I could not keep cursing my past for long. Thats another thing that an engineering college teaches you. Don't waste much time mourning on your past because without even you realising it, your present will turn into past soon as the back papers are fast approaching and you need to study for them besides the current semester.
I had started studying again for the theory of machines or in my context theory of murdering as it was virtually murdering me with its cruel stress/forces and torques. This time I wanted to keep no stone unturned and I understood that this was my last attempt or else I will have to loose six months. I started evaluating my last appearances to that same paper and noted down a few mistakes that I might be doing. Systematically coming up with points that made me falter three times did help a lot and this time I felt far more comfortable, confident and self-assured about myself as far as clearing the subject was concerned, that has been haunting for the past four semesters.
8th semester is usually a time when everybody concentrates on their own projects, however, I was compelled to concentrate on this trecherous subject. I studied day and night, I had the whole syllabus on the tip of my tongue and my mind continuously thought about the forces that I might encounter in the examination paper. My finger automatically revolved in conjunction with my thinking to analyse the forces acting on a car when it took a right turn and they went up and down like a pendulum to understand the stresses that might be faced by a cantilever. I had solved almost all the question papers of the past 10 years and Khurmi (The author of the book we referred) had a surrenderred look and pleaded me not to open him again for the 15004th time.
Finally, the day for the fight appeared. My most dreaded enemy was already in the examination hall, the question papers for the theory of machines paper. Like a skilled worksman, I entered the hall confidently, since I had answered quite a few back papers I could guide or rather console many of the first time answerers. The time when you sit on the desk until you get the question paper is the most scary time. You feel like a Father waiting outside the operation theatre while your wife is being delivered. You are tensed, anxious and happy, all at the same time. I was in a similar situation, not knowing what to expect in the question paper. Finally the questions were in my hand. I started writing the question paper, I had the paper easy and completed it well in advance of the stipulated time. I still did not have the courage to exit the examination hall prior to the time and I checked and rechecked the whole paper a couple of times before the final bell rang.
I had answered the exam well and again I seemed confident of clearing the subject easily. Though I looked happy, something in my mind said, "So you were also confident in all of the earlier attempts, but still you had failed, you had failed, you had failed!!!" and mind you this voice somehow also had the fading effect. I shrugged off the bad thoughts and got back to studies as I had to answer the 8th semester exam in a few days time.
I could relate the quote from "Prestige" movie in here:
"Every great Examination consists of three parts, The first part is called "The Pledge". The student has the books and reference and all ordinary things. He studies the books with utmost interest with the expectation that it will appear in the exam... it probably isn't appearing. The second act is called "The Turn". The student takes all the ordinary knowledge he learnt from the books to the examination hall and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the question that you have studied... you find it, answer it well, but you wont clap for yourself as of yet..... Because answering a examination paper isn't enough; you have to show the results. That's why every examination has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".
Exactly, now it was the third part that I had to be successful in, "The Prestige". It was result time. We tend to get tensed when the results are out, Though we all are aware that getting tensed now, is just greying another hair in your head. I had done all things correct until now, now I just hoped that this thing turns out right. I was waiting outside the academic section along with many other students who were as well keen to know their own results. I am sure, however, that none of them would have been as anxious as me. When we all were waiting patiently for the academic section to open, one of the students got a newspaper which had the results declared. We all plunged on it like hungry lions. When I got my turn I carassed through the numbers impatiently. My number was 32. I could see a 31, 34 as well. However 32 was nowhere to be seen. I was dumped again. I could not believe my fate this time, my feet went numb, my eyes got red, my nervous system failed to respond. I felt like a junk, rusted metal of no use who was on earth only to waste parents money and fail in subjects like Theory of Machines. I still stood there patiently with no expressions on my face only to see whether I have done any improvement as compared to 31 marks I had achieved last time. Simultaneously, I also searched for another person from my batch who had failed so that we can share our sorrows with each other.
The academic section opened, all the students rushed in, I had an un-interested look on my face by now and waited patiently until the academic section got empty and I had loads of time to look at the marks. I checked the 32 number, as expected it showed "Failed", drilling down to the marks displayed nothing and said that I was absent for the exam. I was in double shock now, how could this happen, I had written the exam, rechecked the answers twice and now this results say I was absent for the exam. I said lets check again properly with a cool head from the start. The name that was displayed against the 32 number was "Pritam singh junewalia", for a moment I was shocked for the 3rd time as to how come university also printed my name wrong on the results sheet, before I realised that my seat number was 34 and not 32. I checked 34 and what a relief I had passed and with flambouyant marks of 53. I verified atleast a 10 times before I went out
dancing like a galileo, only difference was I wasn't naked. I called home and cried before declaring that I had saved 6 months of my career and finally the studies and trouble taken before the exams had paid off.
Finally, I had managed engineering in 4 years. All is well that ends well!!
I had started studying again for the theory of machines or in my context theory of murdering as it was virtually murdering me with its cruel stress/forces and torques. This time I wanted to keep no stone unturned and I understood that this was my last attempt or else I will have to loose six months. I started evaluating my last appearances to that same paper and noted down a few mistakes that I might be doing. Systematically coming up with points that made me falter three times did help a lot and this time I felt far more comfortable, confident and self-assured about myself as far as clearing the subject was concerned, that has been haunting for the past four semesters.
8th semester is usually a time when everybody concentrates on their own projects, however, I was compelled to concentrate on this trecherous subject. I studied day and night, I had the whole syllabus on the tip of my tongue and my mind continuously thought about the forces that I might encounter in the examination paper. My finger automatically revolved in conjunction with my thinking to analyse the forces acting on a car when it took a right turn and they went up and down like a pendulum to understand the stresses that might be faced by a cantilever. I had solved almost all the question papers of the past 10 years and Khurmi (The author of the book we referred) had a surrenderred look and pleaded me not to open him again for the 15004th time.
Finally, the day for the fight appeared. My most dreaded enemy was already in the examination hall, the question papers for the theory of machines paper. Like a skilled worksman, I entered the hall confidently, since I had answered quite a few back papers I could guide or rather console many of the first time answerers. The time when you sit on the desk until you get the question paper is the most scary time. You feel like a Father waiting outside the operation theatre while your wife is being delivered. You are tensed, anxious and happy, all at the same time. I was in a similar situation, not knowing what to expect in the question paper. Finally the questions were in my hand. I started writing the question paper, I had the paper easy and completed it well in advance of the stipulated time. I still did not have the courage to exit the examination hall prior to the time and I checked and rechecked the whole paper a couple of times before the final bell rang.
I had answered the exam well and again I seemed confident of clearing the subject easily. Though I looked happy, something in my mind said, "So you were also confident in all of the earlier attempts, but still you had failed, you had failed, you had failed!!!" and mind you this voice somehow also had the fading effect. I shrugged off the bad thoughts and got back to studies as I had to answer the 8th semester exam in a few days time.
I could relate the quote from "Prestige" movie in here:
"Every great Examination consists of three parts, The first part is called "The Pledge". The student has the books and reference and all ordinary things. He studies the books with utmost interest with the expectation that it will appear in the exam... it probably isn't appearing. The second act is called "The Turn". The student takes all the ordinary knowledge he learnt from the books to the examination hall and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the question that you have studied... you find it, answer it well, but you wont clap for yourself as of yet..... Because answering a examination paper isn't enough; you have to show the results. That's why every examination has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".
Exactly, now it was the third part that I had to be successful in, "The Prestige". It was result time. We tend to get tensed when the results are out, Though we all are aware that getting tensed now, is just greying another hair in your head. I had done all things correct until now, now I just hoped that this thing turns out right. I was waiting outside the academic section along with many other students who were as well keen to know their own results. I am sure, however, that none of them would have been as anxious as me. When we all were waiting patiently for the academic section to open, one of the students got a newspaper which had the results declared. We all plunged on it like hungry lions. When I got my turn I carassed through the numbers impatiently. My number was 32. I could see a 31, 34 as well. However 32 was nowhere to be seen. I was dumped again. I could not believe my fate this time, my feet went numb, my eyes got red, my nervous system failed to respond. I felt like a junk, rusted metal of no use who was on earth only to waste parents money and fail in subjects like Theory of Machines. I still stood there patiently with no expressions on my face only to see whether I have done any improvement as compared to 31 marks I had achieved last time. Simultaneously, I also searched for another person from my batch who had failed so that we can share our sorrows with each other.
The academic section opened, all the students rushed in, I had an un-interested look on my face by now and waited patiently until the academic section got empty and I had loads of time to look at the marks. I checked the 32 number, as expected it showed "Failed", drilling down to the marks displayed nothing and said that I was absent for the exam. I was in double shock now, how could this happen, I had written the exam, rechecked the answers twice and now this results say I was absent for the exam. I said lets check again properly with a cool head from the start. The name that was displayed against the 32 number was "Pritam singh junewalia", for a moment I was shocked for the 3rd time as to how come university also printed my name wrong on the results sheet, before I realised that my seat number was 34 and not 32. I checked 34 and what a relief I had passed and with flambouyant marks of 53. I verified atleast a 10 times before I went out
dancing like a galileo, only difference was I wasn't naked. I called home and cried before declaring that I had saved 6 months of my career and finally the studies and trouble taken before the exams had paid off.
Finally, I had managed engineering in 4 years. All is well that ends well!!
