and Dongri. We left together. At the colony gate, we were cheered by the colony residents as a matter of tradition! We made sure we were on time at the examination centre and, once the first paper got over, we felt much better. The next four days flew by in a whirlwind, and before we realized it, the board exams were over. I still remember the wonderful feeling that I had, and the incredibly deep sleep that I enjoyed that night. I still recall that pleasurable moment even today!