The First Post

This is my first post (& hopefully not the last) in the midst of my first ever mid-semester exams in IIT-Kgp. The Bar Council of India's rules make it compulsory for us to learn all the basics of law in the 1st year so we have all typical law subjects like Constitution, Crime, Tort etc in this semester. Today was Property Law, a very precise & mathematical sort of subject which is really interesting (of course useful & lucrative too) & tomorrow is Law of Crimes. Now, criminal law is a league apart as most of it is pure mindspace,that is the intention is most important. That is what makes it very intellectually rigorous as well as stimulating at the same time. Though having just one night to prepare for an exam whose syllabus includes the basic definitions of 'Actus Reus' & 'Mens Rea' to culpable homicide, murder , dowry death, kidnapping & abduction is like running a mental marathon where the finishing line is nowhere in sight. Now , I have always been a very lazy student & almost always as a rule have avoided study like a dog avoids water. The only time I remember studying a lot was last year during my final year B.Tech exams. But this is only mid-sem here & on top of it we have research projects, seminars, presentations & what-nots. So many tasks mean there can be only two possible outcomes, either I will be able to do it all or I would not .In either case ,I think I will grow as a person, simply because being in a pressure cooker situation like this & performing gives quite a realistic simulation of the life ahead. In any case, most of the pressure, as I discovered yesterday, is in the mind, rather than in reality. I have started playing snooker here in the Students' Gymkhana @ IIT-Kgp & yesterday was my slot. I wasn't sure of going but nevertheless went & played from 7:30 to 8:30 pm & ultimately after some socializing, having some coffee at the hall night canteen (put up during exams for all of us to stimulate our brains through tea,coffee,maggi & snacks), I finally got down to do some real study at 10:30 p.m. I slept at 1:00 a.m. & then again got up at 7:00 a.m. to study befor breakfast. I was quite apprehensive of my performance in the test when I entered the examination hall at 9:00 a.m. but wonder of wonders, I found out that I really did not miss much by not studying the entire evening yesterday. Of course, this may be no revelation to a lot of people reading this post but for me, a lazybone student who is studying like he never did in his life & is really not sure when & where to put the brakes, it was a welcome realisation. Let us hope this realization lasts tomorrow also ! In any case, something would be happenning tomorrow. The thing is, my 'mens rea' for that isn't ready yet, what to say of the 'actus reus'