A sharp bell rang. We stopped discussing and our feet walked mechanically towards the hall. In a couple of minutes we were answering the Geometry paper.
The paper evoked different reactions from different candidates. I answered all the questions which I knew well and looked off my paper only when half-time was over. Some candidates who were not well prepared were getting restless and the supervisor was watchful. He walked up quietly to a certain candidate and picked up a chit from the desk. Fortunately he was not caught copying. The supervisor confiscated the chit and warned him severely.
Suddenly the supervisor took his position at the back of the hall. He could, I suppose, see one boy allowing another to copy the geometrical figure from his paper. The supervisor was kind enough to let him off with a warning, because they admitted their offence and apologized.
I was very thirsty but I had no courage to ask for water. However, I consoled myself that only fifteen minutes were left. The boy next to me was a hopeless case. He was getting desperate. He took out two pages (from a digest) from inside his shoe and began to copy, may be just to fill up some pages on his blank answer booklet. Unfortunately the examiner had watched every move of his, and was ready to take action. No compassion could be shown in this case. He walked up to the erring candidate and caught him in the act of copying. The matter was referred to the Chief conductor. The police was called and the boy was led out of the examination hall. No amount of pleading or crying could help in any way. This was the procedure according to rules and regulations.
We were all upset, we felt sorry for him. It was a bitter experience. Soon the warning bell rang and we had to wind up everything. At the final bell our papers were collected number wise.