Yes, I'm Very Much Alive...

And after defying the murderous exams and recovering from the post exam hangover I am back to blogging.

I'll start by wishing all of you a very Happy New Year. There couldn't be a better start-of-the-year than this for me. Why? Because the new year itself is reason enough to blog, and this time the cause of blogging was strengthened by the 'idiotic' controversy!!!

The only comment I would make would be

1. The overall story of the film is completely different from the book (claims that 70% of the story from the book has been lifted directly is, according to me, baseless)
2. The timing of the controversy only makes it clear that Chetan Bhagat knows how to get his book sold, if you know what I mean!
3. Vidhu Vinod Chopra needs to join an anger management program and Bhagat needs a better lawyer (and a magnifying glass to read the fine print).

And yes, I have read the book and seen the movie.

Though I have nothing against the author, I do feel a person like him, who speaks about a principles and reforms (in his columns), shouldn't have resorted to such publicity tactics.

Moving on, time for some shameless self promotion.

Please remember you are always welcome to send me a mail about anything you wish to express - suggestions, complaints, requests - regarding the blog, to arjblogger@yahoo.com

You can subscribe to the blog feeds by clicking on posts/comments in the Subscribe To side bar or if you are a Blogger member then you can follow this blog by clicking on the Follow button in the Followers side bar.

My 140 or less words of wisdom are now available on my twitter page which you can follow by clicking on the Follow Me button in the Twitter side bar.

Remember, your opinion counts!

With that, this is ARJuna, your friendly neighbourhood blogger signing off.

P.S. Did I mention that this is my 50th post. Sigh! It's great to be back.

SSC Results Out!

This is just to congratulate all those students of SSC who have passed their exams.

For those who have made it to the merit list...hats off to you. May you succeed in all your future endeavours.

For those who have scored less or haven't scored upto their expectations, please remember this isn't the end of the world you have many more exams to give in which you are sure to taste success provided that you work hard enough to achieve it.

So guys and gals, just freak out you are done with your exams and a hellish year, focus on the admission process. Enjoy your college life, study well at the same time, remember it's easy to be swept away by the glitz of the college scenario but you just need to keep your head straight and keep studying a little, at the same time.

Man!!! I am beginning to sound like a stereotypical 50 something-ish...all set to dish out advice to anyone who's ready to listen.

Whaddaheck...Enjoy, guys and gals and wish you all the best for your future.

Doing The Happy-Happy Dance!!!

I haven't gone nuts due to over exposure to examinations, if that's what you are deducing from the title.

I have been doing this little victory dance just to celebrate my freedom from exams. They got over about a week ago and I've been soaking in the pleasure of doing nothing since then.

Now that the Everest of exams has been conquered (for now that is, the results will determine if I actually conquered or just got buried under a landslide, if you know what I mean), I can get back blogging and complete a few resolutions that I have been meaning to, so here they are,

1. Blog as often as possible
2. Update a few ignored portions of my blog.
3. Take off across Mumbai to see the less popular yet equally interesting sites.

Now the only thing to be seen is how many of the above three resolutions I can actually complete!

जागो परीक्षार्थी जागो!!!

चंदा मामा सो गए, सूरज चाचू जागे,

देखो पकडो यारों,

घड़ी के कांटे भागे,

इलेक्शन की कहानी खतम हुई तो

परीक्षाओं का सीज़न शुरू हो गया मामू !!!

P.S. This is to wish all engineering students all the very best for their exams.

Politically Speaking...

Lots to do and very less time to do it in...no I'm not speaking about the elekshun ki tayyari, I'm talking about my exams that seem to be approaching at light speed. Not to mention the file submissions, viva's (another name for oral exams) and practicals that I have to face in the coming week!!! And so the preparations for all of the above have made my schedule frustratingly hectic, hence the absence since my last post.

Another side-effect of the increasing pressure has been complete lack of writing ideas for the blog. And since I still haven't come across any, I said whaddaheck lets go and out there and just try posting something for the heck of it, Chalo aisa bhi kar ke dekhte hain!

My quick, daily glance at the newspapers everyday of the past month has proven however, that there hasn't been any dearth in the happenings (is there ever?!?!).

The election is, of course at the top of it all. And believe me, I'm ashamed of saying this, but honestly I know very little about the election. Here are the few things that I do know:

1. My Constituency: 25 Thane Lok Sabha Constituency, Maharashtra
2. Shivsena-BJP Alliance and Congress-NCP-RPI Alliance are a few of the alliances contesting the elections.
3. All these politicos (not to be confused with psychos) have been utilising TV, Radio and Internet like crazy for publicity purposes.
4. Everyone is being urged to go and vote, with the media playing a huge role in this matter.
5. And Hence the many campaigns and public service messages, Lead India '09, Vote.Aapke Haath Mein Hain, etc.

Sadly that is the farthest limit up to which my knowledge of the '09 elections extends! If any of you wish to curse, sympathise and/or educate me further about the elections then you are welcome to leave a comment.

Now that my public humiliation is done and over with, I would like to bring your attention to the fact that I may not be able to blog in the coming months (atleast upto mid-June) because of those dreaded exams. So kindly bear with this overworked, hypertense teenager.

P.S. Please go out there and cast your vote on Election Day.

The Day Of Results...

Finally the SSC results have been declared, while some are engulfed by attention from all corners (be it the media for the toppers or the parents and relatives of those who have scored rather well), we should not forget those who go unnoticed, those ‘average’ ones, the rest of the 16 lakh who have scraped through or have managed a fair score.
This year, like the past few years has thrown out into the limelight a few select ‘heroes’ (I should say, the SSC is nothing less than a battle…)

We have the state and divisional toppers who are the ‘heroes of the day’ without doubt.

There is the 20 yr-old Night-school topper Manojkumar Singh, who completed his SSC after missing out 4 years of school (because he was abducted)

We have Manali Naik the girl topper from Handicapped Category as well as overall city topper at second position.

We also get to read about the controversy surrounding the ‘Real’ topper Teena Andrade who received extra marks for participating in state level tournaments pushing her average above the other city toppers. (This claim was ignored by the Board saying the extra marks are for Admission purpose only)

This brings us to the central issue – Is academic excellence everything? While students who spent a whole year rote learning for the exam are awarded and applauded, students like Teena, who I think represent an All-Round Development in a student, are ignored.
Moreover how many students out of these understand and remember what they studied? The scoring pattern of our SSC and HSC exams do not ensure conceptual understanding of the subject and still depend on rote learning as the staple means of study, even after the syllabus has been revised. And this fact has been repeatedly proven by the difference in the marks scored by students in HSC (marks such as 88, 92, 98 Wow!) and the entrance tests (92, 98, 100…out of 200 – Oh! What the hell happened here?!?!)
When will our Education System improve??? I think that is one question that does not have an answer.