Pandit Sir !

Pandit sir was as famous for his ten sit ups as he was for his random shrugging of shoulders. Though I do not know why the ten sit ups was his favourite punishment, the random shrugging of shoulders was attributed to an electric shock he got while teaching students about electricity which came under the purview of a subject called as Work Experience. Reliable sources state that there was a time when some of his close relative was abroad and Pandit used to sell coins to the students in the class. Like most teachers in our school, Pandit was a specialist in more than one subject. He taught us Marathi in the eighth standard and he used to teach English to some other class too.
Pandit : You. Ten sit ups.
Student : But Sir.
Pandit : Twenty
Student : But Sir.
Pandit : Get out of the class.
This was what used to happen during his each and every lecture. I remember a time when almost a fifth of the class was given the punishment under some pretext. I often wondered why students settled for sit ups when they had the option of standing out of the class. When we were in eighth standard, Pandit was due to retire. And in his last year, he showed how eccentric he could be. In our terminal (mid year) exams he failed almost half the class in Marathi. Now, I speak Marathi at home and failing in Marathi was something I could not even dream of. I got thirty out of hundred and fell short by five marks to make it to the passing mark. Everyone was stunned after seeing their corrected paper. Even most who had passed had their marks in thirties. 'A' and 'B' divisions of our school had the best students in the standard - often referred to as The Cream. A few people in these divisions too were failed by Pandit. But then, their papers were reevaluated and finally everyone over there managed to pass. I sometimes hated the step motherly treatment accorded to the rest of the divisions by the teachers. I tried all the tricks so as to avoid that red mark on my report card. I requested grace marks from Pandit and supervisor Joshi ( immediate boss of our teachers) but they said that grace marks can only be given if someone fails in the annual exams. I even requested Pandit to deduct five marks from my English paper(Pandit had checked my English paper too. I got about 65) and allocate it where I needed them. But then all my tricks failed and so did I. I got that red mark on my report card. I avoided showing the report card to my parents for almost a month, but then finally had to show it to get a signature. Forgery was something I could not think of then(not that I can think of it now). One more thing that I remember about Pandit is that he used to look after the United Nations and General Knowledge exams. I had given those because they distributed some nice certificates with embossing and stuff and enrolling for the exams cost just twenty bucks. When I went to collect my certificate from Pandit, he asked me to clean his drawers(Furniture. Pun not at all intended). Finally Pandit retired after the mid term exams and I never failed in Marathi again.

Badami Halva

Badami Halva is a blood red coloured, solid rubber like sweet. If you hold it in your hands, it makes them greasy and you have to tear it apart with your teeth to break it down. Sometimes, I used to carry it to school in my lunch box. It was one of the many things I did not like to eat when I was in school. Though I eventually grew up liking chapati-bhaji, I still hate the Badami Halva. So it was but natural that I give it to someone. And that someone was Devesh Lokre. Devesh Lokre used to like the stuff so much that he once asked me its preparation. I did not tell him the truth that it was purchased from Panshikar Sweets but told him that my mother prepares it. The recipe I told him was simple. First my mother cuts my fingers and all the blood that flows finds its way into the ice tray where some sugar is added before it is stored for freezing. It might be difficult to believe, but Devesh who probably was in first standard did believe it. I felt so proud that I had fooled Devesh. A few days later however, Devesh came to my desk. He said that his mother had prepared Badami Halva at home with the recipe I told him.

Craft Classes

When I was in kindergarten, pupils used to sit down on the floor. I do not know whether kids still sit on the floor with colourful desks in front of them. Everything was colourful, including the marble papers that we got for craft classes. Alpana was our craft teacher and I guess the only craft teacher that our KG school had at that time. Alpana handed over the neatly cut square marble papers to us and instructed us that we should not take more than one. Then she proceeded to explain how to fold and cut the paper to convert it into the final output. Whatever she taught was already known to me, thanks to my father. But the day she taught us 'bhingri' was different. Bhingri is a piece of paper that is cut in such a way that it looks similar to an inverted ceiling fan. When dropped from a height, the bhingri revolves around its vertical axis as it descends. I had not learnt to make a bhingri from my father. Nervous, I went to Alpana and told her that I cannot make a bhingri because my father has not taught it yet. I do not remember what was her reply, but I guess she must have asked me to carry on with the bhingri. And if you thought that was all, it wasnt. Alpana disclosed this to my father at the Parents' Meeting. After that, some disciplinary action was taken at home which consisted of teaching me how to behave with the teachers.

Neel Down

In my primary days, I was a timid guy. I was so afraid of my teachers that whenever any teacher shouted "Kneel Down", it would send shivers down my spine. So when Vineetha teacher shouted "Neel, Kneel Down", I was really scared. I had been caught. Vineetha had given some homework to the class and I could not complete it on time. Just before the submission time, I erased all the incomplete work for the day(We used (Natraj)pencils till standard four). When I was asked the reason for not completing the homework, I told Vineetha that "I forgot about the homework". With traces of erased homework so very visible, I just cannot imagine how stupid I was. Only if that incident had taken place a few years later I would have a variety of excuses to chose from. I miss that innocent Neel.