Today I added Hemant to my Orkut friend’s list. Flashback to circa 1992. Hemant Kumar joined DAV (Section 2E) the same day as I had some 16 years back and its been some 13 years since I have had any communication/interaction with him. He was this angry kid with that frown, like, forever on his face. If I am not mistaken I was Roll no.32 and he was 33.The only thing that was common between us was that we had entered class after every body had, with that same grumpy face. My face must have been grumpier coz I had entered class with a heavy bag and ..well.. a shaven head (that was the last time). I cannot definitely say so, but all the photographs of that period do suggest the same.
That was also when this bright eyed girl, with neatly braided long hair, offered me the seat next to her. If the circumstance sounds familiar, yes, we did become best friends.
That was also the time when my English teacher, who was also my class teacher then, became my favourite teacher. Ma’am could, without turning her head from the blackboard, ask some back bencher to shut up. I always thought it was some sort of magic. How could she know who exactly was talking even without looking at them? I had only begun to acquire the garrulity that is now associated with me. So one fine day, I asked her, “Madam, how do you do that?” She smiled and said, “I just know, …if you ever do take my place, you will also learn.”
For some reason, I remember my English, Hindi and Social Studies teachers more than the Science and Maths ones. Actually, I remember both, but the former have inspired me more. Ironically I learnt to reason in the formers' classes and it naturally transgressed into my having greater interest in human reason than scientific reason. Perhaps over the years that translated into my desire of not becoming a doctor, engineer or scientist. Perhaps that’s why I went on to consider a career in some twenty odd professions (notably I had wanted to become a journalist (a freelancer, preferably a Times of India Sunday columnist), cartoonist, a Nat Geo Photographer, actor (ahem, not exactly), travel guide(yes), movie director, copywriter, advertising professional, architect etc among teh feasible ones)... Perhaps that’s why, like to many others, law happened to me – this fascination for human reason.
That was also the time when my English teacher, who was also my class teacher then, became my favourite teacher. Ma’am could, without turning her head from the blackboard, ask some back bencher to shut up. I always thought it was some sort of magic. How could she know who exactly was talking even without looking at them? I had only begun to acquire the garrulity that is now associated with me. So one fine day, I asked her, “Madam, how do you do that?” She smiled and said, “I just know, …if you ever do take my place, you will also learn.”
For some reason, I remember my English, Hindi and Social Studies teachers more than the Science and Maths ones. Actually, I remember both, but the former have inspired me more. Ironically I learnt to reason in the formers' classes and it naturally transgressed into my having greater interest in human reason than scientific reason. Perhaps over the years that translated into my desire of not becoming a doctor, engineer or scientist. Perhaps that’s why I went on to consider a career in some twenty odd professions (notably I had wanted to become a journalist (a freelancer, preferably a Times of India Sunday columnist), cartoonist, a Nat Geo Photographer, actor (ahem, not exactly), travel guide(yes), movie director, copywriter, advertising professional, architect etc among teh feasible ones)... Perhaps that’s why, like to many others, law happened to me – this fascination for human reason.
It wasn’t just a whim or intuition after all.
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