Gone with the wind are those 35-40 minute lectures during school time where the first 5 minutes were taken by the teacher to reach the class, 5 more minutes to silence the class and another 5 minutes for us to take out the text-books, note-books and pens. In this manner, a 40 minute period turned into a 20 minute teaching class. What stupendous days were those!
After entering college, Miranda House - the University of Delhi, I realised how hard a one hour (55 minutes to be precise) period can be. DU offers 55 minute slots for a single period and on an average you will have 4-5 periods a day. Imagine continuous 55 minutes - same place, same sitting posture, same boring Professors, all same-same-same!! How difficult it is for fervid people like us to manage! When it comes to concentration power, somehow even the nerdiest can manage till the first 40 minutes only. However, after that even they start looking at their watches, pleading for those lethargic needles to move fast. Especially during these days when the "mausam is awesome..", the perfect rainy weather, clouds, greenery and strokes of that soothing, hypnotizing, mesmerizing breeze that hits you and whispers in your ears saying "Moron! You are wasting such an ambrosial weather by sitting in the class! Idiot come out, smell the romance in campus and feel the love in the air". Consoling your inner conscience that asks you to go out and hunt for a partner for strolling around in the campus - the VC’s office garden, with it’s aromatic and colourful flowers, is waiting for you, the Vishwavidyalaya metro station's stairs are so incomplete without you, all food joints at Kamla Nagar seem so dead in your absence, the chaiwala outside Law Faculty seeks your way to come and ask for a cigarette silently in his ears and Tom Uncle's Maggie is not getting ready in 2 minutes because you aren't there. Go, move out and rush!
But you are helpless, you can’t manage to sneak out. DU's agenda of minimum 40% required to appear for examinations sucks!! In a way we only manage for the minimum requirement. And come on, if one has survived for unbearable 40 minutes then surviving for 15 more minutes and getting a 'P' in front of your name would be a wiser idea or else the 40 minute hard battle would be wasted too.
Ok so I will manage. I will. But, how? Now, here I tell you the tips to manage the hardest 55:
- As soon as you enter the class, try searching for the tallest person in your class, and go hit the place right behind him/her. In case if you yourself are the tallest, then manage for the last row, last seat.
- Keep your books, note books, pen exactly the way as if you are very keen to study.
- If you like texting and chatting with people then this is the best time: with your left hand holding the cell phone beneath the table and right hand holding the pen, pretending to write down, you can text or B.B.M. easily, I know we have done a PhD when it comes to typing on our cell phone's keypad, we don’t even have to give a single look to the screen!!!
- Not interested in texting? Then you can even read your favourite novel: just keep the novel there straight on your table, on one side of it keep your text book and on the other side of it your register and thus you can read it, with eye to eye interaction with your teacher - nodding your head in the way as if you are actually going through the lectures.
- Next in line is the terrific situation. Busy people like us never have that much time to work on our assignments, dude! We have to do a hell lot of work, hanging out with friends, socialising, inter-college friendship, chilling out, ‘facebooking’ et al. when after reaching home. But our outdated teachers don’t understand how busy our schedules are and give us nasty assignments. Well anyways! Lectures are the best way to utilise your time and wasting it on assignments. Take your friend's assignment and start copying it during the lecture. Exactly with the same pace of your Professor, when he/she writes - write, when he/she stops - listen: write-listen-write-listen pacing with his/her speed and tone, nodding your head in a way as if you are following the whole lecture. And trust me you will be done with your assignment. This is what we call as "Best-out-of-waste!!!"
- Next comes a solid point for girls with long hair. Open your hair, wave them (your teacher may give you cranky looks at this) and put your ear-phones in your ears and listen to your favourite tracks without any distraction from the lecture.
So friends these are just few ways to overcome the hardships of those hardest 55 minutes. Try these, they do work!!
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A voracious reader and a basket-ball lover, Jaya Pandey is truly a multi-faceted person. Studying English (Hons) at the prestigious Miranda House, she has a keen interest in astrology, dramatics (is a part of the Miranda dramatics society) and music. Her other interests include writing and exploring new destinations.
