N. Raghuraman's column: Give exam-takers a small part of the 1990s lifestyle

"Where does the exam go?" the driver asked a student boarding a bus from the front gate in Mumbai on Monday. I was waiting there for the bus to leave and I would cross the road. That's why I listened to that conversation. The boy said that due to print errors in his hall ticket, he was confused about the examination center. He wants to solve this problem so that he can give the HSC exams in Maharashtra stress-free starting February 10, in which 3,52,951 students like him will appear. Similarly, on February 20, 3,48,899 students two years junior to him will appear for the SSC exam. Mumbai's Civic Transport has not only run additional buses for these students, but has also asked them to board through the front door to avoid overcrowding at the back gate during the exam period. The driver said, 'Hey, don't worry, come on.' I'll get you there soon. I'm sure your problem will be solved. These words comforted the boy. He smiled and also ignored the uncomfortable faces of some of the passengers as they climbed through the front gate. The bus moved forward and I crossed the road and wondered what this new generation who is going to take their first or second competitive exam would think if such mistakes happen at the last moment. When I took the same exam in the early 1970s, no one walked with us. We would walk to school, take the exam, and return to prepare for the next exam. In the early 2000s, when my daughter took the exam, one of the parents would accompany her so that she would not get caught in traffic or any other problem that would spoil her mood to prepare for the next exam. Today we are in a time where we struggle with time constraints due to common problems like computer glitches, sudden power outages and transport system failures. And we've also seen the 1990s, when we had a lot of time. Because then the world was not so fast and there was no algorithm to assess our three-second remaining attention span. In those days, the housing society used to send chocolate bars to all the children of the colony with exam wishes. Some of the well-to-do people of the Society would send greetings with good ink pens. The society issues a notice that loud music will not be played. The clubhouse will be open not for entertainment, but for students preparing for exams. Some people would give tea and coffee, so that the children would not only be warm, but also keep awake for studies. The people in the car used to message the parents that if needed, they would drop the children to the exam center. This collective effort of all the people was just to make the children successful. Today, the lifestyle of all of us is much higher. Every household is competing with the other in accumulating wealth. We are hesitant to ask anyone for help. The world is running. And maybe that's why we often don't even see the neighbor's kid anxiously waiting for the bus at the bus stop. The trick is that since the SSC and HSC exams are about to start across the country, let's give these kids a small part of the lifestyle of the 1990s. Maybe this behavior will make their day and ours better.