Why poor students topping exams is not news

* JEE Mains 2017: Son of Udaipur compounder tops exam
* Farmer's son tops Chhattisgarh Board Class 12 exam
* Autorickshaw driver’s daughter tops CA exams

This has become a mindless ritual in the hopelessly lazy world of news media.

Every time some exam results are out, newspapers and TV channels religiously serve gooey, boilerplate stories about some poor kids who scored heavily in whatever tests they took.

I'm tired of this sentimental tosh. What is novel about it?

With fewer, if at all, distractions to ruin their study, isn't it precisely what they are supposed to do?

I'd consider it news if a kid from an affluent family tops an exam. For a moment, shed your prejudices and consider the predicament of being a rich boy.

The poor kid has so many things screaming for his time and attention -- gadgets, girls, booze, automobiles, recreational drugs, splitting parents, dysfunctional families, Messi's injury, Ronaldo's mistresses -- the list just goes on.

Now where do you slot study in this crazy schedule?

Topping exams is the easiest thing when you have none of these distractions, which is why I don't get teary-eyed when I read about a rickshaw-puller's son cracking IIM or a daily labourer's daughter acing IIT.

The truth is, these poor kids have an unfair advantage over their rich cousins in terms of motivation.

They have the greatest motivation to succeed, for the result can potentially alter the standard of their life beyond their wildest imagination.

In contrast, a billionaire' s son enters the exam hall knowing fully well that education can't really lift his lifestyle. There is simply no incentive for him, just no motivation at all.

That they still take the pain to reach the hall and write paper is, you'd agree, utterly commendable.

So dear poor kids who just topped an exam, I'm not impressed.

The unpleasant truth is - the game of exam is blatantly rigged in your favour and your success, sorry to say, is pre-ordained.

In fact I'd go to the extent of saying that poor kids have no excuse for failure, as simple as that.

As for me, my heart bleeds for the rich kid who is mourning his low grade by smoking weed in a friend's place, befittingly rolling the stuff in his mark sheet and watching it burn.

If state transport buses had something like in-flight announcement

Dear passengers, we welcome you on board, on rooftop and on footboard of this State Transport Corporation bus.

Today your driver is Mahadev Singh, who spat gutkha juice out of the window and is currently exchanging expletives with the person he smeared with the jet.

I'm your conductor Bhola Singh, with a rolled hanky under the collar. Please tender exact fare.

We will complete this 20 KM journey in about one hour and 45 minutes, provided we survive detours, demonstrations, breakdowns, road rages, accidents and arson by agitators.

We may also reach the final destination in flat 15 minutes, provided we have a bus of the same route number hot on our heels.

In that case, you may have to get down at a destination of our choice, kindly cooperate. Also, chances are we might have to offload you bang in the middle of the road. Make sure you don't get run over by traffic from behind, just to give us a bad name.

This vehicle, which was serviced last in the 15th century, has one front door and there's another at the back. In case of emergency, the resulting stampede is likely to take you near the door. Again, try not to fall and get trampled on by fellow passengers just to give us a bad name.

In case the air inside gets fetid, kindly look at everyone suspiciously and accusingly even if you're the culprit.

Those standing, kindly hold on to the strap overhead. If you're vertically challenged, you can also grab someone's bag straps, and anything for that matter, to maintain balance. Everything is fair in love, war and state transport buses.

Remember inside the bus, you can get away with anything by just saying 'sorry'. So, if you have just crushed someone under your feet, be nice and say 'sorry'.

Also remember, getting toes squashed is commonplace, so kindly don't blow it out of proportion.

For those lucky enough to get seat, remember there will never be a consensus on how much the window should be kept open. Views will differ, so wait until the other guy has dozed off before you can quietly adjust the window to your liking.

Remember, buying ticket is not optional, though your conductor Bhola Singh, with a rolled hanky under my collar, is open to negotiations.

Currently we're moving at a break-neck speed of 500 cm/hour, which is roughly the speed of an arthritic snail which has just undergone a knee cap replacement. This is due to a marriage procession ahead of us. You'd probably be tempted to slap the groom on horse once he's under your window but we advise utmost caution.

For those sitting on the right, the view may not rival the grandeur of pyramids in Egypt but you can look out of your window and marvel at the splendid pile of municipal garbage. If you feel like puking, kindly stick your head out but make sure you don’t get your head smashed by an overtaking bus. It would give us a bad name.

Those on the left need not despair. Thanks to the jam, you’re strategically positioned to appreciate the overflowing public convenience just outside your window. If you feel like fainting, do intimate the fellow passengers.

Meanwhile, our checkers will soon begin ticket inspection. If you haven’t bought your tickets yet, you may end up paying double the money as bribe to get away from their clutches. I can give you a better deal, so contact your conductor Bhola Singh, with a rolled hanky under the collar.

Ladies and gentlemen, we’re finally about to reach the destination. We appreciate you had many choices but you still decided to suffer at our hands.

On behalf of driver Mahadev Singh and conductor Bhola Singh with a rolled hanky under collar, we hope to serve you again.

(Pix)

Why cash-for-vote is a welcome idea

We live in a world where very few things make sense.

And in that sea of things that don't, right at the top is the self-righteous outrage that follows every time a cash-for-vote scandal erupts.

Having looked at it from all angles, it seems a splendid idea, especially if you are a citizen.

If your vote fetches you a couple of thousand bucks, what's the harm?

I hate to break it to you that your vote doesn't count anyways. The EVM is rigged and the outcome fixed. It's a funny game where the candidate you vote for will win or lose without your ballot. Relax and sit back, your vote does not matter.

Other than the mandatory selfie-with-inked-finger, it counts for nothing.

So if a political party wants to pay you a few thousand bucks for that useless thing, why not sell it?

In fact, if you slightly enterprising, you'd auction your vote and go for the highest bidder.

Once the money has reached your pocket, you can urge fellow citizens: "Be a responsible citizen, go out and vote. Trust me, it pays."

Once legalised, cash-for-vote would go a long way in drawing more and more citizen out of their drawing room and near the polling booth. Isn't it what the government is trying to achieve - to get maximum number of people to vote?

Those who oppose is are simply cuckoo. If a party wants to buy your vote, seal the deal. This is the only time a politician will actually GIVE you something, dammit! Once poll is over, his family is his constituency.

Don't be a chump. When the sun is shining, there's lot of sense in hay-making.

There's also a serious reason why you should charge for your vote. Experience tells us people don't value anything that comes free. If you expect the crook you elected would be grateful for your vote, you need to get your head examined.

It's tough for a politician to feel any such emotion towards a bunch of lambs who are nuts enough to vote for him so he can loot the exchequer.

Make it give-and-take. Isn't it at the heart of market economy?

Often, the outrage against cash-for-vote is led by frustrated people who could not sell their own vote and are now plain jealous because some other people have.

Democracy has traditionally been a case of survival-of-the-richest. It's a game loaded in favour of the richer party in the fray. My point is, if the citizens gain something in the process, where's the problem?

And don't even mention ethics/honesty. These are vague terms coined by self-pitying losers, who needed something, even if intangible, to feel good having lost the real battle in life.

Also, you can't redeem ethics/honesty at restaurants and shopping malls.

A new metal is added to chemistry - Kid

Symbol: BaB
Atomic Weight: Weighs sufficiently buy never satisfactorily to mom

Physical Properties:
* Propensity to chewing everything inedible
* Boils over whenever denied toys
* Freezes only when asleep
* Melts if pampered with junk food
* Bitter when contacts lactose
* Can be an embarrassment-causing agent in social gatherings
* Endowed with hyperactive lachrymal glands

Chemical Properties:
* Very Reactive
* Highly vulnerable to gravity
* Possesses strong affinity towards plastic and loud colors
* Assumes parents owns Reserve Bank of India

Occurrence:
* Mostly found in front of Cartoon Network
* Highly flammable when comparing toys with peers
* Has happy properties when captured in photo