mY sTinT wItH tHErModYnAmIcS!

I lastly cleared my course MT201.I am swollen with pride. I think, I have mastered the tricks and theories of 'disaster management ' .you see, managing the disordered things is an art and managing it really gives me a high. They say” well begun is half done" but I could never begin and things remained undone. I don’t know why even at this very moment I very strongly feel..I deserved and could have very easily scored an A in this very sweet n sour course of mine (mini no offence meant to you...but I still feel you could have done better)...but alas it’s nothing new. As always I never capitalize my opportunities and the very habit of mine taking things casually does lands me in trouble off and on. Can you beat it....I just attended 16 out of 48 lectures in the whole semester .I even struggled reaching the class at eight in the morning. And the fact is I could never make it. I would always reach the class fifteen minutes past eight, but always felt shy entering the class with a decision that I would come in time from tomorrow and unfortunately that tomorrow never came. And lo! Suddenly I became popular. When my course mates used to meet me, even before exchanging the greetings I was greeted with numbers..."honshu! 1 out of 5, 2 out of 10..." but when I still look back, I feel proud like a true fighter pilot, I never panicked. My reaching on time in his class almost became equivalent to scaling the Everest. By god's grace if I did, I could only make it only because our honorable professor was four minutes late. Now in his class I always felt bumpy .I would act as if I was the only attentive student in the class (though I didn’t even know what topic were we studying).I would always show the eagerness to answer his questions but with a fear of being asked to me. I would rack my brain hard to raise a doubt and impress him with my attention, concentration and inquisitiveness but in vain. there are two ways to slide easily through life:to believe everything or to doubt everything.Both ways save us from thinking.I then realized 'when actually u r stressed to raise a doubt, suddenly things seem so clear n obvious to you'.......first sessionals came n went ...n I thank god my great accident saved me.... (I still appreciate that perfect timing of my accident. You see me an optimist of highest order! Well that’s altogether a different story in itself ...) and due to medical (I was saved) reason I couldn’t attempt his paper. I promised myself to be regular from now on. But I think promises made in storms were only meant to be forgotten in calms and my late-lateefe continued. Then things started getting straight. I started attending his classes regularly. But I think, things were never meant to be so rosy for me...Now our beloved professor started missing classes. He went on a one week leave and this game of hide-n-seek continued...when I wouldn’t make in time lectures were held rigorously but whenever I turned up on time, it was only to know that the class has been cancelled. I have this habit of planning high and getting lazy. Now somehow I got the permission of special conduction of my 1st sessional exam. I used to console my laziness by telling myself “its ok dude! Oneday I gonna impress this 'MAHAJONG' with my bombastic performance in the sessional.So I would go home today and thoroughly study for the exam. Tomorrow would be the day. “But alas! As I mentioned that tomorrow never came...and I never studied for my first sessional.And suddenly...yes suddenly second sessional arrived .Four hours before the exam ,I studied very rigorously and as soon as I held the question paper, I felt happy on realizing that I can attempt 4 out of 5 questions. I looked around with a sense of pride and started answering my exam only to commit silly blunders like calculation mistakes with a minus sign at a place of plus n a plus sign at a place of minus...anger n frustration filled me coz’ d opportunity to prove myself to that professor was lost again. Then came the diwali holidays, pecfest and the session almost came to an end with my first sessional still pending. I couldn’t spare a day, post 50 days the first sessional to prepare and give my first sessional as per my own convineance.Heights of slugishness!Then comes a big questionmark!what about my attendance? After pecfest, I shamelessly stood with just 10 lectures .But frankly, there was always something in me that never made me nervous...I was never afraid...yes I was casual but calm. I was assured that it would be solved. The most embarrassing moment for me whenever the thermo class would end was when the students would ask their attendance count...and I would just hate that moment...for the first time in my life I hated listening my very own name..."himanshu...12/44..."..And I could do nothing but just hide my face n myself when the whole class would be grinning mercilessly at me. On the last day of our academic session...I got traumas for my attendance shortage. I entered his office smartly like a cadet marching in the squadron commander’s office and started my convincing confusing philosophy. I negotiated with him for 15 minutes and finally I get a feeling that I am done. He looks at me as though impressed by my convincing skills and hands over an old yellow page book in my hand and says "Son! Go get me solved 100 questions given at the back of this book and gaskel.If you sincerely get it to me within next 10 days I will forget this casual chapter of yours and would be sending your grades with pride and honour. “I felt elated and very happily thank him at that moment not understanding the gravity of the punishment. Partly because, I was feeling victorious as half my battle was won. But when I came back home and opened the holy book named "physical chemistry of metals by Darken &Gurry, I was shocked. Next seven days would be gone for exams preparation and I would be left with only three days to solve the assignment. I could feel the heat of this core subject at the core of my heart. Next day I had to give my first sessionals of this subject .I just didn’t know anything and cooked up stories. I then realized it would have been better had I given the exam before. Two and a half months past the first sessional exam and I couldn’t spare a day to prepare for it. Shame on me! I miserably passed those seven days of mine battling with my exams. Then on Monday, I and my black book enter the silent and empty library with a blank look. I silently take a chair and start solving numericals.I indeed solved them diligently. But I was feeling embarrassed when the students were staring at me with surprised looks which said "You Moron! Now when the exams are over, you are in the library. Where were you, when you were supposed to be in library?" Affirmative. Had I studied so diligently when I was supposed to be studying I would have topped! I somehow reluctantly solved 40 questions. Then the next day I got hold of a book and asked four of my friends to copy the numericals on the sheets so that I could get four times the work done, what I alone could have done…You see I was always good at maths..."if A could finish a work in 5 hours and B could finish the work in 6 hours. In how much time would A&B solve the work together?"....and my aim was just to make the submission assignment as thick as possible ...and indeed I was successful n again 'MANAGED’ somehow to make it look like a diligently worked upon assignment.Aah! I wrote an apology letter to give the punishment assignment some sentimental attachments and very shrewdly presented the assignment before 'his highness'...and yes he was happy and like a priest absolved me off all my sins....and forgave me. And hence I saved myself from getting the I grade. And yes that very day, I even impressed him with my performance in the final exam...and I really did well in it. Yes I felt elated when I saw the final grade on the board. I finally cleared my course MT201 with a B grade. I know I haven’t topped but I feel cherished and satisfied. I pulled my socks well in a situation when I was bare-footed. I am very happy with this achievement of mine. Yes I indeed consider this, as an achievement and I am very proud of myself. My writing would be incomplete without being thankful to so many people for their contribution to this success of mine. First and foremost I feel greatly indebted to our professor MAHAJAN because he created in me an immense interest in thermodynamics(though I only love solving numericals based on 1st,2nd laws,clausius equation, kinetics and equilibrium .I never understood solutions 1& 2.)Also again him ,because one of the main source of inspiration for writing this article has been the B grade awarded to me.I am very grateful for 'untimely' help by mini who helped me solving the numericals during exams though even today I am not clear when to take heat of fusion to be +ve and when to take it -ve.I am thankful to vinod for lending me his gaskel for one month though I never studied a word from it and on the contrary he has been charged a fine of Rs 106 for late submission of the book. Sorry vinod.I would like to thank sippy,nitin,bhavnesh for being with me among students with low attendance and never made me feel alone. My understanding of the subject became sharpened through many INFORMAL discussions with anuj.i thank dishant,mukul,shefali and kanika for helping me to copy and complete my problems.I express my sincere gratitude to rajat mehrotra for arranging the assignment for me at the last moment .I wish to thank our class CR puneet for sending timely smses regarding the cancellation of classes in the morning because of which I could sleep more in my cosy bed.Oh I am getting sentimental!!weep !weep! (handkerchief out)kjhsk;shfiuh!!!i am especially thankful to lab assistant ganpat for being very polite and very heplful.'ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL'.But I enjoyed being a true outlaw. “Heroes know that things must happen when it is time for them to happen. A quest may not simply be abandoned; unicorns may go unrescued for a long time, but not forever; a happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story.”