Marks and Exams : Chetan Bhagat & Vir Das

The CBSE class X and XII results came out earlier this week. As a 90% aggregate becomes as common as kissing in our movies (no big deal) and cut-offs for good colleges become insane, we wonder if there is anyone who hasn’t scored amazing marks. In the noise of high scorers, we often forget the lakhs of students who score in the fifties, sixties and seventies. We brand them mediocre. We offer them succour with a few articles that cite low scorers who became billionaires or movie stars and have headlines that scream marks don’t matter. Well, if they didn’t matter, why on earth would everyone be chasing them, is a question they don’t answer.This article is addressed to those low scorers. It’s boards. X, the overweight kid who isn’t that confident and has become even less so after the results came out. X, whose relatives and neighbours come to console him with it doesn’t matter,but deep down wonder if this boy will do anything in life. If you relate to this guy, or know someone who does, this article is for you. It isn’t a soothing balm for your low marks. These are some no-nonsense tips on what to do when you have scores that suck and people have given up on you. Here goes:

1  You are not your marks

Yes, marks are important. They make life hell of a lot easier. High marks make people think you are smart. Colleges with a brand name let you come in. Companies with a brand name come to these colleges. They give you a job, which pays rather well. You can use that money to pay bills, get married, have sex, start a family, and produce kids who you will push to get higher marks and repeat the cycle of torment. This, for most people, is life -making it as predictable, safe and stable as possible.Indian parents particularly love this zero-risk appetite life, where a monthly cash flow is assured and kids are born and raised as per plan. They have a word for it -settled. Indians love that word. We want to settle, we don’t want to roam, have adventures and fly. Settle, or in other words, produce kids, work in office, watch TV at home, repeat for a few decades, die. Toppers find it easier to settle. Nontoppers take a bit longer. A delay in `settling’, the ultimate Indian dream, is just about the only sucky thing about low marks.

2  The Game of Life is not over

These marks are in certain subjects, which are not exactly what leads to success in life. Sure, you study Maths and Science, but these are standard concepts, recycled and drilled into students and tested in the exams. The only thing high marks indicate is that the student has the tenacity and perseverance to excel at something. Hence, I am not going to say toppers don’t deserve praise. But life is more than just tenacity and mathematics.Exams don’t test creativity, imagination, people skills and communication. In life these are what matter. You build these skills through study or actual practice, and it is highly likely you will get somewhere in life. However, you must add hard work to it. Ask yourself, whether you had low marks because you don’t have aptitude for these subjects, or did you slack off ? If you slacked off, don’t do that again if you want to get anywhere in life. Take that lesson, and then build your communication, English and people skills. Learn how business works. Not everyone in India can get plum jobs, there are just way too many of us. Entrepreneurship is something a lot of youngsters will have to learn and try .

3 Strive for excellence

In whatever you do, try to excel. Excellence in board exams can be measured through marks, but over time in life, the marks will stop. What will matter is what people think of you. Your reputation, your reliability, and your word will build your own mini-brand. Once that happens, people will stop asking about your marks, or where you studied. You will be the brand.

Nobody has asked me for my marks in a long time. However, you know the boy I wrote about above? Well, that’s me. I scored that 76% in Class X. I felt horrible then, but eventually I didn’t let it define me. It doesn’t matter today. After all, you still read this article, right?