Practical exams during my M.Sc. days were fun. This is another exclusive feature of the Biochemistry Dept.. If my Profs do read this, i'm sure to listen to a word or two the next time i speak to them.

We have about forty experiments listed for each semester, and it was only in the first semester and in the second semester (to a lesser extent) that we actually went to lab regularly. Third sem saw us visit the lab, maybe for a week, and the final sem, we simply stared at the practical syllabus.

Being freshers, we took practical exams real seriously. Mugging those protocols with specific units was tough. I can never 'by-heart' details, especially when there are lots of them. After the fifteen minutes of 'procedure-writing' which were supervised by the staff, we were left to ourselves the rest of the time. During the four-five hour period we would play around while a few of us weighed salts, prepared buffers, and used colourimeters.

Who could have assumed that practical exams during post-grad could be thus? I never could've imagined it myself, if i'd not stepped in there.