Parents remain the same but the children are different, writes Subir Roy
Social norms change with the times but in some ways they remain the same. Take the case of exam fever which is upon us right now. I have grown up under one kind of exam fever which can now only be recalled with a smile.
During my student days in Calcutta the middle class Bengali, whose whole idea of getting ahead in life was to do well in exams so as to get a good job, approached exams with religious devotion and ritual.
Social hierarchy was determined by whether you got a first or a rank. On exam day itself it was not unusual for your mother to give you a little flower from the feet of the deity
