Yesterday, the NIOS results were out and my student did not clear all his subjects. He called me up yesterday to tell me that out of the five subjects that he had appeared for, he had cleared three. He sounded a bit stressed but we did not have the time to address any emotions (both our numbers are on roaming) and we only exchanged as much information as possible. I was, strangely, not upset but calmly listened to him quickly assessing all the options we had left. (For someone who studied like a maniac for all examinations in school/college/ university and would be upset if she would not ‘top’- that is a big deal!) Now, I have been thinking, what about this situation has been working in my favour? Why did I not make frantic calls asking people for solutions and why did I not, even once, blame him and his excess interest in cricket for this inability to clear all his papers? In fact, I ended the conversation congratulating him on clearing three subjects. He asked me if I was sure