Okay so its exam time almost everywhere.
Come exam time I start getting anxious and literally get exam fever, loaded with negative thoughts and unpleasant feelings.
Talking about exams, there are somethings that happen for sure...
I realize that I happen to have a study table which was until now hidden under the stuff I have piled upon it. I de-clutter my table after a very long time. I don't even remember the last time I used it for some work, instead of just piling it up with numerous unwanted things which, at the time, I felt would be used in some or the other way soon. I guess a leopard can’t change its spots.
It’s just when the exams are around when I get bombarded with calls from everyone asking for the portion, question banks, important questions and the most desperate friends asking for just a few weighty ones which would make sure that they don’t flunk and get on with at least with passing marks!
Getting notes on the last day is a common thing but I have a friend who happens to come just a day before the exam to get my notes Xeroxed and just glancing at the substantial amount of matter he gets the shock of his life. Having no other option he divides into halves and takes just one with him. Then there is another fellow who accompanies him who also happens to be my senior. On seeing the pile of sheets, he pulls my leg “Are you also carrying the next year’s notes beforehand? If so I would be glad if you shared them with me!" Duh.
To add to that, the impending sinking feeling just around the midnight makes it even worse. The nightmare of incomplete answer sheets being snatched out of my hand by one of my most hated lecturers still haunts me like hell.
At this point all the ‘ifs’ come out, ”what if I had not bunked lectures and sat in the canteen for hours chatting pointlessly? What if I had done my assignments on my own instead of copying them down from my friend?” and so on…
Another amusing thing is that instead of studying even on the last day, everyone seems busy posting all screwed up stuff onto their FB walls!
I am a last day study girl, which drives me up the wall.
3 o'clock Maggie always comes in handy for my hunger pangs.
To keep me up until I am done preparing I drink volumes of coffee and in worse cases I also have a tub of water kept ready under the table to immerse my legs so that in any case I don’t even thinkabout sleep.
And I also have this very weird feeling of badly needing to read a novel during my exams.
I turn pale during my exams, recently when I visited my doctor for some reason, he asked, "why are you looking so dull?" And all I gave was a one word answer,"examinations"and he laughed out loud. He asked me to "relax”, one word which really doesn't calm me down in such situations.
He told me that during his exams he had gone to play a cricket tournament just a day before his M.D exams!
I just thought "Doc who do you think you're kidding , if you didn't have that much grey matter how could you be sitting in front of me in your personalized clinic?"
Meanwhile I got an interesting novel this week, 'Message in a bottle ' by Nicholas Sparks. And I am Busy reading, along with preparing for my exam. I get the feeling I've bitten off more than I can chew. :-p

My Monday morning blues

The alarm in my mobile goes off and I know even before looking at the time that I haven't had a full blown sleep and hit the snooze button, it beeps again, I hit the snooze again and again till my mom appears out of nowhere and threatens to splash water all over me ! Which I feel is the most horrible thing one could do to a sleeping beauty, deep in her slumber. To avoid it I drag myself out of the bed.
I hate Mondays, I have hated them ever since I stepped into my high school shoes or was it even before that, I don’t remember.

Anyways I make them even worse by my disgustingly sluggish way of doing things resulting in last minute preparation for the day, get up late and everything turns out in a Hodge-podge manner. I find Mondays so so irksome that I get jitters.

But today is a different day and what makes it different is the fact that I woke up feeling very delighted, since today is Onam ,which brings out the best of tradition and culture of Kerala .It is celebrated by people of all faiths, hence making it a secular festival among Malayalis. It is in fact very colourful festival starting from the traditional games, folk performances, and intricately designed flower forms in front of the house to the most impressive part of the grand feast. The nine course meal adds to the zest of the celebrations. But being in Mumbai, it is quite different. In Kerala normally it is done by the kids roaming around with flower baskets to collect the flowers during this season in Kerala for it helps create natural awareness about flowers and colors in the kids, the search helps increasing awareness about the nature. But here people buy flowers for the detailed flower decoration. The food is prepared in a very hasty manner the busy life schedules force some people to even order the food from a restaurant which caters to the elaborate Onam feast. The way people celebrate this multicultural festival here is with the same enthusiasm. Men and women dress in their traditional attire and women adorn themselves with jewelry and jasmine flowers, treat loved ones with festive goodies, exchange greetings and indulge in some apparel and jewelry shopping.

Wishing all Keralites a very happy, prosperous, colorful, healthy and wealthy Onam!
Let this season brings you all lot of good luck, peace of mind, happiness and all that you wish!