When brain becomes a Bermuda Triangle

 Image Courtesy :Google

Beware the ides of March. It's the time of the year when the nation is seized by a strange fever. No, it's not dengue, swine flu or malaria. It's much worse and affects teenagers mostly. You can know it from the symptoms - anxiety, irritation, forgetfulness and sleeplessness.

Yes it's exam fever. There is no escape from it even for the brightest. They too feel the heat in some way or the other. The stress is usually the result of high expectations from parents and teachers. They want to live out their dreams through children unmindful of the negative pressure they are exerting. Sometimes the pressure is internal as boys and girls work themselves into a bundle of nerves wondering whether they could meet the expectations.

Whatever, our very approach to exam is unrealistic. For corporate colleges exam is the time to settle scores with their competitors. In a bid to bag the first ten ranks they end up coercing students to excel. There are instances of youngsters taking the extreme step of ending their lives unable to cope with the pressure. Sometimes it is parents who force their kids to go the extra mile so that they can brag about their brilliance before others. And in the process some minds wear out while most rust out.

No doubt one should be competitive, but not unrealistic in goals. Prove yourself to yourself not to others. Exams aren't everything. Whatever the result one can still be successful in life. One can fail in mathematics and still be a good musician. One can score low in sciences and yet be a top notch sportsman. What matters is the potential, not certificates. Remember what Bill Gates reportedly remarked: I failed in some subjects but my friend passed. Now he is an engineer in Microsoft and I am the owner.

On the eve of exams most students try to mug up answers without bothering to understand. Result -their brain turns Bermuda triangle. What goes in never comes out. For most it is mathematics which scares the daylight out of them. "Dear maths why don't you grow up and solve your problems. I am tired of solving them for you", they would say. There was a friend of mine who had a take-it-easy attitude. During examination he would look up for inspiration, down in desperation and left and right for information. Today's children would wish Mr. Google was sitting right next to them in the exam hall.

How to beat the exam blues? From yoga to breathing exercise experts suggests many things. But there isn't a sure fire mantra. Your mind will answer most questions if you let it relax and wait for the answer.

                                                                                                                                        J.S.Ifthekhar,

Hyderabad based journalist.

Article published in The New India Express

Dated March 06,2019