He will marry on one condition

Jaipur: The exams have done in Pappu (his pet name) yet again: it will be another year till he can hope to get married. The 74-year-old - his name is Shojiram - failed to clear his class 10 examination for the 39th time this week.

The secondary school has come to define Pappu's life. So much so that at some point he pledged he would only marry if he cleared it. So, marriage will wait while he goes back to the textbooks to prepare for next year's test.

Pappu has not lost heart though his advancing years have taken a toll: he can't hear that well and has some difficulty reading. The fact that he can't write fast enough doesn't help when it comes to writing his answers in the stipulated time, but nothing seems to deter him.

"It's my writing speed that does me in," he admits. "By now, I know the syllabus like the back of my hand but what do I do about my speed," he asks, hiding his disappointment behind an infectious smile. This year his mark sheet read: 14 in English, 17 in Science, 5 in Mathematics and 25 in Sanskrit. Hindi is the only subject he's managed to pass. Last year, it was Sanskrit, and Science the year before.

"Mathematics is one subject that always pulls me down," he says with mock petulance.

He took his class 10 exam for the first time in 1969. Every year since, he's taken the test and failed. Over the years, he has walked miles to the examination centres; this year, he trudged four kilometres from his village Khohri in Behror in Alwar district to Maharajwas, the village school which was allotted to him as the examination centre.

Pappu is the only one left in his poor family. After he left the dilapidated house of his forefathers, he settled in a village temple. It is here that he pores over his textbooks. Villagers arrange for his food and expenses.

Former schoolteacher, 83-year-old Pyarelal is his friend, family and teacher. "I have tried to convince him to let go of his vow, but he doesn't give in," he says. "He works harder on the subject he flunks, but next year, there's a new subject he fails to secure passing marks in."

Others could dismiss his resolve as a sure sign of senility, but after hanging on for close to 40 years in the hope of passing the exam, Pappu can't think of a more satisfying criterion to get married.