Skip to main content

THE QUESTION PAPER



My call was very gladly received by my sister who was in the midst of a monotonous job of setting a question paper for her students. She needed a distraction which I willingly obliged. These days we happen to be enjoying our telephonic conversations a lot more than usual. The reason being we dwell upon the stories from the past that have been handed down to us from our ancestors.


They are not stories of valor being passed down the generations in musical forms to infuse courage. They seem like tall stories stretched by imagination, not only to us but also to an innocent bystander. These have become so believable to us by virtue of being repeated so many times during our family reunions. The stomach churning laughter they induce keeps those anecdotes so lively till today.


Tippan chacha, was a guest who came from far away to take a departmental examination for promotion in the city where my grandparents lived. Our grandparents were too glad to have him visit them. As for one of their broods, my mother, who was much younger than him, enquired about his performance after seeing his question paper.


He claimed his competence and adeptness in finishing the paper much ahead of the scheduled time. First page went well then as she turned the next page to check for the other questions he realized he had forgotten to turn the page and see. Hence, had left the remaining three questions unanswered. The way he tried to snatch the paper from my mother's hand revealed the sudden realisation of his folly. Now that Tippan chacha had committed this blunder he was penalized by his nephews and nieces in the family and as a penance had to take them for “Pakeezah” movie to the cinema hall. Needless to raise any queries regarding the result of the examination but the movie was wonderful in their words.


My sister called me the next day as she finished compiling her examination paper to inform me that simply out of compulsion after our conversation she wrote “continued on next page” at the bottom of her examination sheet lest someone may miss the second page like Tippan chacha.
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 10, 2022 at 1:57 PM

    Great. I enjoy them a lot. Keep it up. Stay blessed. 🙏🏼

    ReplyDelete
  2. Meenakshi ChaudharyJuly 10, 2022 at 2:06 PM

    Definitely such real experiences and mistakes guide to improve

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 11, 2022 at 7:39 AM

    It's really very well written, I wonder how people commit such mistakes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Swati SharmaJuly 11, 2022 at 7:55 AM

      After I posted this 2 people told me that they have also done this at some or the other stage.It indeed was so fascinating to know this.I just loved them for telling me.

      Delete
  4. Dr. Rajeev SharmaJuly 13, 2022 at 7:05 PM

    Enjoyed the narrative as it seems a common occurrence & it is written in a very fluid style. Definitely improving. Keep writing

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJuly 14, 2022 at 10:08 AM

    I always wondered the reason of writing this in all our question papers! I got to know the real reason today! 😂 Such a fun read!

    ReplyDelete
  6. anita sharmaJuly 26, 2022 at 8:02 PM

    Each time I read your piece it gives me a feeling of my experience. Well, you jot down the experience so well with whole lot of vocabulary.
    You love writing and I love reading your experience each time. Great job!
    Keep sharing.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY FOR BETTER COMMUNICATION

As a new entrant to the content creation market, I was relentlessly searching for jobs in writing. It was an aha moment. I was selected to write a test assignment, a video script that was for one of the well-known educators in the online world.  My script had to bring out the essence of effective communication. I brainstormed for ideas. And since it was my first experience, I was falling short in everything.  I whipped up all my resources and Googled, scoffing at the idea of writing a video script on communication for a master communicator. It was not an easy task. Nevertheless, I tried and came up with a story that remains close to my heart for being the first of its kind. Prompted by the twists in Chinese whisper, I co-related it with the modern generation. Here goes the story that you can smile about or empathise with. A couple decided to meet at 10.00 the next day for coffee. The boy reached the coffee shop the next morning, but the girl did not. He waited and ...
2 comments
Read more

WHATSAPP FORWARDS

"You will not read any of my WhatsApp messages and so it is useless to send you anything.” My mother said to me. I acknowledged her by my silence mentally reciting," I read all that you sent to me". So, here I am busy reading all about Indian spices and medicinal herbs used as daily household ingredients, thereby indulging in more studies on naturopathy as compared to any other ‘pathy’ which has side effects. I speed dialled my mother when my patient refused to undergo the procedure of scaling to clean her teeth in favour of 'alum', or "phitkari," a desi nuskha. No wonder patients shirk away from scaling. I ruminate. "I just called you up to confirm if you WhatsApped something to my patient "I vented. Ever since, I have been scrolling through all her erstwhile messages to know more about natural healthier medicaments, their benefits and roles in dentistry and health. Oh! WhatsApp was not there when I was a student. No wonder, my gold ...
18 comments
Read more

The Truth About The Paradox Of Life

Salads were the newest additions to our menu list as starters. It owes its origins to friends we visit often like a second home. The mundane sprouts could be part of creative jewellery with pomegranates and cheese cubes that had never occurred to me till I saw them beautifully and colourfully occupying the centre table. The rainbow salad on a different occasion was also mesmerising. The presentation and the warmth with which they served added to the taste as much as to the refreshing memories. As I uncovered the lid of the container on my kitchen slab, I observed that the moth beans had sprouted, and rootlets were visible. I could eat them as much as I could plant them. I decided to plant a few and serve the remaining for breakfast. They lay embedded in the soil with air, water and food in plenty. After a few days, I observed most had not survived. They had turned black and lay on the verge of extinction in that darkness. The paradox of plenty providing in excess is not good. The para...
1 comment
Read more