Boards have lost its sheen, at least the one in the 10^th grade. Yet NPS Whitefield was all set to make it special. Classes for 10th grade started within a week of the annual exams for 9^th grade!

We took a short trip to Kolkata(March 2022), Anoush and his dad came back in a week but I had to stay back owning to my engagements there.

This was the first time Anoush took a school bus to school! Ever since his schooldays started, pick n drop has been part of my portfolio, mainly because we had always chosen to stay near the school and also because he never wanted to travel by the school bus. This time there was no option as Rajib could not guarantee that he would be able to pick up every-day owing to sudden meetings that could pop up, which are more of a rule than exception.

Eventually Anoush made associates in the bus and what was planned for a month was now being planned for the rest of the year. The bus picked and dropped at almost the same time as I would have done so there was minimal wastage of time. Also it gave more time in my hands to focus on my work.

Going to school was a bliss, even for Anoush who is otherwise outdoor averse. It had been a really long time and the familiar proximity to the fellow students, the classroom, the small breaks where the kids get together and of course the teachers in person were all exciting. Anoush enjoyed thoroughly – even though I got a virtual account of the excitement over phone, I could feel it.

Then there was a break, not the usual 2 months but a shorter one and yet filled with home-works. Anoush – the serious, Anoush – the responsible, Anoush – the IISc/IIT aspirant put in a great deal of effort to meet his daily target of studies interspersed by physical activities some forced like swimming and some lovingly embraced like basketball. The hols were also variegated by short outings and a week-long trip to Uttarakhand (May 2022)– the other place along with Karnataka that CBSE is obsessed with and has made the kids make numerous projects on – since grade 7!

And then the school started again with a bang. We soon figured that the bus option was not working for us as it was taking longer than expected to drop the kid back – thus the truncated portion of my portfolio got added – and delightful it was as I really love chatting with my little baby, who of course is not so little any more in terms of size – standing taller than both me and Rajib at 5’ 9” with a frame bigger than both of us too and a whooping 75kgs.

The hitherto stupendous school which handled the covid times with extreme efficiency technically – owing to meticulous planning and execution, fell flat on its face when it came to restoring physical school. Transport issues, uniform issues were only the tip of the ice-berg – without an academic calendar, lesson planning or exam schedules, we started groping in the dark as projects and assignments whose most important aspect was decorating the borders kept flowing in.

Anoush experienced an out of school event as he participated in a fest at Greenwood high school. He was happy but realized that it takes up a lot of time such that studies suffer.

A lot of time and effort went into memorising answers – Rote learning!

The grammar portions of English and Hindi were manageable but prose and poetry were a pain for Anoush as his perception of the world is very different from a regular person and thus it is difficult for him to formulate an answer which would be widely accepted and fetch marks.

Social with its four limbs – HCGE – was another monster to be doused – Anoush really worked hard – but without his heart as it is already betrothed to Science and Mathematics.

Anoush is completely tution/coaching averse – he is a self-learner and he found a diligent guide in his mother whose main job is to keep him from being distracted and give him company in his learning endeavours.

In September a short break found us in a former capital of Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires. For Anoush the foodie, any place has to be ‘foodilicious’ to be graced by him and Istanbul didn’t disappoint him. It also has the Sirkeci Train Station, a beautiful Ottoman-era building in Istanbul’s European side, famous for Agatha Christie’s novel Murder on the Orient Express.

10th curriculum was quite interesting but made tedious by NPS. I had plans for keeping ahead by an year, as we had done till then, but the school was so stringent with its futile assignments and attendance that we could not start on anything else other than mathematics for the next grade.

Parents kept on pleading for study leave but the school thought in the best interest of the children that they spend their valuable time in school only to get back home tired with nothing accomplished.

In December we took another short break, this time to the land of Nawabs – Lucknow! Anoush loves the train, so do I, we took the Rajdhani to Delhi from Bangalore then took another train to Lucknow – Delhi was freezing cold but Lucknow was pleasantly chilly. Anoush hates the cold/chill but the days were sunny and excellent for exploring the grandeur of the historical monuments like Bada Imambada, Residency and relishing the culinary delights like Gulawati Kabab and Biriyanis. We also quickly caught ‘Avatar – Way of the water’ on the 29th which got released on the 16th of dec 2022 in ‘Shiraz-i-Hind’ – a city that is a melting pot of Mughal, Persian and British influences.

NPS arranged for three pre boards back to back from January to early February, without any gap in-between for preparation or scope for improvement.

Well, finally the board exams (27^th feb to 21^st mar) had arrived and to our great relief the examination centre was close by making logistics easy.

Then it was big break time!!! – we took a three weeks off to our native Calcutta – to enjoy a good time with our immediate and extended family in the city and also my ancestral village. Another attraction was our new flat in Calcutta which I and Rajib had last seen while the interiors were going on and Anoush had not seen at all.

Our vacation was delightful, Calcutta being a paradise for foodies like Anoush and Rajib. He also met a horde of relatives whom he had a hard time identifying and remembering.

On Anoush’s wish we travelled both ways in train, but the railway catering was a disappointment in addition to the toilets – even in AC first class.

The new school Shri Ram Global OMR started on the 10^th of April but we were scheduled to be back to Bangalore on the 15^th of April so Anoush started his new school on the 17^th.

Being used to NPS Whitefield’s strict regime, where students and parents are treated as criminals if the student is absent; we were both amazed and charmed by the new school’s response to my request for joining late – “Please do not worry, anything that the student misses out will be covered in regular or extra classes.”

The school went on till 8^th May – half a day though – Anoush thankfully found the bus comfortable and efficient as this was a little over 5kms and would be more trouble to drive and pickup. He liked the teachers, they are predominantly from the hindi belt but very knowledgeable.

And finally the highpoint of the ‘year of the board’ came – on 12^th May 2023 – results!!!

Anoush bagged centums in Mathematics and Science, 97 in English and 96 each in Hindi and Social. Thanks to NPS for giving a perfect score in the internals, though I feel Anoush thoroughly deserved it – as he diligently finished every school work in time and aced through the exams conducted.

But internal marks were not the only thing Anoush collected from NPS – he bagged a few good friends and the blessings of a few good teachers – I hope for life!

The Bangalore Sahodaya Schools Complex Association felicitated the young achievers – and Anoush having secured two centums was honoured too – he also got a cash prize of 3k to his heart’s delight – with which he would be able to buy more books – fiction ofcourse!

TVS gave away 4 scooters (their latest launch) to the 4 toppers across all streams – Anoush was largely motivated. We also got some insights about NEP. The TVS spokesperson a high official gave an interesting perspective about India’s growing economy.

Looking back we made 4 trips in the ‘year of the Board’ but in all these travels, Anoush studied – in the trains and hotels; flights are not his comfort zone so he has to keep himself distracted with movies or just sleep.

Next target IISc/IIT-Madras/IISER – the work has begun – if the mission is accomplished I will give a detailed update of the preparation, even if not I’ll share what went wrong. So long Making of Anoushrayan is on!!!