India Online Journal, November 2001
Author: Jennifer Kumar
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Day 10
Today was the first day of my exams.
The exams begin at 9:30am and last until 12:30pm. I like to be early, so I left at 8:30 from the house and walked to the college. As I did not bring any "lucky pen" from the USA, I needed a few, so went to the "stationary stall." Buying pens here is nice because they take them out of the package (most people buy them separately and not the whole package at once) and let you try it before you buy it. I purchased two cello blue ink pens (gel ink), one regular red pen (like BIC) and one scale (i.e. ruler). The cello pens are Rs 15 a piece (expensive) the red pen is Rs 5 (most students buy this) and the scale was Rs 5.
Taking tests, or as they say it here, writing tests, is so laborious in India. It is all about how much you write. The tests are worth 100 points. There are three sections, part A has ten questions, each worth two points. All need to be answered. Part B has six questions, each worth 10 points, only four need to be answered, and part C has four questions of twenty points each, only two need to be answered. For part A, one should write one to two pages, for part B, one should write 3-4 pages, and for part C, one should write 5-6 pages per question. The unruled papers are 11 inches across by about 14 inches lengthwise. We should use both sides. Actually, once I did not use both sides, and my teacher scolded me (i.e. shouted). The answers must be written in black or blue ink, the red pen would be used for highlighting important items by underlining, time permitting, and the scale, to write margins on the sides, time permitting. I usually don't get time to underline or highlight.
Each year the tests for different departments are held in different places. Final exams are never given in your classroom. For my department, all classes were basically held in one room. This year the room chosen was in the "arts block" on the first floor. In India the floor you enter is ground floor and the floors above are first, second, third. This is unlike US, where ground floor is "first floor" and first floor is "second floor". Anyhow, the classroom was on the first floor. The room had barred windows facing outside and facing into the open hallway of the building. There were three on each side. The had 28 two-person wooden desks with attached wooden chairs. There was one chalkboard of about 36 inches by 36 inches and two tube lights on the celing, one in the front of the room, one in back.
About halfway through the exams, the observer holds out small pieces of string. Each paper has a small hole on the top left side, all pages need to be arranged before turning in and the string needs to be inserted and very loosely tied. This is called "tieing your paper." Hence, five minutes before the time finishes, the observer will announce "tie your papers and write."
Today's test in Urban Community Development went very well. I hope the remaining make me feel the same way!
After finishing my tests, I went back home. Today I heard the firecrackers. This was the first time this Diwali season. I was surprized, last year they started 2-3 weeks before Diwali. Actually, I heard they were mostly banned this year, which also explains why I haven't seen the makeshift cracker stands like the previous years. I actually thought I would not miss those heart stopping bangs and pangs, but I had for some strange reason. I guess it really isn't Diwali without it, but I don't fire any myself.
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