Farewell UDC Kumari :(

It was the summer of 2001. We were studying(that is debatable ;) ) for our final semester exams at college. The college was almost empty. There was no mess to have food, but we boys were always in the Men's Hostel, playing volleyball and cricket, preparing for the exams, doing the long walks to Pallimoola and Viyyur, watching movies and drinking nostalgia. It was at that time Ishtam shooting happened there. I still remember me, Vellingiri,Sijin, Sujo, Reji, TP and few others walking into a room in the then ECE dept. Kalpana sat there as Inspector Saramma. And we chatted with her. Probably seeing only boys in the college she asked if ours was a mixed college. We said yes and I remember Velli adding - "It is study leave and vacation time, that is why there are no girls". Kalpana said - "Ho! What a sad thing for you. (ഹൊ! എന്തൊരു സങ്കടം!!)" And we all laughed. The humour she made of a comment from Velli was so spontaneous. Later we said bye and went. To this day whenever I see Kalpana on TV or movies I remember that day 15 years back. We have all grown old, and yesterday Kalpana - the UDC, the Sakunthala, the Mohini, the Mary - left the world. She might be an actress with amazing talent doing all sorts of roles, but I like her humour roles. Because to make another person laugh is not easy, and I have experienced it from her.

May her soul rest in eternal peace. #Kalpana

Image Credits: Abhilash Narayanan

haa.. there comes another sslc..

13 years ago on a Wednesday in March, I too started the long walk to the exam hall. Yes, it was the first exam of the much renowned SSLC.

An exam which makes parents and students tense alike. An exam that makes a student start up his tuitions as early as 9th standard Mid Summer Vacations. Portions, revisions, Model Exams and what not. There is a much of euphoria associated with a student once his/her 9th results are up and he/she has passed successfully to the 10th standard.

"Start Tuitions" .. The parents roar
"Early classes to finish portions" .. Teachers would organize
"Aren't you not going for tuitions? Isn't SSLC this year?".. Relatives would ask

The first day of the exams is the toughest, then all come and go as fast as it can. The day when you revised the Vritham and Alankaram of Abhinjaana Shankunthalam will easily pave way to the day you revise trigonometry and algebra. Fast and furious, 12 subjects in 6 days*, from one Wednesday to the next.

At the end of it is relief and anxiety. Relief that the exams are over and anxiety for the marks that are to be announced at the fag end of May.Then you get into a college, do another big struggle against entrance exams and join another institution. Finally at the end of the day you realize that hype surrounding the SSLC just fetches you an admission to the Plus One or the erstwhile Pre-Degree Course aka PDC.

The best thing that the government did was the abolishment of ranking system and the introduction of grading system. Instead of the pressure for ranks, now it would the pressure for all A+'s.

Today around 4.5 lakh students are just about to start their first small step into the big world. I hope they have memorized their poems, I hope they can decipher the correct Vrithams for the poems given and explain about it in detail, I hope they can elaborate on the topic given for essay, I hope they can explain "Chantrakkaran's"** physical structure, I hope they can explain the French and Russian revolutions and Boston Tea Party with much ease, and I hope they come out successful.

I wish them the very best.

* If I remember correctly we were the last batch to attend SSLC exams in such a way. Two papers in a day, to complete 12 subjects in 6 days. It started on a Wednesday and ended the next Wednesday Today they write only one exam a day, I think.

** Chantrakkaran - A character from the novel Dharmaraja, by C.V Raman Pillai, which was taught us in Malayalam II paper. The most prominent question those days was - "Chantrakkarante Roopam Varnikkuka". I do not know what they study these days for Malayalam II.