From the first day of his lessons I found something different in him. Still I’m wondering when he had taken 2 weeks just to teach poetry! By the way forgot to say that look wise he was a carbon copy of Tamil actor Arvind Swamy (as he was in Dhalapati movie.) I had a doubt whether he would complete the portion before exams. If it remains pending we had to suffer not our lecturer.
But he gave a big blow when he took the academy award winner play Yayaati, as his next option among our lessons. Because it was almost 50-55 pages play. The person who took 2 weeks to complete 2 pages poetry, how he may adjust with this one? My doubt was right. Believe it or not when he completed that whole chapter our mid term exams were near. He took all time to teach just one play!! My god! Still almost 23 lessons and 12 poetries were pending. When he would complete all those?
But the special thing was the play Yayaati made its mark in my mind permanently. Most wonderful thing was our lecturer’s style of narration! I’m damn sure that nobody could have taught that play to anyone in such a way. The play put me in deep thoughts, especially the roles of King Yayaati who wants to enjoy his life at any cost. He doesn't want to get aged and die! A wonderful character of a pure womaniser!! There may not be any lady with whom he does not want to enjoy. He is a king who is very handsome and with macho looks!! Strange but yet so powerful role! And when he gets aged, he gets a unique opportunity to exchange his illness with others who are ready to take his illness by giving their youth!
You must read the way how Girish Karnad has narrated it!
Nobody in Yayaati’s empire would be ready to take his illness even though if he gets half of his kingdom in return. After all everybody is afraid of death. Everybody wants to live. So what’s wrong if Yayaati wants to live his youth again? Come on, after all he did not die everyday like others. He enjoyed every moment of his life and how could he accept the real fact of nature.
With such deep thoughts the play had put me in. When no one becomes ready then it’s his own son Puru who is young and just got married that day, agrees for his father’s desire. That too on the first evening of his wedding!! He exchanges his youth to fulfill his dads’ wish. Very strange! Isn’t it? You must read that play in deep.
Such a strong subject, which is simply outstanding. If you think in deep, each and every sentence makes its own impact. There were no days left when I did not wish if today we had Kannada class! Such a grip our lecturer had on the subject. Each day I was discussing about it with him after the class and every time he used to say, ‘Now you are enjoying, right? Just guess, I’m not going to teach the next lessons. All of you have to read it by yourselves. And prepare yourself.’
I thought he was joking. But he was serious and I came to know about it later.
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November 3rd, 2000.
After the mid term exams when we attended the class he was cool. He just came and told one of the students to read the first three paragraphs of next lesson.
When she stopped then he told her to wait and asked everyone whether we understood what she read? Everyone said, ‘Yes’. Then he told the other students to read one by one the whole lesson. And when it got over bell rang.
He said, ‘The chapter is over. By tomorrow you should be ready with your notes.’
Hey! Come on! He did not even read a single line and saying that the chapter is over! Where is his explanation? But he was not there inside the class to answer my question. He had left before 1 minute. The whole class was filled with full of noise when he said so and left. Ninety percent of the students decided to bunk the next class of him so that they can avoid the notes. (I think others had guide books. Ooops! But our Sir was so intelligent that by reading first line itself he could make out by which guide that student has copied.)
I really could not understand his attitude. What was his intention?
Later I went to meet him in person at the staff room.
'Come in, Hari’, he told as soon as he saw me and continued, ‘I told you to submit the notes tomorrow but you brought it today? Wow!”
I realised that he was pulling my leg. ‘What notes? You did not even read a single line, did not explain anything...And you are expecting notes?’
‘Sit down, Hari.I’ll tell.’
I took a chair. College hours were over. Only he, our economics lecturer and I were there.
’What explanation you want, Hari? You tell me.’
‘No.. Not like that. For Yayaati play you had given such details and explanation. Here not even a single line?’
‘Hari, Can you tell me what you uttered when you came into this world for the first time?”
I stopped for a while and said, ‘I might have cried saying, ‘Amma’.
’Who taught you this word?’, Question was straight to my face.
Then I noticed. He is looking straight into my eyes; he is searching for someone in me!
‘Why, Hari? You learnt by yourself, right? Then why you need a teacher..? You are the one who shapes your mind. You have no need of others. You have that power! Why don’t you use it? If I go on teach everything then how I would come to know about your creativity? When you will get the chance to express it? I want to test the real knowledge now.’
‘But it's not fair, Sir. Everyone may not write. All are not same. I can complete it but it doesn't mean that everyone would do. You should give some time to them. I hope at least I will make it by tomorrow’
‘No you can not…that’s’ why I am giving one more day just for you. For others just one day’
‘What? What you mean?? You mean to say that I’m lazy or weak..? I did not understand.’
I was shocked how he could say so or think so about me when I was the top scorer in the college.
Yes. My ego got hurt by his words. Don’t be surprise that whether people like me too have an ego??? I must say everyone has ego at certain level in their heart but they don’t show it. That’s it. I can bet on this. There cannot be any single person in this world who may dare to say that I don’t have any ego. If they say so then they are cheating themselves. Within two minutes I can take out and show what kind of an ego they had in them. I don’t want to cheat myself, so better I accept the fact that I too have that ego in some proportion.
‘No. I didn’t mean that. I mean to say you have one more important work. You can finish the notes after finishing that work.’
‘What’s that important work?’, I was expecting for his another time bomb.
Yes, my guess was right. He exploded it!
‘There is an intercollegiate competition next week. And tomorrow we have to send the contestants names and all other details and along with their poems to the organizers. I had given your name before itself. Had forgotten to say. You have to send your poetry tomorrow morning. So you first finish your poem and bring it tomorrow.’
‘WHAT???’, I felt like falling from pan to directly in the fire. Was total upset.
‘This is absurd. How can you give my name to the competition even without putting a word to me? Is it childish? Do you think writing poems is so easy?’
‘Didn't you win state level prize last year? Then why not again?’
‘Please stop it, Sir. Yes, that’s true but I worked on it for three weeks. I had time. Here I have no time at all. And most important thing is you should have a good mood to write anything. If I have won once it does not mean that I should win all the time, foremost you know very well that I work part-time and when I reach home it will be 11pm. How can I write then? What do you want? Want to tease me?’
‘Hari, Time is not important, the mind set-up and the will power, which is needed for any work. I know you may think that I am putting a pressure on you. And when that pressure on you will work tremendously. I know it.’
‘No, Sir. When you put so much pressure on a balloon it will just burst into pieces. No use. It is same in my case as well.’
‘Don’t forget, Hari. You are not a Balloon. You are a spring!! And when we put pressure on spring it will bounce back. You think that you cannot but I know you can! You still don’t know what you are but I know what you are! Take him out! Bring him out! Order him what you want and when. And just see what he can do! Don’t cover him. Pull him out and show who’s there within you. Everything is within you! Explore it!’
‘Shall I lock the staff room?’, Peon was asking on the other side.
I don’t know where he was. Thank god he came or else next day’s newspapers headlines would have been ‘A lecturer’s murder by his student!’
I was so angry. Sorry not angry. Irritated!!! I don’t get angry because even before I become angry that irritation covers my mind and pulls the anger out of my mind.
While working at the office in the night my mind was just thinking about that what to write. Once I seriously thought of writing the “Sahasra Naamavali” (Thousand praising words or chants) of my Lecturer (I hope you understood what I meant by praising) and should give it to him.
I cannot write for the sake of writing. I should feel it or else not, I just don’t write. This is what I follow. After finishing my office work I came back home. Ufffffff!!! I was fed up. I don’t know how many times I had cursed my Sir in that time.
It was almost 12.30AM. I could not sleep. After all how could I sleep? I was surrounded by silence.
Experiencing the silence is really horrible if you feel lonely.
Everyone will be in deep sleep normally by that time. I just stepped out of the house. Started to enjoy the nature. Yeah. Of course there cannot be any greater inspiration than the nature. Yes.. Here he is…. My Priyatam!
Whenever I think about nature Priyatam comes to my mind because he loves nature and enjoys the simple things in nature, which gives the real pleasure of life.
Hey! By the way I had forgotten to tell you the main person in Priyatam’s life. I did not say or write anything here about her. How come..? Let me share something about her.
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