random thoughts...

spitting fire!

yesterday was the mumbai university convocation. there are places in the world where graduation is a big day not just for the graduates but for the entire family. perhaps thats the case in countries where college education is rare and graduates are few. not in india, definitely not in mumbai, where graduates are being churned out at an almost frenzied pace. 'graduation day? tell me something new'. i guess thats an ok enough reaction to greet any of us mere graduates, i mean it wasnt all that difficult to get a distinction and all that. but yes it is a big thing to top the entire university and score the highest ever in 20 years with 92.75%. i dont think it is wrong to expect some kind of honour or atleast recognition for someone who managed this...well... feat, from the university. but no. this is mumbai univeristy. the person in concern here (for those of u who dont know its a certain romit jain) was NOT EVEN INVITED for the convocation ceremony. no gold medal, no special mention, nothing. in fact i think he wasnt even allowed to attend the ceremony. why, u may ask... i really dont know. but yes, the topper in marathi was invited and given a gold medal, so also toppers in sanskrit and philosophy, then why not the science topper?... well there isnt a medal for the science topper... but for subject toppers in arts there is?... of course. now not that i think any particular subject is better or worse than another, nor do i think any course of study to be of more importance than another... just that its unfair that an extraordinary achievement is not being given the recognition it deserves.
now this is not what really irritated me. thats yet to come.
i heard of this wednesday. it wasnt fair. i sent an email to the times of india correspondent who had recently written an article on the quantity of gold in the medals being reduced due to gold prices being high. figured if they were concernted enough to make that front page news they would be a bit interested in what i had to say. next day someone calls me from bombay times, says she wants to speak to romit.. its not fair the way theyre not giving him any recognition etc etc etc... that was thursday. i thought i would find something in fridays paper.. nothing.. all the paper wrote about was kareena kapoor being caught kissing her boyfriend and analysis by several 'experts' on the topic. well, maybe theyll write about it on saturday, the actual convocation day... nothing..... more analysis on the kapoor-kapur kiss. almost every article on the front page revolved around that. they even went so far as to describe the various types of kissing, but no mention of the topper... now is this really pathetic or what! i have always respected the times of india and all their supplementary papers. today im appalled at their priorities. maybe im irritated because i had taken up the issue and they didnt think it was good enough. but honestly, i really think they have no sense of priority (and as for the kissing issue: for all the talk theyre giving on respecting peoples privacy.. hello... u made it front page news for 3 whole days-and still counting)
as for the topper issue, i'm gonna pursue it with a vengeance. im gonna take it up with the univeristy DSW (director of student welfare) on monday itself. i am so irritated. i know most people.. make that all people... will probably think, whats with her, she has nothing to do with it.... but its just not fair and if i can do something about it, i should. i dont wanna be spineless like most others on the student council. all they care about is making themselves ID cards and giving themselves certificates saying they were council members, for 5 extra marks in some govt exams.. its so sickening..
think id better stop before i totally lose control and say more than i

posted by deepti @ 2:54 pm