With exams right here at the corner, I thought of helping students reduce some of their stress in whatever way I can. Having gone through the entire process, every C.A understands and empathises with the mental condition of the students during exam period. Every student has just one question - how to study to score well! So here I would like to share an interesting technique of studying - Study - the dance way!
Like any form of art, dancing is a mode of expression. Expression of love, passion, sorrow, anger, envy, compassion or any emotion that one wishes to vent. Music, painting, dramas or even movies are ways of venting emotions. Dancing is my way of expressing, hence, Study - the dance way.
The quintessential for being a good dancer is to enjoy it. If the dancer doesn’t enjoy dancing, he/she would never be a good dancer. Feel, express and enjoy dancing for own self first and then become a performer and impress the audience. Dance to enjoy!
Dance, basically, is a combination of 3 elements - Music, rhythm and expression.
Unless one has a sense of music, which is the base of dancing, one cannot excel in dance. Listen, understand, feel the music to dance on it. And then there’s dancing on the right beats to the tune of music while expressing one’s story through dance. Without expressions, dance is raw! When one vents happiness, one smiles or laughs; for anger, one frowns. Just enact your feelings. Bring it on through eyes, face, hands, feet, entire body on the beats with the music to be a graceful dancer.
Studying the dance way is nothing but dancing with your subjects.
1. Enjoy dancing: Enjoy studies. The first and foremost requirement is to enjoy your studies. Unless you enjoy what you are studying, you may always be stressed about it. A lot of students switch off their mobile phones, internet and stay away from family and friends to avoid distractions. But the thing is, if you are enjoying studies, you don’t need to avoid them at all. You would focus on your studies and not get distracted. But it is not easy to enjoy studying when you keep worrying about exams and get terrorised of the results. So eventually you may not do your best. That is why concentrate on what you are doing at present and not anything else and you will enjoy it.
2. Listen to the music: As mentioned before, music is the base of dance. Make your foundation really strong.
One of my favourite Mathematics teachers used to call it BMW - basics mein wande (wande is a Mumbain word for problem). Make sure you don’t have any BMWs before going for Ferrari, that is, before you go ahead with the more complicated parts of the subjects. Go to the depth, understand everything from the base and you will not face any problem, understanding the complicated and intricate sections.
3. Dance on the rhythm: Get a flow of the entire syllabi. Just studying chapter by chapter or section by section may not be very helpful. Just like knowing zillions of dance steps may not make a dance beautiful. There should be a flow in the steps which goes with the rhythm. Let your mind free. Understand the flow of the subject.
Try implementing it in hypothetical situations. Taking mock test papers will give you the confidence of taking the final exams. Keep yourself abreast with all recent amendments and developments relating to your subject. Again, you would be able to do it when you enjoy your studies. You would understand the developments better only when your basics are clear.
4. Express with dance: A graceful dancer expresses not only through facial expressions but each part of the body. This is possible only when a dancer understands the story, music and rhythm. You need to understand the subjects completely end to end. Do not memorise. Remember you have to implement what you are studying now, practically, very soon. So feel it, understand it. Get into the depth. Study available case laws, notifications, amendments. Get thorough. This will help you to express your understanding of the subject in your exams better.
5. Finally, it’s time to put up a performance: Examination! Now is the time to impress while you express. After all the practice that the dancer has done for months or even years, all the sweat one has bled during the stage rehearsals, it’s time to put up a super-hit show. Express exactly what you want to. Be graceful and follow the rhythm. Remember, a performance can be a hit only when the performer and the audience both enjoy what they are doing. Performer must enjoy performing and the audience must enjoy watching the performer perform. So present your answers in a way that the evaluator enjoys reading your answers. Write neat, point-wise or use bullets, change paragraphs, highlight the important part, cite case laws or give some illustrations to make your performance stand apart from others. Express clearly all that you need to make the evaluator know that you have understood the subject and are ready to implement it to practise.
Follow these easy steps and practice daily to excel. Enjoy the music, dance on the rhythm and put up an excellent show this May/June. Hoping to watch a super-hit show soon. Enjoy studying the Dance way.
All the best!!!
C.A Rashmi Vadavi
Membership No. 144046
The author is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a professioanl dancer.
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