Struggling with writing – Mid term and CIE – Ethiopian Journey – Post no 77

It was a long Sabbatical from writing. Writing is like driving, the more you drive the better you become. Similarly, the more you write, the better writer you become. I had last written on 11^th June 2018.

On 1^st June 2018, I had written a blog item “Battling brothers – Ethiopia and Eritrea – Blog Item No-72”. It was an article written from the heart and it is very encouraging to note that since that blog item has been published, things have changed. The only constant in this world is change!!!.

It is the statesmanship of Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali and Eritrean President, Isaias Afwerki which brokered peace between the two countries of horn of Africa which was welcomed by the citizens of both the countries.  We all wish, pray and hope that the fragile peace is tenable. It was very heartening to note that telecom services were thrown open for the citizens between the two countries. People from both countries called random phone/mobile numbers and talked with total strangers.

My brother-in-law and his family’s visit from USA, the resultant excitement in the house and the hordes of visitors was the first excuse for not writing, the other two excuses were the admission process and the starting of the new academic year at Siva Sivani Institute of Management and the last excuse was Sahithi’s (my daughter) travails and struggles to get a medical seat and the resultant peering at the internet for long hours. In spite of what readers think, writing is a struggle.

The easiest form of excitement, entertainment and information is to watch what comes on the Television screen (the idiot box), Internet or on the mobile phone. And the easiest way to show that we have the best source of knowledge and know how is to forward somebody else’s message, post or video. Where is the creativity?  The next best option is to read and the least easy or the most difficult is to write.

To stop writing is easy and then inherent laziness sets in fast and presto!! before we realize writer’s block is on. Writer’s block is followed by insecurities and self-doubt and it is easy to quit. But I remembered the idiom, “when things get tough the tough get going”.

So here I am girding the mental loins and penning my thoughts as usual. Of course the many phones calls, SMSes, E-Mails, Face Book and Whats App messages asking me to write again helped, enormously. Some were outright indignant and some others furious.  

“Where is my daily fix. It had become a pleasant routine. You better write again,” one threatened. I take all the feedback with utmost humility and promise to put my nose to the grindstone and become disciplined once again!  

It was February 2003 and the midterm fever was on. Teaching-learning process at Bahirdar was totally planned and executed by the teachers. The teacher had complete freedom. When to have the mid-term exam and what is the pattern of the examination is left to the teachers. I was always quite fond of testing the students’ aptitude, knowledge and application of the theory using the objective type questions. Yes, we used short and long essays too.

Objective type examinations are difficult to prepare but easy to administer and easy to evaluate. The Country had just passable English comprehension skills. Objective type examination takes the proficiency of English of students from city background and glib or flowery expression of vague thoughts in the form of lengthy answers out of the equation.

I was fond of saying “cut the chase, come to the point, Don’t be bombastic or verbose, be precise and to the point, don’t beat around the bush, beat the BUSH, don’t see only the trees and miss the forest” and the one that my students never forget “Remember the Iceberg principle, what is visible is not as important as what is not visible”.

For the uninitiated The Iceberg principle describes a situation where a large percentage of the problem is unreported or hidden from view. Only the tip of the ice berg is visible.  Most of readers including my students think that what is visible is important and ignore the invisible omnipresent. Take the case of the Titanic. Titanic’s captain saw the floating ice berg and thought it was just a small piece of floating ice and rammed his gigantic ship into it. The result, the sinking of the impregnable and considered to be safe, Titanic.