My Tryst With Physics

‘Physics is an easy subject, it’s very interesting and that it is the best’ – If somebody tells me this, I swear, I’m going to kick his ass off. Respect to all Newtons and Einsteins, but the fact is I hate Physics, and I simply hate it.

Let me make it very clear, I was never good at physics, set aside standard nine when physics was just substituting values in the equations and I would get answers that were correct to nth decimal places where n tends to infinity. Wow! How easy it was! And not to forget a few conservation laws and the syllabus was done! May be that was the reason why I chose to take up science after 10^th, quite unaware of the impending disaster. In those two years of my senior secondary school, I realized physics was the ‘worst’ subject. It brought me nothing but tears and frustration as well as many late nights. How much I wished that that bloody apple fell on Newton’s head and he..! Right from the beginning I never understood if acceleration can be infinite, though I guessed retardation can surely be! Physics in school was fun – beg your pardon, not ‘physics’ but ‘physics classes’. I remember once asking somebody the physics behind swinging, to which the person replied,”The physics behind swinging is to rotate your centre of gravity.” Lol! I don’t know why? - may be dirty mind of mine, I found it really funny! And how can I forget  our honorable dean cum physics teacher who came late to the class – well, he was forced to, for we put chewing gum in the lock of his office. I was quite indifferent to all that was taught in the class.

The worst part of the story was my coaching institute where I spent 2 hours thrice a week listening to something which couldn’t make its way to my brain. My friend, Sayak Mukherjee was good at physics and he used to ask me questions on physics purposely, to increase the level of my frustration – sahi mein dost hote hi hai – ek number ke kamine! But all thanks to Sayak, for he gave me support during those physics classes where I sat waiting for the weariness to end.

Once, I saw some spikes on ice cubes and was quite fascinated. So, I asked someone, some future Newton may be, and the reply was – “Spikes! why don’t you try one for a change!” Curses be on him and physics. Once we were being taught Van de graff generator. Nothing about it interested me, except the idea of how my teacher would look if he got a shock from such a generator!  From the above mentioned episode, I am quite sure you must be thinking that I was screwed up, yes! I actually was. I once got as low as a mark out of eighty.

When I came to Stephens I was more than happy that I had dropped this damn subject. It was only then that Mr. N. Raghunathan, our respectable HOD told me in one of those statistics tutorials – “Gaurav, you should have taken physics!” I didn’t say anything and got away with it with a smile for I knew he can’t, for that matter nobody can understand the state I have been through!