#534 - On Your Marks : The Book of Crazy Exam Stories

by various authors and an introduction by Roopa Pai

“On Your Marks : The Book of Crazy Exam Stories” by various authors with an introduction by Roopa Pai. A fun filled anthology which is sure to drive away the dreaded examination blues.

The word exam is bound to create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness, gloom and the likes in most people. Exams are after all such dreadful and monstrous affairs capable of wreaking havoc and bone chilling nightmares even many years after facing them. But then they are very much a good idea for various reasons and help in dealing with unsavoury things in life for instance. This book is sure to bring chuckles and laughter as the stories in it are full of mischief, fun, fantasy and unlimited imagination. Yes, all of these, despite the theme being centred around exams.

The stories have been written by some of the best contemporary children’s writers from India like Jerry Pinto, Anshumani Ruddra, Menaka Raman, Devika Rangachari, Deepa Agarwal, Shreekumar Varma, Lavanya Karthik, C.G. Salamander, Chatura Rao, Nandini Nayar, Andaleeb Wajid, Harshikaa Udasi, Payal Dhar, Shabnam Minwalla and Jane De Suza. The stories start right from an imagined history of exams which might have started with making fire for children from the Stone Age to the current times. The stories feature all kinds of events like a philosopher’s stone being created during practical exams, gorillas gatecrashing into exam halls, records being broken by a Zgnogir, AI robots instead of coaching classes and what not. Read the fun filled book to take a break between the exams and have a laugh.

When we spotted this book at the Blr Lit Fest (Bangalore Literature Festival) a couple of months back, we couldn’t resist picking it up. It sounded quite interesting. My almost ten year old son and I read the book in the last few days between his exams. We felt that this was the right time to read the book when the exams were driving us crazy. Each story had its own charm and dosage of fun as well as craziness. My son wished that he could have a robot as well to help him with school work! ;) While quite a few authors were familiar to us given that we have read some of their other books before, some were new giving us an exposure to their writing. As to the incidents and characters featured in the stories some were so relatable, some were bizarre and some seemed quite tall tales but they all helped in lightening our moods. The poem about what happens to children who say that they will fail in the exams and end up as toppers had us in splits. We couldn’t resist reminiscing and discussing the stories with each other after reading the book. The introduction by Roopa Pai was full of her trademark wittiness and aptly summarised what most of us feel about exams. They are definitely dreaded and have such traumatic effects for a long time even after they are done. But then they’re needed and play an important role in our lives. There is no getting away from them. All we can do is to make the most of them by doing our bit of hard work and try to make them less painful.

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 10 and above.

Where to buy from?

The publishers Talking Cub here.