"Today is the judgement day. The class is unusually silent except for the low hum of the anxious bated breaths. Ms Isha's repeated attempts to make us talk fail like her daily efforts to quieten us. Instead of paper rockets, confused glances are being thrown across. The hour long taciturn suspense being maintained by Ms Isha when the all we are doing is to stare helplessly at her face full of dumbfounded expressions in the backdrop of the blackboard would become an inspiration for the sweet at sixteen Ekta Kapoor's future leading ladies' actions on the idiot box. The spell is eventually broken by the resonance of over fifty bewildered heartbeats threatening to blow up the classroom walls. All but three convicts are handed out their lurid verdicts one by one. 'The three significant verdicts are to be pronounced by Ranjan Sir', conveys Ms Isha.
Ranjan Sir, but why? Ranjan Sir is a busy man, he is the senior most teacher in the school. I think he is a good teacher. His class was lively and fun, he explained through examples, he made us solve problems on the blackboard and never scolded or spanked when we could not. But still, he always wore a grave expression and never smiled and he hardly taught. On most days he had been preoccupied to schedule teachers to engage classes of the absent teachers. I think that made him forget that of all the classes, his own dear class, the fifth standard Maths class, was left unengaged! But did we complain? Of course not! A happy period between the tedious social and dull science periods was a boon straight from the heavens! Yet he had covered eighteen chapters out of the twenty five chapters, a few more than few other teachers who had not missed saying lullabies to us for a single day.
Some of the class who have been pleasantly surprised by the verdicts are getting restless waiting for Ranjan Sir. After all, how long can they wait for their promised gifts of chocolates, new clothes, new toys, etc. Some of the class is praying for him not to turn up for the whole day. The delay is helping to shorten the day and the repercussions of their verdicts back at home. The three of us, though well aware of our verdicts, have stomachs brimming with butterflies at the moment. Finally, after yet another hour's wait, Sir materializes in our classroom and hands out the remaining verdicts. When the roar of claps subsides, Sir begins to address us.
'Congratulations to the fifth class! This year's board included teachers from fifteen schools and the difficulty level was high. This is a great achievement for our school that the entire fifth standard made it to the next with good marks. The Maths paper was the toughest with the best questions from fifteen schools. For the first time in my teaching career, I have seen someone score triple digit marks in this paper. And she is Sandhya! Come over Sandhya, I have got a small gift for you.'
Sir is beaming as he hands me out the envelope with a crisp hundred rupee bill and a hand written congratulatory note inside. I can't believe it. I am super thrilled. I am happy. I am choking. I am all goose bumps. Somehow I manage to utter a feeble thank you."
It has been almost two decades but the happiest moment of my life is still fresh in front of my eyes. I can never forget the smile on Sir's face and the pride in his eyes for his student. I still think twice before gifting one hundred bucks to my near and dear ones. What a noble gesture it was two decades back to reward a student so generously. The noble gift has been a noble impact for me. It has instilled a forever love for Maths in me. It has taught me the profound potential of a genuine reward. It has been my motivator all these years and continue to do so. Yet like that day many many years ago, I am again at loss of words to thank you Ranjan Sir!
Ranjan Sir, but why? Ranjan Sir is a busy man, he is the senior most teacher in the school. I think he is a good teacher. His class was lively and fun, he explained through examples, he made us solve problems on the blackboard and never scolded or spanked when we could not. But still, he always wore a grave expression and never smiled and he hardly taught. On most days he had been preoccupied to schedule teachers to engage classes of the absent teachers. I think that made him forget that of all the classes, his own dear class, the fifth standard Maths class, was left unengaged! But did we complain? Of course not! A happy period between the tedious social and dull science periods was a boon straight from the heavens! Yet he had covered eighteen chapters out of the twenty five chapters, a few more than few other teachers who had not missed saying lullabies to us for a single day.
Some of the class who have been pleasantly surprised by the verdicts are getting restless waiting for Ranjan Sir. After all, how long can they wait for their promised gifts of chocolates, new clothes, new toys, etc. Some of the class is praying for him not to turn up for the whole day. The delay is helping to shorten the day and the repercussions of their verdicts back at home. The three of us, though well aware of our verdicts, have stomachs brimming with butterflies at the moment. Finally, after yet another hour's wait, Sir materializes in our classroom and hands out the remaining verdicts. When the roar of claps subsides, Sir begins to address us.
'Congratulations to the fifth class! This year's board included teachers from fifteen schools and the difficulty level was high. This is a great achievement for our school that the entire fifth standard made it to the next with good marks. The Maths paper was the toughest with the best questions from fifteen schools. For the first time in my teaching career, I have seen someone score triple digit marks in this paper. And she is Sandhya! Come over Sandhya, I have got a small gift for you.'
Sir is beaming as he hands me out the envelope with a crisp hundred rupee bill and a hand written congratulatory note inside. I can't believe it. I am super thrilled. I am happy. I am choking. I am all goose bumps. Somehow I manage to utter a feeble thank you."
It has been almost two decades but the happiest moment of my life is still fresh in front of my eyes. I can never forget the smile on Sir's face and the pride in his eyes for his student. I still think twice before gifting one hundred bucks to my near and dear ones. What a noble gesture it was two decades back to reward a student so generously. The noble gift has been a noble impact for me. It has instilled a forever love for Maths in me. It has taught me the profound potential of a genuine reward. It has been my motivator all these years and continue to do so. Yet like that day many many years ago, I am again at loss of words to thank you Ranjan Sir!
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