Promotion

Chapter 1

In our country, a child’s capability is adjudged by his report card. Here, a 39 is looked upon with disgust as the child did not pass and a 99 is looked at with equal or greater disgust as the child failed to get full marks. In later stages, when schools allow subject choices, the science stream is often perceived as the stream where all the “knowledgeable” people go, to be defaulted as doctors or engineers when it's time to make a career choice. Here, young students are brought in aplenty and their wings and ambitions are clipped before they are immersed in complicated formulas, laws and numbers.

For Aahan, his mother had decided when he was only eleven that he was going to be a doctor.  When it was time for him to select a stream in high school, or rather his parents to select him a stream, (the subject choice form demanded only the parents’ signatures) he was put into science. “My boy’s studying science!” announced Aahan’s proud mother to her neighbour one fine morning. He's going to be a big doctor! He already knows a lot about it, she said, pointing out her sixteen year old son’s amazing knowledge of his textbook on basic biology. When the family got together on festivities and occasions and relatives would join in from near and far, Aahan’s parents made it a point to have them know that their son was already on his way to be a doctor! “He'll appear in the NEET next to next year!” said Aahan’s father over a glass of sherbet on Diwali. I've already put him into “High Hopes Pre-Medical Coaching Centre! It's a two year course. They prepare them so well! I see their advertisements daily. He'll surely get a brilliant rank in his first attempt.”

Aahan was caught in the midst of a swarm of textbooks with complicated diagrams and formulas. He struggled in coaching, he struggled in class. Once a national level swimmer, he could hardly train now. His parents had explained to him that his swimming skills would be of no help. Also, both of them used to see his phone as a direct obstruction to his studies and naturally, they had taken it away. To add to the mess, his mother stopped attending all occasions and made Aahan do the same – “ You know!”, she said, while turning down an invitation for her sister’s wedding, “ My son’s not going to be able to keep up with his studies if he attends so many occasions”! Aahan’s father joined in – “He needs to sit and study.” Aahan would have spoken up to tell them they were wrong, but the fear of his parents stopped him. Also, had he used the opportunity to speak, the relative would have instantly classified him as a manerless boy. He kept silent as the sister left their home.

Thus, time passed. ”High Hopes Centre” kept his parents’ hopes high. When Aahan secured low marks in their “mock” exams, they told his worried parents that they needed not to worry, and a good revision of his textbook would put him back on track. As he studied, Aahan would think of his past. His friends, his mischief in school, parties, get-togethers, happy occasions, school events..... A myriad of fond memories surrounded him. His life was no less than a joke now. There was no one to care for him, no one to share his feelings with. He had no phone, he wouldn't have been able to talk to his friends. His parents were there only to remind him to study. Straining his eyes on the open books, he soon lost the ability to see well and his parents took him to the ophthalmologist who prescribed a pair of spectacles.

Aahan’s Class XI half yearly exams were approaching in a month. His mother, of course, had started making preparations for it since quite some time. She managed to get special notes from special teachers. Aahan would have to memorise the notes by heart. He did. He unwillingly put his best into it. His mother had now started bringing his meals into his room. This, she explained to the surprised Aahan, was to save the precious time he'd waste if he ate in the dining room. Aahan’s mother began asking him questions from the special notes that she had arranged for and every wrong answer he gave, made her hysterical. Screams of “You'll fail! You'll fail!” would ring through the walls of their flat. Aahan would then have to read the entire portion out again, write down the answer and even then, his mother wouldn't be pacified.

September. As fall came in, the school suddenly became quieter. People gave up their time almost entirely to studying (memorizing). Those who had spent the year doing practically nothing, now began to flip through textbooks even during breaks; papers and copies lay scattered all over the desks. Attendance began to drop in all classes and sections as people preferred to stay back and study in the comfort of their homes. The  exams were coming close. Teachers suddenly began to be treated with more respect than ever.

“Sir, I'll be failing Sir! The syllabus is so difficult! Please tell me what's important!“, worried students would their teachers. The teachers too, pleased with the sudden attention they were getting, began to display a sense of importance. “One more word, and you’ll see what I do to your paper”, they would say, whenever someone fell out of grace. That was enough to get the worried going.

When the half yearly exams were only a week away, Aahan was seldom allowed to sleep. He would drool over the open pages of his thick chemistry book. The old physics derivations in Nootan’s Physics book began to flood his head and congest his brain. Meanwhile, his biology diagrams stared at him from the walls of his room, where his ever anxious mother had put them up. His father was now coming home an hour earlier to “give his son company”. He would closely monitor his son’s activities.

Finally, the dreaded exams began. Together, the entire school began writing them. Invigilators kept a close watch on every movement in the rooms, but even then, people did manage to cheat. Small pieces of paper were dangerously passed to and fro between students in the rooms, dodging the strict vigilance. After three hours of effort, the students would leave the hall in various moods. Some looked troubled, others satisfied and others happy. There were also some who pretended. Surprisingly, very few students were caught cheating, in spite of the large number of participants. Those who were caught would put up a considerably satisfying performance in front of the invigilator, who would then take pity on the child’s future and send him back to his desk with a warning.

Aahan hadn't considered cheating, being advised by his parents against it. He came to school on time, accompanied by his mother carrying flowers from a special morning prayer for him in the temple. He wrote his papers. His mother had forbidden him from gossiping with his friends after the exam lest he should get distracted. Aahan would therefore have to leave immediately after giving up the written manuscript. When the school bell rang to announce the end of the last exam, the classrooms erupted in cheers. People began to carry out plans they had made earlier to go out for lunch, or play football or go out station to spend the vacation and take a break. Aahan of course, had no option. His “High Hopes Centre” was taking a series of tests, so, while others would frolic and take a break, Aahan would retreat to his study to his advanced level coaching books.