Leaked Examination Papers – Why the punishment for this crime needs to be much higher

The year was 1993. My sister had just written her EAMCET entrance exam and the results were out. She ranked 429 in the medical entrance test, which meant that she was on her way to becoming the first doctor in our family. The test is attempted by all aspiring doctors throughout the state. Only those students that rank 500 or below are guaranteed an admission to one of the medical universities in the state. Since my sister successfully placed in the top 500 in her very first attempt, it was a big deal for us. Then came the news that the examination paper had been leaked to the students that scored the first and third rank in the test. The uncertainty that followed, and the anguish my entire family was feeling cannot be described in words. While my sister is a very good student, re-writing a very competitive examination, is a risk she was not ready to take. Thankfully, since the paper was leaked only to two students, the results were not nullified, and my sister went on to become a doctor.

Fast-forward to five years. Now it was the turn of my youngest sister to appear for her ICSE Class X board exams. This year was notorious for what happened to the students. Every morning the leaked paper would appear in the newspaper. My sister told me that she would ask the examiner every day, if the exam was cancelled. They would respond no, and the students were made to take the test. This happened for every single subject, and when they thought that they were finally done with their exams and could relax, the tests were nullified, and the students were asked to re-appear for the exams. My sister was so frustrated at this point, that she refused to study all over again for the exams. While she did pass with distinction, we always wonder how much she would have scored had the papers not leaked the first time around.

Fast-forward to twenty more years, and the top story in the news is once again a leaked examination paper, this time it is CBSE. It is really appalling and a shame that even after twenty five years, our country still hasn’t been able to conduct an exam without the papers being leaked. Just search the internet for leaked board examination papers and you will see links to news reporting the leaks almost every single year. While some of you might think, what the big deal is, you need to understand that the stakes for these tests are very high, and the stress that a student goes through while preparing and appearing for these tests, is like no other. They prepare their mind for these examinations for months and sometimes years, and when the examinations are complete, the mind is freed from all the stress they have been bottling up. To go back to the zone once again for a re-examination is something many students cannot handle. It is really very sad that we have taken these leaks for granted, and are subjecting our kids to a trauma they do not deserve. We seriously need to do something to stop these crimes. Since the results of these tests can make or break a student’s future, the punishment for such a crime (committed due to negligence / greed) should be such that, in the future people will think twice before their try to repeat it. I read somewhere that some students are planning on filing a class action suit. I really hope all the CBSE students join together and file the lawsuit, so they bankrupt the hell out of all those involved in these leaks. The only way to stop this terrible and shameful crime, is to make sure that the stakes for getting caught is really very high.

 

The mystery behind the odorless flowers

One of my biggest disappointments when I came to US was the fact that almost all the flowers were odorless. As someone who was born and raised in India, for me the beauty of the flower is not just defined by how it looks but also by how it smells. All flowers have a unique smell and thats what makes them so special. I never understood why most of the flowers (including roses) in this country were odorless. During one of my many queries, I was told that the odor was lost in the process of cultivating hybrid flowers for superior quality. Since Google was not available in those days, I just accepted that answer and moved on. After a while, I got used to the odorless flowers around me and forgot all about their beautiful fragrances.

So imagine my surprise when I recently came across a man named David Burpee, while browsing through the book “The Leader In You” by Dale Carnegie. In one of the chapters titled “Focus and Discipline”, the author talks about this famous seed man David Burpee, and his search for an odorless marigold. According to Carnegie, marigold was considered a stepchild of flowers because, though it was a beautiful flower, it had an unpleasant odor. So David took it upon himself to give the world a marigold that would titillate and not shock the nostrils. So he got seeds from all over the world and planted them in his thirty five acre land. He sniffed each and every flower until he found the one that did not have an odor. When he finally found one that was odorless, he crossed it with one of his larger varieties, and planted them all over until he found one with no odor, and that was the beginning of the beautiful but odorless marigolds we see today in the market.

What shocked me about this whole story, is the fact that someone had decided that the smell of marigold was unpleasant so they had to get rid of it. I love the smell of marigolds. In fact, I am sure any person living in the tropics will vouch that, though marigold has a distinct smell, it is by no way unpleasant. Back home we decorate our houses with marigolds every chance we get, and the fragrance of the flowers sets a festive mood in the house. Similarly, roses, lilies, jasmines and many such flowers, bring as much joy to people by their fragrance as they do by their looks. In fact, if you had any of these flowers inside your house, you wouldn’t need all those candles and plugins to make your house smell good. It is really sad, that a long time ago someone decided that the natural fragrance of flowers was either not important or unpleasant, and took it upon themselves to actually get rid of the odor. So now, we are stuck with odorless flowers, and have to buy candles, and scented oils for the same fragrance that would have otherwise been freely available in the form of flowers.

Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana

To say that I was upset, when Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana did not release in the US last November, would be an understatement. As a fan of his work, I was really looking forward to watching Rajkummar Rao in a full-fledged romantic role. My frustration was not that I will never be able to watch the film, but because I will not be paying to watch the film. As someone who likes to encourage good films, I feel more happy when I contribute to the success of a film, rather than watching it on some online streaming sites. Sadly in the case of Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana, I had no choice but to wait till it was available for online streamlining.

Now that I have watched it, all I can say is, OMG! I watched the film three times in the last twenty-four hours, and I still haven’t gotten enough of it. Thanks to Rajkummar Rao and Kriti Kharbanda’s brilliant portrayal of Sattu and Aarthi, you can’t help but fall in love with Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana. Sattu and Aarthi are your every day young couple who are hesitant to get married, but eventually fall head over heels for each other. The innocence, and purity that comes with first love is very evident in the bond they share with each other. Sadly, happily ever-after is not meant to be. The breakup and the events that follow, shape the people they end up becoming. The matured Sattu and Aarthi are a far cry from their former selves, especially Sattu who is now bitter and hell bent on making Aarthi’s life a living hell.

Rajkummar Rao is without a doubt an actor par excellence. The ease with which he gets into the skin of each of his characters is just incredible. While I am a huge fan of his intense performances, it is his lover boy roles that I find most endearing. There is something about the way he emotes love – so pure, innocent, honest and genuine, that you can’t help but fall in love with him, and he was no different as Sattu. From the time he appears on screen you start falling as fast and hard for Sattu, as Aarthi does. So much so, that when she leaves him at the alter, you cry for him, and when he reappears in the second half as a dashing IAS officer, your heart literally skips a beat. Watch out for his performance in the second half. The emotions he evokes are nothing short of a roller-coaster ride. If not for anything, Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana is worth a watch just for Rajkummar Rao’s performance.

Equally impressive is Kriti Kharbanda as Aarthi. She is the perfect Aarthi to Rajkummar’s Sattu. A simple innocent small town girl, with big dreams of becoming a civil services officer. While she is hesitant to get married, she changes her mind when she meets Sattu, a like-minded boy who is very supportive of her dreams. She considers herself fortunate to have found such a loving and understanding guy. Sadly, that is not enough for a happily ever-after, especially in small town India. So, when Aarthi is forced to choose between a life with Sattu, and her dreams, she chooses her dreams. She runs away on her wedding day, leaving Sattu at the alter. This and the events that follow, have a great impact on Sattu, changing him forever. Kriti does a great job of playing the very much in love Aarthi in the first half, and the confused, repentent and helpless Aarthi, in the second.

Another highlight of the film is it’s music. While all the songs in Shaadi Mein Zarror Aana are beautiful, some are more haunting than others. The song that gets stuck in your head for a short while after watching the film is the upbeat Pallo Latke, because it is catchy and plays during the end credits. However, it is quickly replaced by Main Hoon Saath Tere, Jogi, Gali Banaras Ki and Mera Inthkam Dekhegi, four beautiful songs, that you just can’t get enough of, irrespective of how many times you listen to them. While it is hard to choose a favorite, Main Hoon Saath Tere is the first song that springs to mind every time I think of the film.

Of course, music and lead characters are not enough to make a great film. Luckily, Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana has much more to offer than just that. From the realistic depiction of an average middle-class family, to the heartwarming love story, every scene in the film is relatable. Even dialogues like “Pink mein na aap ekdum Juhi Chawala lagte hain” and “Aap tho har rang mein Shah Rukh Khan dikte hain”, that might otherwise sound cheesy, feel very natural and sweet when uttered by Sattu and Aarthi. This realistic depiction is evident even while handling sensitive issues like dowry. I really loved how they were able to present all the ills of dowry, without actually putting a spotlight on it. The way the groom’s family bargains to get the most dowry from the bride’s family, justifying it as something they need to do, because they have a girl in their family that needs to get married too, all this while knowing how difficult it might be for the bride’s family, is almost sickening. Equally revolting is the way they splurge the dowry money to purchase jewelry for themselves, and then cry and curse the girl’s family later on, when they have to sell the same jewelry to repay the dowry money. The way the scenes play out are so subtle that what you take from it, depends on how you are viewing it. This subtlety when dealing with sensitive issues is evident throughout the film.

While it deals with a number of subjects, Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana is first and foremost a love story, and a pretty good one at that. So, if you want to watch a beautiful romantic film that keeps you entertained till the very end, watch Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana. You will not be disappointed.

 

 

 

A Wrinkle in Time

Jon Favreau did it at the beginning of The Jungle Book, and now Ava DuVernay did the same thing in the beginning of A Wrinkle in Time. They both spoke about the books, and what it meant for them to make their respective films. I really love it when directors talk at the beginning of a film, especially when it comes to an adaption of a children’s book. There are so many emotions and memories attached to the story, that when directors share their personal experiences, you feel more connected. It makes you feel like the director knows exactly how you feel about the story. So in my book Ava DuVernay scored very high even before the actual film started rolling.

Last year, we chose A Wrinkle in Time for my daughter’s book club, because we knew that the movie was going to be out sometime this year, and I wanted the girls to read the book before the film released. A Wrinkle in Time is a coming of age story of Meg Murray, who is in search of her father, and her ultimate fight against darkness to save her family. Needless to say all the girls in the book club loved the book very much and couldn’t wait to watch the film on the big screen. One of the reasons they loved the book so much, is because they all related to Meg Murray in some way or the other.

While the film was unable to create the same magic that the book did, it was still a great adaptation. With stunning visuals and a great star cast, the film was engaging from the very beginning. Everyone from Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Chris Pine, Levi Miller to Deric McCabe played their characters to perfection, making the film well worth a watch.

A Wrinkle in Time is strictly a children’s film, as it should rightly be. Ava did not even try to make the film appeal to the adult audience. It was wonderful watching a film, without the children ever having to cringe or feel uncomfortable for even a minute. My daughter and her friends, are still at an age where they cover their eyes, when a kissing scene pops up on screen. So it was kind of fun watching them raising their hands to cover their eyes, and then sigh a relief, the couple of times that Mr. & Mrs. Murray or Meg and Calvin came close to each other, but instead of kissing, ended up hugging each other. The film was genuinely made for the children, and the five ten-year-olds that I watched the movie with, loved every minute of it. As someone who leads the book club for the girls, it was very easy for me to relate to the film, just the way they all did. The endless discussions I had with my daughter after watching the film, made the whole experience even more special.

A Wrinkle in Time is without a doubt a special film, that teaches us the importance of love, family, self-respect, faith and perseverance.