Osho, me and our viva voce examinations

Every joke has a setup/ buildup followed by an anti climax and a punchline.

In this case the buildup till about 3.50 minutes will remind you of that professor of mechanical engineering from 3 Idiots and thereafter it’s a laugh riot when the floodgates of punchlines open up.

This also reminded me of my own school and college times.

I used to get into trouble with some of my teachers in school for asking questions and for conducting experiments at home. One of them caned me in front of the whole class for conducting an optical experiment during the summer vacations in 1989 followed by my desire to discuss with her why it went ‘wrong’.

I used to be called a ‘scientist’ by some of my fellow students and some teachers in a mocking and derisive manner.

But I kept with it and worked out extremely well when I landed in my BSc. There I mastered the art of turning the viva voce examination into a lengthy conversation with the panel of my professors such that I would get the highest marks in viva voce among all the students in Physics and Chemistry.

I had accidentally discovered the trick in such a manner during my first year viva voce examination in Chemistry that even when I wasn’t clear about a particular topic I could turn it into a conversation where my teachers were only too eager and keen to help me understand the topic and a standard 10 minute examination would turn into a conversation for about an hour and half.

My fellow students used to wonder how I used to come out of the room feeling excited when they were shivering at the prospect of being torn apart in the viva voce even as they used to score the most in the written exam.

But as I look back I also realise that while the insatiable curiosity and eagerness to learn are still intact in me, I have stopped asking questions to one and all openly.

Like I have shared in some of my posts in October this year, I realise two things:

-1. There is a price to pay for both being silent as well as being outspoken.

-2. If you ask questions to yourself you will get most of the answers but if you ask questions to others, more questions will pop up. We all are a good defense advocate of our own mistakes and a judge of others’ mistakes and hence instead of arriving at decisions and proximity, we end up creating divisions and distance between us.

Nevertheless, here’s raising a water toast 🍸 to a a life well examined.

Thank you Mr. Nitin Mishra for sharing this in our Laughter Therapy group and thank you Vinit Taneja Sir for being the reason I came across this. 😄😄😌😌🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽