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Night before the examinations
I was preparing for my Class VIII examinations; I had started only fifteen days before the wretched things started! I had finished with my learning and now it was time for my revision.
Somehow, I started feeling very unsure as my examinations drew nearer and nearer. I felt that my mind was like a clean slate, or a sieve, where nothing stayed. Time flew by and soon, it was the night before my first paper. I had been studying since early in the morning and was endeavouring to retain and revise thoroughly what I had learnt during the past year.
Studying during daytime was virtually impossible! My mother would keep calling me at regular intervals. "Nida, bring me the meat," and "Nida, make chapattis for your brother." Finally, I decided to study seriously only during the coming night, where nobody could distract me. But, I realised then, that I was in a bad situation.
It was 10’O clock. I sat in my room, locked the door, opened the window, and took out my books. I was nervous. I couldn't make up my mind where to begin. If I started one topic, another seemed more important – and for the life of me, I could not concentrate.
It was 12'O clock when I had finally been able to collect my scattered thoughts. I was now fully concentrating on the most important question in physics. Suddenly, loud and lively disco music broke the silence. The music swept into my mind and I felt like singing and dancing instead of concentrating on physics. Two hours later, this ill-timed generosity from my teenage neighbour finally came to an end. Time was passing by quickly and there was still a lot to study. My nervousness increased, but I thanked God for the peace and quiet which he had finally granted me, and returned to my notes. "In this formula the-"
"Chhanan! Chhananan, Chhananan ...!" The sound of a tambourine prevented me from reading any further. I wondered which mindless person had decided to start playing music at this hour. I remembered that there was a wedding at my neighbour’s that night and they had just returned with the bride and must be celebrating at home now!
What more can I write? ... What I must add in the end is that, instead of answering the question paper, I filled my answer book with the songs, music and remarks which I had been listening to and learning during the night before my examinations.
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