To be or not to be … the well known soliloquy (monologue) from Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been fodder for thought ever since I read it in the book prescribed in my school curriculum. I bet everyone on this earth must have been victim to a particular cul-de-sac in their lives. It's a deadlock- either die to break the lock or persist in the situation. How often have people been brave enough to take the plunge rather than succumb!
Be it a school going child or an octogenarian-doting-great-grandpa, be it the king or the subject, a vagabond or a destination traveler, a cat or a lion, potato or onion- all have encountered it- To be or not to be ? It has been quite a question!
There could be an instance in which you have eaten loads, satiated your appetite and have not a centimeter room left in your tummy to accommodate another morsel. Your friend reads out the dessert menu aloud, and your taste buds reach out to your brain to accept the offer. The tongue wants it, but the brain says no! If there is a little more taken, there could be morning havoc :o) If you do not take it, you will regret the royal relish that your palette would miss. A question to reckon! 2bOR02b?
Another simple example would be engineering exams.
It is a general trait of engineering students to shirk studies until the night before the exam. Excuses are handy for any accountability to be taken for the anticipation of poor scores. The very prospect of flunking would send chills down the spine. I have had such experiences too.
No amount of studying helps as the time is too less when measured against the humongous syllabus. That is sure no consolation neither motivation. It only leaves with the guilt of insincerity and a feeling of helplessness. Few students with lambent wit and good humor often lighten the situation by cagey remarks “ Ab tak nahin kiya, toh raat bhar mein kya padh lenge” which are good enough to help recline and think on similar lines. This again devours some of the precious hours which could have been otherwise used to study.
The posing question would be – Should I be appearing for the exams or not? 2bOR02b? If I answered yes, I was sure to flunk. The humiliation of failing for once a topper would be poisoning. Similar debate over if I do not appear for the exam, I would flunk anyway, but with grace. If I took the exams and somehow cleared it, I could save one year. Would such unhealthy report be good for my career? How will I tell my family that I have passed and achieved only 50%? How will I tell them that I have failed? All such questions do stem in that sensitive hour.
How I wish it were a perfect world and such situations never haunted us! There would be no dilemma, hence less mental stress, and of course a healthy life.
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