Growing, changing yet still the same. Yup, that's India

Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal's proposals to make Class 10 exams optional and replace marks with grades in Class 12 has been making waves among both students and teachers alike. It certainly gave me some food for thought. Kapil Sibal's idea is equivalent to a cool breeze hitting you in the sultry summertime. It sparks room for growth and for change in the ever same monotonous educational system, something which was inevitable, but has now been kicked off by this announcement.
Not everyone really sees it this way though. Most people are skeptical and are criticizing it more than praising it and welcoming it with open arms. Most complaints are valid, teachers fear students may take up a casual approach towards school work and in turn neglect it but the root cause of the resistence is the human aversion to change. Grading is an alien system and most would feel lost without an exact mark to evaluate their performance.

The main thing is whether India ia ready for such a system. From times immemorial, the education system in India is marks based. Schools, colleges, universities -the first thing they ask for is your marks. Any other achievements in various other fields is completely secondary. So if they adopt the system of grades, the current existing system will have to break out of its mould and make way for change, something that isnt easy. Just call it trying to move a donkey who's standing with his heels dug in. Unless the donkey wants to move, your gonna get nowhere .

Personally, I think it should be a mix of both. Or atleast a balance should be struck. Year after year students kill themselves (Literally) to get that 90 percentage and above and for what ? Its two measley numbers for crying out loud ! Sure they make or break your future, they pave way for you to select the subjects you want but at the end of the day aren't there more important things ?

Like doing what YOU love ? Like doing something for YOURSELF ? Like receiving praise and accolades for something YOU are brilliant at although it isnt academics ?

I say do what your heart tells you to. You have to study , yes there's no questioning that but gone are the days when only medicine, engineering, and law were the career options. Today we're spoilt for choice ! I mean you can take what you love and turn it into your profession and get paid for it. I mean how grand is that ? Don't let academics suppress your inate desires !

Cliched as it may sound, life is short. So live it - for yourself.

Anneka

Anneka Sophia Mascarenhas.

My dear friend, basketball buddy , our very own "shorty".
Anneka was the epitome of happiness. I never saw her unhappy or upset without an actual reason. She was someone who uplifted everyone's spirits, cracked the lamest jokes and basically was totally perky all the time.She was an awesome basketball player ! She may have been short but she had a mean layup shot.
I still remember all those years of hanging out at the basketball court , playing matches and then sitting around and talking, joking, playing Chinese whisper and teasing each other.
In school, everyone knew Anneka. She was liked by everyone .. the teachers , the students and even the kids. Everyone knew who she was and I personally , admired her as she was always involved with something or the other. Singing, basketball, Annual Day - Anneka would do anything and everything to lend a helping hand.
She was plucky and never daunted by a challenge , no matter how hard or tough.

There are many things I wish I had said to her , many times I wished I had told her how much I admired her for her courage.
I wish I could take anything mean I said or did to her back.
Because now she's gone. For good. And I can never tell her any of this. None of us can.

All we can do is pray for her peace and hope that she is now in a better place than she was here.

Rest in Peace Anneka ..
We'll miss you.