1330

The crowd patiently waits for the door to open. There are slight murmurings here and there, but for which there is a pin-drop silence. An occasional 'Haaai' pierces this silence. This intrusion is frowned upon by those who are drowned in their work. As the clock draws its hands to 1330, a subtle impatience is observed among the crowd. There are no stampedes, but planned entries into the doors. The clever mind looks out for the crowd pattern and paints a quick sketch of how one can make inroads into those who are near the doors. Exactly at that moment, a person comes out from somewhere near the Scouts den at the ground floor and opens the doors. The only sound that can be heard is of the chappals and shoes that climb three steps in a gallop with two legs and a body over them.

The obvious next worry of the person stands near the second floor gates. Your identity card. It costs a gold mine if it is forgotten -- 'Your' seat! A sharp mind works out the plan to display it from a manageable distance and have the attendance recorded. The last hurdle in the race is the Seat. The only way to overcome this hurdle is to indorse it to a friend. Clever minds always pass on the burden of getting an appropriate seat to a friend. A shrewd mind will order for a turn of duty and a cunning mind will come late on the turn-day.

Wonder what this is all about?? Well, it is the story that happens at Kesari High School in Royapettah, Chennai where Prime Academy conducts classes for the CA course. The situation given above applies for Weekend Costing class by 'R(ocket). Sivakumar. This is followed by Pattabhiram's MAC and MP Vijayakumar's Accounts. 1400 - 2030. Six hours and thirty minutes of lectures spanning three important subjects in the course. Just before a person admires and gets drowned in Rocket Sir's Relevant Costing problems and his references to questions that appeared in 1931 CPA exams, it would have been time for MAC. As you appreciate the fine concepts of Capital Budgeting, you would see lots of anxious faces waiting at the corridor for MPV's class. MPV's classes begin at a point where one would have lost hopes of clearing CA exams after being astonished at how Rocket Sir has ALL problems that text books have published from Raja Raja Cholan's era to date, in his human C drive, and after wondering that how a human can complete the syllabus that is for Financial Management (that of course, is covered by Pattabhi with ease). MPV's fluency in accounts combined with the step-by-step approach to any problem, assures one that 40 in accounts is guaranteed provided it is augumented with hard work. The crowd that comes out after 2030 will rush for the night services of 45B, 21G, 27D and 29C at V.M.Street bus stop.

You can say that a person is doing a course in Prime Academy if a majority of the following apply:
1. The time is around 5 PM or 8.30 PM
2. The student has two long-size notebooks and a small text book
3. The student shows a green/yellow colour ID card to the conductor instead of the monthly pass
4. The student has a Telugu friend or an Oriya friend who says 'I am going to write my exams in Machilipatnam or Berhampur'
5. Hangs around Radhakrishnan Road McRennett or Sanskrit College Hot Puff bakery shop with a hurry to grab a samosa or a veg puff
6. You often hear something like, 'Ayyo I missed the Chain holding sum yesterday' or 'Has Mani got a seat for us today?'
7. The spotting place is near Jammi Buildings

Interesting quotes (Guess whose is what):
1. "Mind you, this is the toughest problem you can ever solve. It involves a step in simplex method which is actually a complex one"
2. "Having worked out three problems on Buy-or-make, let us pick up a problem that is given in the annexure. Question no. A-5. This one actually involves Principle No. 17B and a couple of other principles that we have discussed today"
3. "Take this into a chart of two parts. Down arrow, down arrow"

Some of my happiest days in my life have been gained at Prime Academy.