History

 

For those of you who have a passion for teaching or the ones who have a crush on Ryan Reynolds, you might have caught the school-flick ‘School of Life’ about the ‘coming of age’ (so to speak) of a high school teacher. Ryan Reynolds teaches students that its not His-tory but His/Her-story.. Corny as that may sound, the connection between one’s past and present is customized to deliver the maximum level of user experience possible! :D

Consider the elements from history that keep repeating themselves. First off, think of the son who always aspires to be like his father as a kid and as far away from his fathers personality as a grown up. No matter what he does to change his behavior and mould it in a way he desires, sooner or later, the father catches up to the son. Practical application of the “Son becomes the father, father becomes the son” theory!

People keep thinking that the mistakes they make in past relationships won’t keep happening as they ‘evolve’ and get stronger. Somehow, our core beliefs as we faced the first conflicts are not drastically different from our core beliefs as we evolve. Our maturity may have changed, but our conflict resolution is not totally evolved. Our views and priorities may have changed, but our necessities and insecurities only get worse.

The past has a funny way of catching up to you in one form or the other. And like every problem out there, solutions are bound to make inroads in one form or the other as well. There are hypnotism sessions and therapy centers that help individuals deal with the trauma/memories associated with their past. People come up with their own ways of dealing with their past, some much weirder than the rest! Whatever works should be used whenever needed.

Our past is like our shadow, and aptly so. No matter how much we try, we won’t lose it except maybe a few times each day. People won’t sense its relevance on the current situation unless they pay close attention to it. The theories, methods, counseling, hypnotism may all help you ignore or live with your past, but getting rid of its effect is near impossible. Its like a perpetual learning curve that has no fixed equation and thereby, no fixed slope. All we can hope for is that for a majority of the time, the curve shows a positive curve. Learning as much as we can from the past, puts us in a better frame for the present. Or so we may hope.

Till next time, cheers!

 

…

Insight,Love; Incite,Loathe

 

It is amazing how Ekta Kapoor (Sorry if I missed an extra ‘k’ or ‘a’ or ‘o’) is able to churn episode after episode of Saas-Bahu drama and people take it all in. They may forget to ask their spouses day  at work but will not forget to discuss that last juicy bit that happened on a TV soap. BTW, have you ever wondered why it is called a ‘soap’?

Why these soaps run well should be no mystery. I mean, C’mon- Rebirth, Plastic surgery (read: Multiple), Bhagvaan’s miracles, the filmi song stuffed with bad TV actors; it is everything that James Cameron can show on a ‘Punarjanmaavataar’ movie and actually win an Oscar this time :D. However, this article is not about TV soaps, it’s something else entirely. Read on.

 

This article would probably make more sense to men, though I am hoping for some feedback from the women. Before I continue ranting, let me break this article up in the phases of the title itself.

 

Phase I : Insight

As infants, we spend a lot of time with our mothers. We begin our lives being ‘physically suggestible’, quite simply meaning we learn in these stages by touching, tasting, biting, and in my case, tearing apart things. We tend to model our behavior and patterns based on our mothers. All of us, gender unbiased. Eventually, we choose other similar role models – father, teachers, seniors, elder siblings. With increasing independence, boys tend to look upon our fathers with more respect and grant them more authority. Though boys go through a stage of disliking/hating their fathers at some point in their teens, till that stage we look upto them for insight, and likewise with other role models.

 

Phase II : Love

We almost always get here at some stage or another. School, college, parties, pre-marriage, post- marriage – irrespective of the location and the Eastman color song sequence, we get there. More often than not, we tend to pick a person quite unlike us- the old ‘Opposites attract’ theory. If you’re timid, you try to pick a confident person. Overly talkative-Quiet Listener. Free spirit-studious Class topper. And so on. Similarities exist, but cores are opposite. Psychologists have termed it as our ‘sexual personalities’. Try it on the time-tested couples around you – parents, relatives, friends.

At this phase of life, your male role model forms your viewpoint in your inexplicable attraction to a particular girl. If your model is your Dad, you will tend to be attracted to women with personalities similar to your mother.

 

Phase III: Incite

I just used this because it sounded similar to Insight and made the title much cooler. Anyway here goes. If by some weird stroke of luck, you end up marrying the woman you chose, and happen to live with your parents under the same roof, things are going to get pretty hot. Two women under the same roof with similar natures will cause a ruckus, no matter what you try to avert it. Again, the old ‘Likes repel’ theory. Each one will inadvertently incite you by presenting a viewpoint that seems logical and correct, and you end up confused. 

 

Phase IV: Loathe

The growing cracks get bigger and bigger, till Saas-Bahu are at it all the time. Meanwhile, you are turning hairless from all the tension and hair clutching!

 

 

 

 

So you see, we men are responsible for the Saas-Bahu fights in households. It may not be as common today in split households, but still holds good elsewhere. Wake up men. Before you fall in to something you can’t crawl out of, analyze the ‘would-be’ with the ‘has-been’. The ‘what-can-be' may not be all that pleasant. Fair warning aside, you will still fall there. So might as well toughen up. :D

Cheers. Or not.

 

…

Budget!!

 

 

I know, I know.. Why would a site on thoughts need a post on the Budget? Well firstly, it is important to understand the impact of government decisions on Mango-people, and secondly, I was making notes all through the budget day, so I’m not letting that go waste!  : )

Pranab Mukherjee is like Chunni babu from Devdas- non-committal, ever-smiling (with surprising seriousness), and trying to woo Paro (Fiscal Deficit) somehow. Well in this regard, common man should rightly be Devdas, because he’s been given money and fame, but ends up paying for much more. Confused?? Actually, me too.. So I’ll just cut to the chase.

Our FM, Mr.PM (Ironical!) closed his speech with the words, “This is an aam aadmi’s budget. I will not say much more, but leave everything to the people of India.” Truly, that is what has been done, on the surface at least.

Tax slabs are now changed.

New Income category	Old Category	Taxation	Savings (approx)
Upto 1.6L	Upto 1.5L	Nil	-
1.6 – 5L	1.5 – 3L	10%	Rs.20,600
5 - 8L	3 – 5L	20%	Rs.41,200
8L upwards	5L upwards	30%	Rs.52,000

 

What the new slabs do?

No technicalities, but the new slabs puts more spending power into the middle class’s hands. By expanding the slabs to accommodate higher avg. salaries in the previous slabs, FM is putting a considerable savings (for guaranteed expenses!). At the moment, it is one method to help the middle and lower income classes fight inflation.

 

The Good +/-

1. This year Fiscal Deficit (FD) was maintained at 6.8-6.9% (as promised in the previous budget), the coming year FD is targeted at 5.5% , further to 4.8 or lower for FY’11 (68%).

2. 25% allocation to rural infrastructure; about 25 km of highways each day.

3. Revenue tax gain Rs.20,500 Cr this year.

4. Service tax contributes 60% to the coffers, but service tax rates retained at 10% taking a hit on direct taxes. To counter this, he makes changes to indirect taxes, which is projected to put Rs.46,500 Cr in gains.

5. Agri delight-

• Farmer loan credit raised to 3.75 L.
• Banks for all villages with 2000 population.
• Support to retail trade in agricultural sector.
• 2% subsidy to farmer loans, extend farm loan payment by 6 months.

6. Partial cutback on stimulus to auto industry.

7. Big allocations –

• 31,000 Cr for education
• Social sector outlay is at 1.38 L Cr.
• Urban devpt allocation : 61,000 Cr
• UID gets 1900 Cr.
• Renewable energy outlook raised to 1000 Cr

8. Increasing health insurance for the poor by adding NREGA families.

 

 

The Bad +/-

1. VAT incr from 15 to 18% ; Excise duty up, so everything will cost more.

2. No numbers specified for RT Education act or Food security act, but general measures for Food security mentioned. No statement for higher education and not much for skill development.

3. IT will be hit, nearly 10,000 jobs this year affected as foreign companies are not getting the same tax benefits for companies as in other countries like Mexico,Brazil.

4. Too many sector based concessions, not so good in today’s context.

5. Net gain from indirect tax will be 46,500 Cr, but if that does not happen (due to market downtime, 3G auction not living up to expectations, FDI speed breakers) may make Fiscal target difficult.

6. Being a non-election year, he could have pushed more, but played safe with reforms.

 

 

The hopeful +/-

1. Setup a body for macro supervision of big companies

2. Setup a financial stability council to establish mechanism in case of financial turmoil.

3. Financial regulations are very old ; Legislative reforms commission(LRC) setup to improve this on a regular basis.

4. Govt. had been giving incentives to petroleum companies to supply fuel at subsidized rates, due to which a majority of them are in loss. International petrol prices are much lower now than before when they were more than 1000 dollars/barrel, so these companies can absorb the increase in the prices of petrol, diesel. Hopefully, they will come out of the loss stage eventually.

5. GST and direct tax code by April 2011.

6. Lots of incentives to NRIs for investment, return on Indian equities over past year has been around 87.4%. Hopefully, things will remain good over the coming year.

 

So, that ends my wrap up of Budget 2010. Till next time.. : )

< I got a little newsreader like vibe>

The art used above was painted by Vidita Jain, a class VII student of St.Thomas’ at Delhi. Ideally, this picture represents the change India needs (Sorry Obama) in the coming decade. Tackling global warming, peace, and sustained progress. Here’s to hoping we come close to making it happen. And kudos Vidita!

Come, peep in..

 

I believe it was MK Gandhi who once said, “Show me your  friends and I will tell you who you are.” Luckily for him, Facebook and Twitter weren’t available back then, and this statement made some sense.

It has taken us many ‘smart’ developments to get us to where we are right now. People spend hours using their organizers, mail clients, and even their phones, to improve their work efficiency which would definitely improve without these distractions in the first place. Keeping in touch has become literal at times, with e-pokes being sent across FB networks! It has become routine for me to login to FB atleast once a day to check out what’s happening with the people I know. (Shame, shame to me too!)

The great thing about it is the ease with which we can network, regardless of the distance or the time elapsed. Though some good has come out of this new development, the meaning of the word ‘privacy’ has been obliterated. Stars tweet their schedules, including time spent in the loo and fans lap it all up. It took Tiger Woods just a single message on his website to communicate that he was taking a break from golf to repair his home tottering under his infidelity (-read many many-), and the whole world was made aware of his decision from just that source.

It is not only the technologically inclined who can keep track of these things. Media (newspapers, tv channels) have developed a knack for taking tweets and pics and painting them in an entirely new hue. Some time ago, a certain bootilicious  ‘Basu’ and a footsy ‘Ronaldo’  were purported to have been in a lip lock when the pics only showed them approaching a casual cheek peck. A little simmer time and the rumour had become the headlines on most news channels. Certain news channels who encourage viewers to ‘think about the impact’ came up with ‘What will happen to John now? Will they break up? Stay tuned to find out more.’

Our mental faculties have begun to degenerate, think of yourself in today’s context as opposed to say, 7-8 years back. There is a deterioration associated with age, but it has begun reducing the starting age. Kids in school cannot find enough stimulation today. Each day they get bored about something or the other, and something new draws their attention away from their activities. Forget studies, how many kids go out to play in the evenings anymore? There used to be a time when gully cricket formed an important entertainment for localities, where passersby would stand and bear witness to the cheers and appeals from budding gully cricketers. Now, kids return from tuitions (for even 2nd and 3rd std), and spend hours on Facebook or Orkut. There are only mechanisms for measuring our GDP growth and our inflation, but there seems to be no way of finding out the deterioration that our country is undergoing every day. “Our future lies with our youth” they say. Considering where we are headed as a generation, I sure hope the future does not rest with us.

We have progressed a lot as a nation, but it seems funny that we haven’t emerged as leaders yet. How will we ever lead, if all we do is follow trends and technology from other nations?  There hasn’t been a single startup that has managed to inspire people on the lines of Infosys, while several startups emerge in the developed nations, especially during the economic crisis (which they think is over, btw). We have used Twitter, Facebook, the i-gadgets (iPod, iPhone, iTouch and now the iPad!) for a long time now, but no progress has been made to emulate their success in a grand manner. It has partly to do with the lack of support from our government, but aren’t we to blame too? 

It’s time we pull up our socks. I don’t know how many people are actually reading this, and if any of you have actually thought about the deterioration that we are facing. Think about it. And then Do something about it.

 

 

Any suggestions are welcome.

 

…

The year to come…

 

This post is delayed by quite a few days, my apologies. With my exams behind me, I can now get back to the more important things! :)

Starting off, TV and print media in general make a big hullaballoo about the year that was. Frankly, I never could bring myself to like these shows (no matter how much Ma prods me). So, I decided to write about the year that is here now.

To each his own, but the few things unfolding this year that will intrigue me are-

1. Ratan Tata finding his successor!!

2. My ‘Chotu’ sisters wedding.

  

3. Hybrid cars and concessions for them! (Please, please)

4. Average Number of curses a day for the Online CAT organizers.

 

5. India taking  a firm stand against racist attacks in Australia. (God giveth guts!)

6. Some pic hunting with my brand new cam.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Cadbury’s takeover or sell.

8. A few movies this year – The Book of Eli, Prince of Persia and more..

9. Finally getting started on my web comics blog or design a image carousel for this blog. Started drawing, nothing spectacular. Yet.

<No images yet!>

 

10. Wolfram Alpha coming out of its dormant phase and making some headway.

11. Cloud computing power to people like me!

12. 3G auction here. Also, want to know if telecom industry will survive or become the new airline industry.. Hehe.. (Cryptic alva?)

13. A road trip with my buddies!

  

 

This was my list, numbered up to 13. Unlucky or not, we’ll see. As for now, tell me your list. What are you looking forward to this year? Any new resolutions? Interests?

Looking forward to hearing from you guys as well. Maybe that should be #14 on this list!

 

...

Marital Rating??

I found some interesting images on the net, on the marital rating scales from 1939. Funny readup I thought. Here it is--

 

 

 

...

The Pursuit of Emptiness

 

“You can’t do it. Be realistic.”

“You really thought you could do this?”

“Stop trying and start doing.”

 

If these questions run in your head quite as often as they do in mine, we are both in war with our inner selves. A voice that resounds more clearer today than yesterday, compelling you to rethink everything you’re doing right now. A constant critique, always finding fault with what happened and what could have.

 

Sports psychology talks of people acquiring this voice in critical matches. They have labeled humans in general as having 2 personalities, termed Self-1 and Self-2, quite simply.

Self-1 is the doer. There are days when you feel yourself going about your work without a single thought or distraction in your head, when everything turns out well. Those are the days when Self-1 is strong and has taken over the task at hand.

And then, there are other days, when everything you do goes wrong. Starting with the first that went wrong, you hear your own voice criticizing you for a mistake made, a decision taken, and pretty soon, your day is a mess. That day, Self-2 has control.

 

If you ever have consciously observed yourself in either of these situations, you would have realized it by now how true this tenet from sports psychology applies to regular life as well. So how does one sub-consciously give birth to this voice anyway?

There seems to be many reasons for such a voice to start. The most major reason being criticism faced from parents/siblings/friends over events in your childhood. When we hear people talk of childhood being an impressionable age, they seem to have undermined the effects it can have on our adulthood. It is very human for us to remember the bad outcomes as opposed to the good ones (This has more to do with attitude and I will cover this sometime). It is therefore, quite natural for us to remember the times we got a bout of severe critical attack from our loved ones as opposed to the times when we were showered with affection.

The issue here being that, over a period of time our critical inner voice is a manifestation of the people who have criticized us at some tender age. Our mind subconsciously tells us that Mr. or Ms. X would have said such a thing if he/she were here, and then passes it on for your conscious mind to interpret. And as the inner voice gets stronger, our minds agreement to it gets much quicker and with lesser resistance. It is after all, in confirmation with a ‘truth’ that is in your head!

 

So how does one turn it off? Honestly, it cannot be turned off. It can be reduced though. Sports psychology suggests on players keeping their ‘eye on the ball’, and just making sure they just strike the ball every time. Of course in real life, it is quite improbable for someone to visualize a situation like a ball and strike it. Therefore, there are some simple truths which when realized will help you remember how to come back to Self-1.

1.  Realize how this voice originated, find your inner demons, your most severe critics from the past, acknowledge them and let them go.

2.  This voice has done more harm than it has ever done good, so learn to tune it out with practice.

3.  Know that it is quite natural to have this distraction and that others have voices in their heads too.

 

An inner voice can also be one that can guide us on the right path sometimes. As often as I have noticed, with myself and some friends, this voice loses strength and form over time to turn critical. Consciously listening and making suitable changes and affirmations, may eventually help us reduce the effects of Self-2. To you and me both, Good luck!

 

…

I re-quote: To opt or not to opt!!!!

I recently had a discussion with a friend of mine, Piyu on her blog regarding the reforms our HRD ministry has decided to bring about in education . I thought it made a good article on Human thoughts, so I’m reposting the discussion here. Hope you will contribute to this discussion on either of our blogs..

 

On Monday, November 9, 2009, Piyu wrote -

TOI, DH, IE, Hindu…. Rediff, yahoo! Just about everything was gung ho about 10th exams going optional! So much so that, the permanent link to the rediff item ends in “govt-makes-strong-pitch-for-educ-reforms.htm”. Hmmmm….
It was as though there was a furious re-arranging of the deck chairs going on as the ship sank. “The Class X board exams will become optional in all CBSE schools from the coming academic year (2010-11).”
NEWS!!!!
The government on Monday announced that it will introduce grading system in all Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools and make Class X board exams optional from coming academic year (2010-11).
Union Human Resource Development minister Kapil Sibal, during a press conference in New Delhi, said: “Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) supports making Class X examination optional in CBSE system.”
And then the letters to the editor followed. I especially remember this one -
“This is a revolutionary bold step undertaken by a minister. Had it been taken by some one 30 years back, I would have also cherished by childhood instead of remembering it as the most traumatic period of my life. Anyway, I feel happy thinking that atleast now onwards god gifted human life specially its child hood will be remembered happily by everyone. Learning should be always a happy and enjoyable experience. The moment it becomes an unpleasant painful job, it will fail to fulfill its objective and the whole exercise of education system will be futile..Last but not least it is an humble request to the hon'ble minister Sri Kapil Sibalji, to think about the entry age of children of going to school.”
And that set me thinking. One of those Wordsworth’s “pensive” moods I guess. I didn’t know what it meant to make an exam optional and replace it with a “grading system”. The grading system is “an aptitude exam, which schools can use to test Class X students on their level of understanding in each subject.” What’s the distinction and what difference will that distinction make?
Won’t the student’s competitive spirit dampen? Won’t it all get diluted? What’ll happen to the good ol’ days of studying? Will students succumb to the “chalta hai” attitude? Will parents no longer push their children to be their best? What will happen to the torches of tomo? Won’t all of them make it the easy way?
But then, a move such as this one must have really been under consideration for long and probably after a long deliberation, implemented. So, what must have been going on in the mind of Kapil Sibal when he introduced this move? As he put It, it was to de-traumatize education.
Interesting! I pondered. (Click for More/Less)

How many of you had to forego your cricket camps because it was “10th board exams?” “Oh! I stopped sending sheela to music classes.. after all, it is boards this year.she ought to be studying!” I could hear my neighbour say. My own brother discontinued cricket because 10th was board. One promising left arm spinner, lost! Why, you ask? Because, after 10th it is pre-univ and board-time again! So, it never goes beyond that. Atleast, most of the time. I at times wonder, what would have happened if the parents had continued to send their children to extra-curricular classes instead of just sweating it out in front of books! Instead of making them write the grammar lessons which they never really understood a zillion times just coz’ u can score a 100 in Sanskrit. Or grab all the formulae that the student came across lest he miss out on something that may appear for "one" crucial mark in “the boards!”. The young singing talent lost her voice because she was made to read aloud her history dates early morning everyday – so loud and clear lest she forgets them. Or seen parents askin' children not to read the latest knowledge bank or maybe even tinkle, coz it doesn’t have Board curriculum! Huh! These are just a few of the most generous and lenient instances.
I haven’t touched tuitions yet. When the rest of the whole world blissfully sleeps, alarms go ringing right from 3 or even earlier and then you know! That there is a student who is appearing for the “Boards!” oh yes! Ofcourse, you realize. Their day starts this early. And when the rest of the whole world thinks of jogging and getting some good refreshing exercise, the “Boards” victim is off on his bicycle carrying with him a rucksack as though on an expedition. Socials, science, math and what not! Yes, he has to finish his math tuition and then run to science classes! And there is hardly a gap of 15 mins. Ofcourse, he can’t come home. The tuition is faaaar off! Great!
The whole world cheers TZP – makes it a runaway hit! But hypocrisy prevails when it comes to treating their own kids! If you are a 10th std board candidate, try taking your easel and do that sketch u always wanted to do. And you’ve had it! “U are in Board! This isn’t the time to be doing it! Do it in ur summer vacations” comes the call. You drop what’s in your hand, totally frustrated, you walk towards ur room, pull out a book and all you can see is images of that one sketch you wanted to make. And nothing goes in.
Oh…. How could I miss the mocks! Umpteem number of mock-tests…. Mock state and national rankings…. More mock tests.. more rankings…. Life!
10th standard! That’s like 14 or 15 yrs! A teenager…. An inquisitive mind…. Hot blood…. Curiosity to see the world.. do something new…. Challenge…. Pursue their passion…. And ofcourse, Experience the sheer joy of childhood !Isn’t that supposed to be happening?
What is this life full of care, when we have no time to stand and stare?
What happened to the happiness lies where the heart is? What are we pushing them towards in the name of developing a competitive spirit? 7th and 10th students committing suicide coz’ they got a math problem wrong? You call that healthy?
And don’t ever blame it on the child, saying he was sensitive – you made him so! The system made him so! A child, probably a Sachin of tomo was killed because you failed to see the talent in him? Because board exams don’t measure your other attributes? Or you are looking down on the child’s innate abilities and are after him to acquire something new and beat others in it when he could have topped in his area of expertise?
The Board just does that. No doubt, it instills the competitiveness and urge to fight. But, what are we fighting for? 1 mark? 2 marks? Have you seen kids line up infront of the teachers’ desks being at their persuasive best for a quarter mark because that quarter will make them top? Is this the kind of competition we teach? So, what do you think will happen to these kids? They’ll never enjoy the process. They al become so result-oriented and selfish, that they fail to think beyond.
“I play to win” sounds nice when you really enjoy the play and learn along. Learning is not always measured by marks. Learning is an all-round phenomena. What you learn becomes crucial at a later stage.
"It is sports day after all! Stay at home and revise for that test next week. Don’t sign up for any dance events." "It is Boards this time. Don’t this. Don’t that."
When Kapil Sibal talked of de-traumatising education, he meant this and much more which can never be put down in words. The psychology of the child is so inexplicable – you never know what you can do by foolish acts not to mention education systems gone haywire!
Grading system overcomes all this to some extent. It is revolutionary. It is a positive move – one that instills hope that not everything is so bad after all. An optional system is in no way going ot dilute the quality of education, trust me on this. Students are not going t be let away with whatever they do. There is a constant evaluation happening and hopefully one that takes into account the student’s overall performance. So, this kind of monitoring will keep the student on his toes – he has to constantly perform but the difference being – there is no pressure , so scope for optimal learning accompanied by performance. A cool example of competence and performance nourishment sans pressure. Infact chn will have a more rounded personality. Isn’t this the optimal environ for growth?
Young kids should not be considered as computer hard disk memory so that we keep on storing information in the name of imparting knowledge. Through education let us not make the effort to make some one learned but let us kindle the light of desire to know the unknown by themselves. Education always meant that, didn’t it?

 

If you’re still reading (God bless you with abundance- lots of money, love and attention), here’s what I said in reply-

Sooner or later, there is going to be something to increase the pressure. 20-30 years back, there was no pressure on people to pursue Engg/Medicine as the only 'monetary' disciplines.. Our own parents have done very well through other courses. But the pressure has changed,and it is just a handful students who pick Science stream, or Arts stream or one from a multitude of others.
Other new built pressures include pursuing a PG for better pay, children forced to choose friends from a 'amiable' set, and so on.
The truth is that today with increasing workloads, the ability to withstand pressure has to increase. I would liken it to when a bee breaks out of its covering with great struggle, it's the struggle that strengthens its wings. Dramatic, but I kinda liked this analogy..
I've honestly felt that the pressure I've experienced at the 10th and 12th stages, and the fact that I made it through strengthened me with pressures at work. It's something that many of my friends have agreed with.
Now, more than ever, the need to cope with increasing load is essential. Kids with talent will pursue their ambitions as well as their studies. They may not do both on an equal scale, but that's a choice the kids and their parents (read: only parents) have to make. Bringing context here through cricket,people talk of Sachin being able to achieve so much despite his incomplete schooling and the support from his parents, while people like Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and many others completed their schooling, graduation with honors and pursued their passions as well.
At a time when Obama is asking his country's educators to step up the education level there to compete with Indians, Chinese students,such a step would be taking the foot off the pedal. More than reducing pressure at these levels, it would be wiser to distribute each level (10th,12th) over a 2-3 year period with varying pressure. Students must be given the option of taking a major exam at the end of one year by applying to it. The syllabus can be broken down to distribute the difficulty level, so that no year is preferential. Also, it must be ensured that any early or late completion has no negative effect on their career prospects. This way the kids really interested in pursuing a career through their education can do so earlier, and the ones who want to attempt an alternate career path can do so as well. The parents can rest assured that things will work out, if the security of a catch-net is available in case one of the options chosen by them fails.
Then again, like you said, the HRD ministry must have put a lot of thought into this process before deciding to implement it.

And here’s some cartoons on students that you may like.

Irony

Here’s something that typifies common behavior during a vacation-

 

 

The blogger goes on…

 

For more such images, visit here.