Exam results are here… Suicides are here too…!!!!

Come April-May, most of the boards declare the results of the exams conducted for the year. The newspapers are filled with photos of toppers, best performing schools, inspiring stories etc. BUT you cannot miss other news items also along with these, especially those of suicide reports. Last one week I have seen on an average 2 suicide incidents reported every day! I wonder how many more happened un-noticed.

Some common reasons for these cases:

• Extreme Case: He/She failed the board exam. (So what! I know it’s not a fantastic news but there is always a next time. It’s not the end of the road anyway.)
• Sad Case: He/She didn’t score “as expected”, meaning got less marks. (Now, pray tell me what in life happens as we expect? We expect lots of things, but things don’t always happen our way... learn to face defeats my dear boys and girls…)
• Sadder Case: He/She didn’t meet the expectations of “others”. (This is the real killer. Why can’t all these “others” just shut up and mind their own business instead of comparing one child’s results with all his/her elder cousins/nephews/neighbors whatnots!)
• Surprising Case: He did well. Secured 91%… in fact is the school topper but still committed suicide! (Surprised? Read this).
  

What do we make out from this? Whatever the reasons might be, but a common underlining factor is insecurity. These children need help. Who else but from their own kith and kin!

This is an appeal to all the parents out there who have their children writing board exams in the near future. Please, please and pretty please give strength to your children. I agree it is required to make them study and work hard and all that.. but set your own and their expectations low. Make them realize that exam is not the end of the world. If not this, then something else… You can either make them or break them. Choose what you want finally, your son/daughter or a fantastic score card?

May the souls of all these children rest in peace!

Footnote: I am simply bowled over by the %ages achieved by the students who have fared well…. 99% aggregate in a board exam? Simply beyond my imagination! One of my cousins got 88% and had to run from pillar to post to get a seat in some good PUC college L Is 88% a bad percentage..? I thought it was distinction…. It seems the cut off in these colleges are 94%... can you believe that?

Celebrating Life and Death

Before last week a family of 7 died in a road accident. They were distant relatives of P. We went to express our condolences to them at night. The scene was horrifying to say the least.

I had not seen a dead body in my life until the day of my Pati’s sad demise. The scene is still etched in my memory. The way they bought the “body” into the house, and when I touched my Pati, she was all hard and life less… For the first time in my life I got scared of touching her! That was 10 years ago.

Yesterday’s memory will also remain forever. People who die in accidents die horribly. Bodies crushed… parts not recognizable…. I had only heard of these things before. Saw it yesterday. Having a soft heart doesn’t help the situation either! The surviving members of the family were inconsolable! Loosing just one member at a time itself is horrible… just imagine loosing 7 at a time. I don’t know them... so I was just a mute spectator, but though I was not emotionally attached to them at all... I could not control my tears. I don’t even know the names of who have died, but I cried with their family. I just could not help it.

Came home quite late and as expected had to take head bath and wash all the clothes which we were wearing. Finally settled down to sleep… since we had just taken bath at that time... sleep was still far away. So P and I started discussing about life in general.

Isn’t it quite surprising that we never realize that we can get a “call” anytime? But still we fight to be here. We fight for petty things.

• Daughter In-Law fights with Mother In-Law to have more control of her husband (what will she do with it? When he or for that matter she is “gone”?)
• Siblings fight for money from their parents. Will they take it when they go?
• We work day in and out to save money and build a new house and make it as comfortable as possible with all the amenities. Just to be gone without anything one day?
• People murder other people if they face failures in love or business. Will they take their partners be it business or personal along with them when they go?
• When people die “suddenly” they would not have even said a proper “bye” to their near and dear ones. But when they are alive they don’t have time to say “Hi” to the same near and dear ones. How ironical!

Having thought about all this we realized we are not celebrating the God given “life” to the full extent. We should thank God for every single day he gives us and live it the fullest.

LIVE LIFE LOVE LIFE… who knows when we have to let go?