Filled with mixed emotions this morning.

Adventures of President Kalam.

Prez and The Board Result

Which reminds me of my Class 12 board results. I was shit scared that I'd get 60% or something! I was in Lucknow at my mama's place and was sound asleep. I was woken up early in the morning by a call from my mother. Went rushing back to Kanpur straight to my school notice board.... and there it was 90.3% aggregate! What the fuck?

But what's the use of Board results nowadays? Every college worth its salt has an entrance exam. Just get a decent score in boards, say above 80%, and it is not difficult, mind you. The exam papers are so damn predictable. You dont need to learn, you need to strategize. Which portion to study, which portion to skip. What to write, how much to write, which heading to underline, etc, etc. It's all about your strategy!

What is not predictable though, is the grading of answer sheets. In the Maths exam for my 10th Class Boards, I had not attempted questions worth 25 marks. And my final score was 78! Beat that! In 12th class my Computer Science paper was 100% correct and I get 96. Ha!

I think Board exams are just a joke. But parents make such an issue of it... kids commit suicide over their board results! I cant get it. If you're from the Science stream all you need is a meagre 55% marks to be eligible for IIT-JEE or any other pre-medical exam. I'm not too sure about Commerece or Arts, though.

Prez and the Rapist

Now this one, really pissed me off. Leaving a rapist off the hook (or noose!). I mean, first of all the conviction rate for rapists is so damn low! And when they do get convicted you show mercy! Rapists, IMHO, should be given the worst punishment possible. Flog them in public, castrate them, pull out their nails, hot rods in their eyes... anything is less.

Down with RAPE!