A crazy subject

When I was asked to take sociology as the optional, I never knew it would be so interesting. This is perfect for me - the exact thing I want to read: the structure of societies, how they evolved and their future course. Life couldn't be any more exciting. In fact, after four years of reading textbooks that were drier than the Sahara desert, this comes as a gale of fresh air.

And the most important thing about it is that the dear old God's own country has the dubious distinction of finding itself mentioned in association with almost all the curious practices I have read till now. Matriliny, extreme untouchability and what not. This particular little state seems to have all the variety in the world when it comes to sociology.

Dad and mom are loving it too. Dad is heavily interested in anything related with the customs of social groups. So everyone now listens to me with interest. And if you have not guessed it till now, I love to talk. And I was very very unpopular in this house for the past six years on account of talking pure jargon - two years scientific and four years engineering. It is all over now.

I must however say that I am not affected by comments of others about my talkativeness. Never was and I don't think I would ever be.

Attendance!!!

I can't wash this stupid smirk off my face. I started smiling the moment the guy in the office threatened that my attendance report would be sent home at the end of the month. I was just thinking of all those letters from the PTA addressed to my parents begging them to turn up for the parent-teacher interaction. My parents are usually never at home when the postman comes. So naturally, either my sister or I collect it. Initially, I'd conscientiously tell my parents, "There's a letter from the PTA" "Did you get yourself into any trouble?" "No, it's the annual PTA meeting." "Ah! Leave it then!" In the succeeding years, it turned to "Dad, there's a letter from PTA. I guess you're not going, are you?" He wouldn't reply but stay immersed in the newspaper. Towards the end, I didn't even bother to tell him.

So now out of college and in a coaching class, I'm being threatened with such a threat! What an irony! I thought I'd burst out laughing but luckily controlled it. I told my parents when they came home and they are smiling too. Non-stop.

Four probationary IAS officers came to talk to us the other day. Very sensible people they were, and they've almost succeeded in changing my view about the civil services - a rather prejudiced view. They busted some myths:

1. You need to study for 12-14 hours daily to get into civil service. "That's plain insanity."

2. You shall study at least 4-5 books for each subject. "1-2 books are more than enough. You just need to complete the syllabus"

and my favourite one:

3. You need to answer the questions reaaally confidently in the interview. "I am yet to meet a person who was not nervous during the interview."

Kudos to all the four. Never met such down-to-earth, simple, intelligent persons. Our country will survive and flourish.

What now?

So, in the course of a year, I screwed up the CAT exam (total 99.82% DI 69%), a job at Deloitte and an interview at the ISRO (more about that later!) I ought to be given some sort of award for screwing up so many things.

My parents hate to see me sitting peacefully at home and gorging on food. So they enrolled me in a civil service coaching centre, much to my annoyance. But later I relented - I could read whatever I wanted and no one would stop me!!!

I had an entrance test first of all, based on current affairs. I thought I would flunk, but unluckily I didn't. I was made to write an essay on 'Why I wanted to be a civil servant'(Imagine that!). The only thing I like out of the entire range of services is the Indian Foreign Service, just because you get posted so far away from the country that you needn't bother what your parents are thinking! Personally, if I get into IFS and if they ask my preference, I'd ask them to post me in Norway, Sweden or some other Scandinavian country.Anyway, I wrote half a page but he had given me two sheets and I had to write at least one page. So dragged on and used some rather flowery language about serving my countrymen.(Yuck! I hate it when I am made to write emotionally charged essays!) I know I'd like to serve my country but I am modest; I don't like to write about it. Why can't they ask some more serious topics like the Indo-U.S nuclear deal?

Well, he told me my English was good (which I already knew) and I was asked to join the next day. He asked me what I'd like to take for my optionals.

Till then, the only thing I knew about the civil service exam was that there was a prelims and then there would be a mains followed by an interview. You had to be as insane as a patient at St. Bedlam's to clear the stuff. This whole idea of 'optionals' was so new to me that I stared at him in blank amazement.

Two days later, I became well-versed with the syllabus of the 'optionals'. They gave me a book containing general guidelines about the civil service exam and the syllabi. I've decided to take sociology and public administration. The best thing about the latter is that it is usually called the 'pub ad'. Now, that was a genius at work there!

My first class was economics. I was about 20 minutes late for the class because I had to get some work done at the office. When I entered the classroom, the person taking the class was waxing eloquent on inflation. Now, I love economics. I had studied it for a semester(I don't remember which). So I was peacefully listening to it and slipping into deep slumber when someone came and announced that a rather famous civil-servant-turned-politician would come and talk to us.

So he came, we saw but I don't think anyone really conquered. We were treated to the tales of his heroics by the man himself. He rubbished half the civil servants whose names I knew and so I had a great time, as a whole. Then he started teaching economics, found some faults with the deficit budget, especially the mode by which the deficit was to be funded and talked about a new theory which he was propounding. So by the end of it, I had such a severe headache that I could barely walk.

For the second day, we had history at first. Now, the Prof. who teaches history is a rather interesting story-teller. I don't think I'll have to read any history text if he is going to teach the subject. Next was physics. I was expecting a thrilling journey into the world of quantum mechanics, electromagnetic theory and other fancy stuff. She came and started with...(guess what? ) Units and dimensions!

I am not exaggerating when I say that I was on the verge of tears in that class. One fellow even asked, "Ma'am, so you say that water is denser than oil. So will oil REALLY float on water?"

Then I had a really brilliant idea: to kick that fellow's a__. But didn't do it. You have to be patient at times. Today I made a lot of friends in the class. And everyone seemed to agree: that fellow really needed one. Well, next time, may be.

Today was my first sociology class. Yesterday I came to know that we'd be having a test on the chapter 'Demography' because it was completed in the class. I scraped through that somehow.

The sociology class, I found, can be roughly divided into two - the abnormals who want their classes to start at 7 in the morning and end at 5 in the evening, with no breaks in between, and the normals who'd like to start at 9 and end at a sane time of 11, both in the morning. Now, I am a diehard normal but I find that normals are usually silent, docile and everything you can say about the domesticated Indian woman (but majority of the normals are men) and abnormals are loud, aggressive and everything you can say to describe the Australian cricket team when playing a match against an Indian team that includes Sreesanth, Harbhajan and everyone else you can think of. So we usually lose out. I've decided to do something about this pathetic situation. Let me see.