Fixing the exam problems - better to question the exams!

In the last week, I came across two problems about centralised board exams -

• Mark sheets errors' inquiry deferred
• PU graduation results delayed for want of evaluators

What amazes me is that the newspapers and administration keep talking about and applying band-aids to fix the problems and, rarely, if ever, is there the question of what purpose do these exams serve and do we really need them?

It surprises me even more that just the introduction of the semester system is taken as a reform! There is little discussion about the reasons for the opposition by the faculty.

I do not know why the faculty in various universities oppose the semester system; but I don't think they ask for a change to an internal exam.  But I do know from personal experience that the doubling of the number of centralised exams made a mess of students' and faculty's vacations but did not improve the quality of learning.

Riding a bike to work

My first recollection of using a bicycle is as a pre-school child. My cousins and I had rented some bikes. I was probably riding a bike for the first time. Did I fall on some stones at a construction site? I am not sure but I do not recall touching a bicycle till I was over 18.

My father rented a bike in a park in Tokyo and forced it on me. Somehow, I managed to ride it a bit. The presence of people made me self-conscious and uncomfortable. It was a bit of a 'torture' inflicted on me by my father.

I enjoyed bicycling on IIT,K campus during the year I spent as a post-doc. Many years later, I satisfied my desire to bicycle to work - using my son's bicycle. I rode to work on a weekend. Even on a weekend, the vehicular traffic overtaking me made me uncomfortable. Besides, Mapusa was a hilly town. So, on several sections I had to walk and drag the bicycle. Overall, I did not enjoy it enough to switch to using a bicycle to commute.

If only I had learnt bicycling well as a child, I presume, by overcoming my phobia of people. At least commuting by bicycling may have been more fun. I may even have bought myself a mountain bike for moving around in Mapusa.

My one game of Golf

I couldn't escape Physical Education even in college. I took a class on Golf  and it wasn't too bad. Actually, I think that I may even have enjoyed it, at least until the exam. It was almost an individual activity. But there was a final exam. The exam was that I had to go to a golf course and actually play a game.

I was alone. A group of two people agreed and let me join them. I must have been a nervous wreck. I can't recall the golf ball flying through the air. Somehow, the harder I tried, the worse it got. I would manage to hit the ball but invariably in a way that it just rolled on the ground.

Inspite of my poor play, we reached a hole where the previous group was still on the green. Knowing the quality of my play, my 'team mates" suggested that I take my shot. There was no pressure. It was embarrassing that I was regarded as absolutely no threat to the team ahead of us. I did not think that I  could scare anyone either. So, I went ahead and the shot was remarkable! It was nearly perfect and landed close to the green.

I knew I could play :) But it did not help. I played the remaining holes even worse than before.

I wish I understood why the mere presence of people wrecked my brain.

A Very Dumb Ride

It is hard to believe that I could have done something so stupid.

I had bought a bicycle about a kilometer or two from the main gate of IIT, Kanpur along a national highway. It was just two lanes and undivided at the time and with lots of heavy vehicle traffic.

I decided to ride the bicycle back. It seemed foolish to be walking with a bicycle.

The stupidity of my action hit me later. I was riding within the campus and three boys were chatting on a path way. I recall shouting at them and they staring at me, a little confused. Not for long though as I rammed into them. No damage was done except to my ego :) I apologised and explained that I was learning to ride a bike.

I keep wondering if a truck had speeded past me, what could have happened!

Inflation, Competition and Depression

Yesterday a neighbour asked for some help. They needed a maid, like the one we have for my mother. It took me a while to realize that their major concern was cost! They are better off than us with children settled abroad who are very keen to help. The salary for a maid should be peanuts for them. I can only guess that it is hard for old people to get used to the increases in costs with high inflation.

Even if the work required of the maid is very little, the mere fact that she has to be present for 8 hours means that we should pay her a reasonable amount. As it is, I feel sad at the low expectations of most help; but the even lower expectations of the neighbours really depressed me.

But this depression was nothing compared to another experience. Yesterday, a new person picked up the garbage. He mentioned that the rate from first will now be X. Even though it seemed low, it just did not register in my mind that something was wrong.

Today, I talked to the new guy asking about the previous fellow and why the change. He said that he will be charging us less than our existing service provider for the same service! I was taken aback. He explained that he was reducing the charges because the other guy had undercut him in several houses from which he used to collect garbage. So, he was left with no choice as he also has to eat!

I did not change our service provider. But this destructive competition among at the bottom of the pyramid spoiled my day. There has to be a better way.

Rent Control Act - all to protect the poor and the defenceless!

 The following headline "UP sends notice to Shanti Bhushan for Rs 1.33 crore" was of course very interesting. However, it was the old story which struck a raw nerve.

Lala Manohar Das, great grandfather of Sudhir Tandon, was one of the founders of the Allahabad Bank, which shifted its headquarters to Kolkatta in 1917. Bhushan’s father Vishwamitra had taken the property on rent way back in 1938.
The total area of the bungalow is over 11,000 sq metre. Of this, about one-third was vacated by Bhushan in favour of the owner who sold it in October last year. The remaining part is in possession of Bhushan’s family.
“For us, this was a win-win situation. We sold the land vacated by Shanti Bhushan for about Rs 10 crore. Otherwise, we were getting a monthly income of Rs 200 only from this property which was under the Rent Control Act,’’ said Sudhir Tandon.

A lawyer had rented our house. He stayed for many years. My grandfather who was looking after the place expired. My father was straight-forward and agreed to the extension requests of the tenant - but after many years, he still would not vacate. My cousin told my father(a phrase which sounds more poetic in Punjabi) - Has he(the tenant) been bitten by a mad dog that he would vacate your house, move to the suburbs and pay more!

Finally, my father filed a legal case for eviction. He may have lost the case on a technicality. However, the government officials take care of themselves. They created a law by which a government official could get his rented place vacated upon retirement.

It still took years as the tenant filed false statements. The supreme court did not admit the case and we are finally staying in the house now!

Still, it is depressing to read how the very well off, well connected and morally 'upright' - like a former law minister - benefit from laws like the rent control act! 

Next step - a Lokpal to decide who is mature enough to vote!

The poor opinion of Anna Hazare about democracy is not surprising but still disappointing since so many folks got carried away on Facebook. And it depressed me. The following really bugged me:

“I will forfeit my deposit if I contest any elections,” Hazare said, implying that good candidates seldom won. “Ordinary voter does not have awareness. They cast their vote under the influence of Rs 100 or a bottle of liquor or a sari offered by candidates. They don’t understand the value of their vote.”

Let's have a Lokpal who will decide the people mature enough to vote!

I am disturbed by the implicit belief that election reforms cannot ensure that decent candidates stand for election and get elected. Why bother with democracy. Let us invite Colonel Gaddafi who needs a new job. I am sure Libyans will offer us free oil if we do so :)

Expressing confidence that the Lokpal Bill will eradicate corruption by about 90 per cent, he suggested that the remaining 10 per cent could be taken care of by electoral reforms with the provision of “right to reject”. So, he advocated the need for “none of the above” button in electronic voting machines.

We need the option to reject all - I wonder if 'reject all' will result in more alcohol or sarees coming the way of the 'Ordinary voter'.

It amazes me that anyone can believe that strict punishment can eliminate corruption (or any crime)! And since these people believe that corruption is pervasive, how on earth will one person manage to bring all the corrupt to justice or even manage to filter the cases that need to be pursued? I suppose that will be determined by who pays more to prosecute/persecute someone! I am sure the Lokpal will be incorruptible; so, he will prosecute his own employees.

And amazingly the strong support for hanging the corrupt comes from a Chief Minister - oh, how he would love to apply that law to his opponents!

All I can say is that the "civil society" is not very civil in my view.