I was in the Intermediate Class in College. In the main subjects I was considered a good stude...
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I was in the Intermediate Class in College. In the main subjects I was considered a good students, not a great one: essentially because I had other fish to fry: I was active in cricket, playing initially for the College B team and then captaining it: I was not good enough to be in the first eleven at Loyola, which had one test player and three Ranji Trophy players and I did not wish to be the perennial 12th man and so I chose to be in the second eleven. I also was in the NCC on the way to becoming a pilot. in the Air Wing. However, I was known to be excellent in Hindi as this was Madras and the first language I had learned in UP where I was born, was hindi. So it might have been a case to quote Desidarious Erasmus""In the country of the blind the one-eyed man is king". However, most of the English medium types took Hindi as the second language, as Tamil was too difficult and Sanskrit too esoteric.
This was the final examination, a University examination with two invigilators and the whole nine yards of supervision. I had completed my Hindi examination within the time allotted with about half an hour to spare. I was sitting there twiddling my thumbs, when my friend(since school) Govind, casually reached over and picked up my answer paper and busily started copying. I was in a quandry: Govind was a friend of ten years standing, and that at 17 is a major portion of your life. I decided I could not report him, as my friendship was more important to me than the ethics of the situation. For about half an hour while Govind was busy copying, I died several deaths. If Govind were caught. not only would he be failed or worse, but so would I as a party to the copying. If I was not caught during the examination I would surely be caught if they compared our two answer papers after the fact. In that case they would not be able to establish as to who was the copier and who the copied. However, Govind was not caught and I went on to win the Hindi Prize that year, a Prize that was given to me by the then Chief Minister and Congress leader Kamaraj Nadar.
This was an interesting dilemma that I faced fifty years ago: I handled it in a certain way. How would you have done it ???
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Tanushri: The intention to save was only after he grabbed my answer book. I did not report him that was the extent of my saving..
Rgds, Girdhar
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Hi Girdhar,
You saved your friend and I guess that was a choice you made...may be I'd have done the same, in a similar situation....
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Quasimodo: I do not know whether it was an honorable solution, but it was essentially discretion the better part of valor. I was not feeling particularly valorous on that day.
Rgds, Girdhar
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dear sir,
an entirely honourable solution,friendships are like flowers,at 17 that was the right attitude.Lady luck frequently favours the brave,fools and infantrymen.In todays world,even at 17 this may be a career snapping event,so restraint is advisable for those much younger than either of us
regards
Q
PS: I cannot take the high road as many of my classmates were equally kind to me in times of dire need.:)))
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Ranjini: I think the generation or two after my predicament added another dimension and another collaborator to the mix, in your case. This shows how Indiia has really metamorphosed into an anything goes society. For an upright young lady as you, it must have been really difficult.
I think you were in a worse and a better dilemma. Worse because you were being forced by authority and better that at least you could argue and negotiate with the invigilator to just give only one page to be copied. In my case I was faced with a fait accompli by Govind.
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Karan: Thank you for visiting and your recommendation.
Rgds, Girdhar
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Raju: It was really a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea. I think it is a question for ethicists to take up.
Rgds, Girdhar
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Kalyanee,I could have dressed Govind down. But he had a thick skin, he would have just laughed it off.
Rgds, Girdhar
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Ashish: Though I agree with your sentiments, I think my friend's distress was self created. He had taken Hindi for six years in School plus these two years. There was no reason that why he could not study for the exam. The main reason for me was fear that I would be excoriated by most of my friends and also the feeling that I should not tell on a friend.
Rgds, Girdhar
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Thank You Avinash: I have always been ambivalent about that incident. I am glad I have got you on the side I was in fifty years back.
Regards, Girdhar
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