Bloodless encounter

Teachers these days are a worried lot. Today, A fine balancing between professional and personal commitments is proving to be extremely arduous- at the risk of being termed stale i must say it's like walking the tight rope. Just as you pat yourself for having gotten over that difficult task you are bombarded with more problems - worse than before. Woe betide those with added responsibilities like heading a department or in charge of a class- for then, these problems assume greater proportions- you are immediately branded heartless or dictatorial. You end up earning the wrath of your wards for having shouted at them, or for having sent them out of the class- simply because you thought these goody goody chappies will learn their lesson. The grand finale is of course when you get to see some of these fellows (with nose in the air) returning to college just to spite you - just to prove they are a better lot. Many teachers, i'm sure have had such encounters and for those lucky ones who haven't, here's a sample laced with a little humour and a lot of imagination. The moral of the story is .......well you decide!

BLOODLESS ENCOUNTER
I was getting ready for my drama class. From across the table, Macbeth was staring at me. The task for the day was clearly cut out. I must communicate to a bunch of seventeen year olds forcefully and sensibly Macbeth’s depression, dejection and frustration just before his tragic death. In short, I must make them understand what life is. It seemed quite formidable and daunting. I was uncertain whether those who were kids only yesterday could comprehend what life is and the full import of Macbeth’s deep angst. Quite abruptly my reverie was cut short. Looking up I saw someone standing at the door, beaming with a smile.
“May I come in, sir?” For a moment I couldn’t trust my own ears. I thought I had misheard. He repeated the request, this time louder.
“Oh, yes, Please come in and have a seat.” I said feeling rather elated by his politeness. At a time when polite students are a rarity I didn’t want to let go of this encounter. He walked in casually and by the time he had parked his load on the chair I knew I had invited trouble.
“Sir, do you remember me?” he started. There was that ‘how can you NOT remember me’ tone in his voice. And yes, I remembered him, quite well too. Not that he was a prodigy or anything. But his ingenious ways for disrupting classes was an open secret.
“Of course I do,” I said hiding my discomfort. Then, nonchalantly I said, “So, how are you, young man?’
“How do you expect me to be?” he snapped. I wasn’t surprised at his retort. In fact, I knew he had the potential for deeper incisions. Light dawned on me- he had come with a purpose.
“Oh, come on man,” I said struggling hard to conceal my awkwardness. “I’m not omniscient. You must tell me.”
“Better than you, much better, you know.” It was clear he hadn’t forgotten those unpleasant ‘out-standing’ experiences at college.
“Oh, really!” I managed to mumble. “Good for you man.” By now I was thoroughly feeling embarrassed. I had offered him a seat and there he was glued to the chair determined to avenge me. I knew I had no escape. I let him run on.
“Mr……….,” he began. The transition from sir to Mr, I think was quite intentional. “I just joined this multinational company and do you know what my pay package is like? 30K.How’s that for a ‘useless guy’? In five years I’ll cross the 50k mark. Have you ever imagined where you will be after five years?”
Actually, I had imagined that many times over the years and I knew where exactly I would be. Couldn’t tell him, though.
“Anyways, thanks Mr………….” I was relieved my ordeal was coming to an end. “Thanks for teaching me what life is.” With a mischievous grin on his face he walked out, triumphantly. Shakespeare, from the table was still staring at me.
“Life is a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Are we tolerant?

We take pride in saying we are Indians and native to the land of mahatmas who preached and practised non - violence and Ahimsa. The time has come for some introspection, really. Look at the increasing number of 'street justice' incidents rampantly seen in our country, especilally in Bihar. What is really happening to us?
Well, the savage instinct is in all of us, the instinct to survive, to harm, to injure and to kill. But where is the redeeming feature that is also there in us - the ability to restrain. Where has thou gone restraint, the much needed redeemer, the only balm to all our instincts of savagery.
At times i wonder if we are willingly going barbaric so much so that it seems fashionable today. All the TV Channels continue to beam such gory incidents in the name of news and in the process perhaps augment their ratings also. What about the damage that such telecasts have on impressionable minds? A speeding car driver attempting to kill an engineer on duty in broad daylight was horrible. The mob venting its fury on an accused in Bihar was even more horrible.

Where has the spirit of tolerance gone? Where are those finer sensibilities that we associate with human beings? What has changed us so much - that we have become so horribly barbaric? Who's got the answers?

Is Conformism really a sin?

One of the major difficulties that a teacher encounters in his/her career is non-conformist attitude / tendency in students /youngsters. Is conformism so bad? The way we look down upon it as if it is a deadly sin intrigues me. Don't we all conform to many things in life? Can we not conform for the sake of a common cause and still be happy? Why are we so rebellious about everything, vociferously protesting against all norms. 'We want freedom' is our refrain. But can freedom come without responsibility? Are we mature enough to handle freedom? Were the girls who stripped under the influence of alcohol in a public place in Kolkata "free"? Physically and literally - yes they were. Did they behave responsibly? Certainly not. Why do we try to abuse / take undue advantage of the freedom that we already have? Is freedom something that is given to us? Or is it something that we already have? And the biggest question is, are we in the name of freedom trying to go too far? "Ah! You are a puritan," "generation gap - you don't understand," "You are a traditionlist - to hell with you" - choicest expressions commonly used to attack those insisting on order. Is the attack really fair, especially when it comes from those who expect fairness from others. How long can we go on like this? Will the situation change?

Hi

What a way to begin? To begin with failure. The first attempt to blog didn't yield desired results, despite spending a few hours on the process. Learnt the lesson, however-never give up. The result is here to see. Perseverence has paid off - i'm about to publish my first post.

Now why did i want to blog? Is it because my colleagues are at it? Or because the whole world is hooked to it? I'm not sure. But i know one thing for sure. This is a wonderful, faster, swifter medium to get across ideas, to get to know a lot of people, interact, discuss anything and everything and in the process learn a lot more about life and discover your own self.

I have decided to take the plunge. With the support of the sea of humanity all around me i'm sure i'll be able to swim through.

Welcome aboard.