What about 1895?

It's that time of year. A time when the newspapers are filled with mugshots of young people, usually with various congratulatory messages sprinkled generously around. You know what I'm talking about. It's the coaching class industry, patting its collective back for all the merit-listers it has produced (or sometimes not produced, let that pass). SSC, MH-CET, MPET, MHADA, IITJEE, WMD, ICSE -- the alphabet soup of Indian examinations, all with their own lists of toppers who are claimed by one or the other coaching class. Sometimes more than one.

And thus the mugshots.

So I'm looking at DNA from last Friday (June 29), and a significant fraction of two pages of the paper is given over to mugshots issued by Chate Classes, "Our Topper" appearing here and there. I mean, there are several dozen -- must be close to one hundred -- passport size shots of students. Now I know SSC and 12th standard results were out not long before this paper appeared, so I'm thinking these must be Chate's toppers from this year's merit lists for those exams. A good guess, right? So I'm pretty impressed: several dozen Chate inmates on the 2007 lists! Wow!

Then something makes me look more closely at the mugshots.

Of those several dozen young men and women staring out at me, exactly seven -- count 'em, please do, s-e-v-e-n, 7 -- are vintage '07. "OUR TOPPERS XII (Sci) MARCH 2007", is the title above their pictures.

So who are the other several dozen? "Our Topper SSC March 2006". "Our Topper SSC March 2005". "Our Toppers XII (Sci) March 2004." "Our Toppers Medical CET 2006." "Our Toppers Engg CET 2005". "Our Topper SSC March 1996." "Our Topper SSC March 1995."

And more.

So Chate is recycling its pictures of toppers from years gone by. As many as 12 years gone by. A very nice way, you will agree, to get you to think that they have several dozen toppers this year. You will also agree that all of us need to either join Chate pronto, or send our kids there pronto, or something. I hope to see my picture in one of their ads in 2079.

***
Speaking of alphabet soups. Page 5 of the same issue of DNA has several bits of news. Apropos of nothing much, here is a list of the acronyms (not just TLAs) that appear in all those bits on just this one page.

BPL, ONBC, MSCM, CNG, NBW, EOW, MD, MGL, TA, GAIL, ISC, BMM, CET, BMS, CBSE, KPB, BHS, ICP, DB, BAR, SSC, CBSC, HC, KC.

This is true.