She was thin and pale with long dark curly hair and a pleasantly smiling face. What I liked most about my English teacher was her voice... It was crystalline and melodious... like waves playing gently in the sea or wind chimes swaying lazily with the evening breeze.
I was in the seventh standard when i had her first as my English teacher. Thereafter, till my SSC, she was the only English teacher I had in my classes. Every year, on the first day of opening of school, all students would be anxious about which teacher would teach particular subject. The moment, my teacher entered the class, all students would cheer happily and she would smile lovingly, a radiant expression in her fair face. She would then search among the top rows, for there was where I used to sit always and the moment she saw me, she would smile knowingly and I would feel as if her eyes are asking the unasked question, 'So we meet this year too ha?'.
Her way of teaching was quite innovative. While teaching, she would pause if she came across any difficult word. She would then ask us the meaning of the word. Obviously, nobody would know. So, our homework would be to check the dictionary at home and find out its meaning and also use it appropriately in any sentence of our own. In a way, this was the foundation of my liking for the subject, I think. Learning the meaning of a new word every day was a sheer delight.
English subject, at that time, was a mass of comprehensions, essays, poems and questions. I could no longer byheart any answers for now there were 'factual' questions which required the readers to vent out their views on the topic asked. I had very abnormal views about any topic. Yet, my hand would be the first one to shoot up as soon as any question was asked. I would proudly proclaim my views in front of the whole class but not once did my teacher rebuke me or say that my views are wrong. She always made it a point to say that my views are different from others and would say so as a compliment.
I remember one incident very well. I shared my bench with two girls, Bindiya and Shalaka. Shalaka was the daughter of our drawing teacher Mrs. Kulkarni who had the reputation of being very sharp-tongued and rude. Shalaka was very arrogant and dominating and always fought with every one. One particular day, we three were playing a game during recess and Shalaka lost to me in the game. Both me and Bindiya cheered ourselves heartily and didnt notice Shalaka slip out of the classroom, teary-eyed.
Soon the recess ended and our English lesson started. After some time, Mrs. Kulkarni straight away rushed inside the classroom and came beside our bench where we three were sitting. She asked Shalaka, 'Who is this Deepa?'. Shalaka quietly pointed her finger at me. Then started a tideous tirade of why am I playing such silly games and how it is very bad to make fun of losers. She shouted at me for about fifteen minutes in front of the whole class and then marched out after venting her anger.
Having been humiliated in front of the whole class, my eyes threatened to fill up with tears which i hastily tried to blink away. It didnt help that my English teacher was looking at me with a kind expression on her face. I was inwardly praying that my teacher shouldnt say anything sympathetic to me as I was sure to break down. I didnt want to cry in front of the class.
To my surprise, she cleared her throat and started teaching. When she came to the section of 'factual questions', she directed all her questions at me. Very soon, I was back to my normal self as I started giving one foolish logic after another. After every answer, she gave a proud nod and to my astonishment, she started to defend and explain my logic as well. I cant forget this incident. Two teachers.... one humiliated me in front of the entire class and the other one made me stand proudly again in the midst of the same class...
It pains to remember that she was not there in the send-off party of my batch... for some reasons, she couldnt attend the same.. and here i was... having prepared an entire speech of thanks specially for her...
I met her after the results came... I had scored 80 / 100 in English and the highest marks in English were 81 in my school... When i informed her about my score, she was very happy... but the best compliment to me was when she asked, 'Why didn't you get 81?' To know that she actually expected me to get highest marks in her subject was an exhilarating feeling...
Thereafter, I met her after many years when i went back to school to take the results of my cousin who was also studying in the same school.... I had learnt from her that my English teacher taught her too... And there she was .... sitting in a chair with her head bent to check the enormous load of answer papers which she was distributing to all the anxious parents and siblings... I informed her my cousin's name and without looking up, she searched for her papers and gave them to me... I waited for some time till the crowd dispersed and finally spoke to her.
'M'am?' ... She turned her face upwards and looked at me questioningly. The face hadnt changed at all... though the hair was not only black but now carried a few strands of grey... She was still the same frail-looking woman with the pleasant face... But this time, she had some difficulty recognizing me.
'M'am... I have been your student. My name is Deepa.'
She seemed to have recognized this familiar face but couldnt remember quite distinctly. She smiled tiredly. 'I know you were my student but I am sorry that we teachers have very poor memories about the names of their students.' It pained me a bit to know that she didnt remember me. But then I realized that there might be hundreds whom she influenced with her kind nature. She might not remember every one. And I went back to her after almost a decade. i was no longer the two-plaited and fat little kid who gave the most ridiculous answers to her.
I then asked her, 'How r u M'am?' ... She said, 'Still the same as u might have noticed... the same school, the same subject but not the same students, isnt' it?' She laughed pleasantly. She then asked about my job and other general issues. Finally, I had nothing to say more.
'Ok then M'am... I will leave now... Just wanted to meet you thats all'...
She sent me off happily and that was the last time I met till date.
My cousin's classes started again after a week. The teacher mentioned to her class that one of her old students had come to meet her during the results and that this had made her very happy and proud. I was delighted to hear this from my cousin.
Her name is Usha and I know that she must still be teaching in the school and may be she is patiently listening to the ridiculous answers of another fat kid with plaits....
