Before & After The Exams

We're still at the before stage right now. Last night, after our visit to the doctors, I got a new set of crayons, a new set of Stabilo pencils (yes, the ones you can throw from the window and they won't break when they crash land....no we haven't tried that yet), new eraser, new pencils out for Aneesha.

"Why are you being so kind?" pat came the question.

Don't get her wrong. I'm known for my kindness, at least at home, though the spirit wanes when the exams loom.

"Oh, I just don't want to be like Swami's Dad," I replied.

"Swami, who's Swami?"

Sensing this as the perfect opportunity to induct my twosome into the world of Malgudi and take them far far away from 'The Gingerbread Man', 'Alice in Wonderland', I read out these parts much to the delight of my kids.

This part is from 'Before the Examination'.....
"Two days before his examination he sat down to draw up a list of his needs. On a piece of paper he wrote:

Unruled white paper 20 sheets
Nibs 6
Ink 2 bottles
Clips
Pins"

Swami subsequently frets over it, reworks it before finally mustering the courage to present it to his father who remains busy in his office. Expectedly when he comes face to face with his father, almost everything else fails. He wishes the list could disappear. It's too late:

"What is that paper in your hand?
'Nothing, Father,' Swaminathan answered, thrusting the paper into his pocket.
'What is that?' Father shouted, snatching the list. Reading it with a terrific scowl, he went back to his chair. 'What is this thing?'
Swaminathan had to cough twice to find his voice.
'It is - my - examination list.'
'What examination list?'
'My examinations begin the day after tomorrow, you know.'
'And yet you are wandering about the house like an unleashed donkey! What preposterous list is this? Do you think rupees, annas and paisas drop from the sky?'
Swaminathan did not think so, but something nearly so."

Attempt reading this when you are close to breaking point, you'll find there has never been a better stress buster. In fact, you can get your child to be Swami (trust me they'll love playing him, some parts of the personality will in fact emerge naturally) and take turns reading the lines, you'll be surprised by the intense merriment that ensues.

Now for the part after the exams from 'School Breaks Up':
"With dry lips, parched throat, and ink-stained fingers, and exhaustion on one side and exaltation on the other, Swaminathan strode out of the examination hall on the last day.

Standing in the veranda, he turned back and looked into the hall and felt slightly uneasy. He would have felt more comfortable if all the boys had given their papers as he had done, twenty minutes before time......

Swaminathan suddenly wished that he had not come out so soon....."

And so the story unfolds. Now, it's time for you to go get the book. A treasure trove if ever there was one.