There is nothing as complex as human memory. It is capable of recording everything which ever happened in your life but you really cant call out everything of it at will. You remember all the regular stuff, also some special moments which mean a lot. But there are some memories which mean a lot to us in hindsight, which is probably the reason we cannot remember them at will. They flash across our mind only when we realize their importance.
These days at office are really crazy, too much work, everything seems to be haywire at times, priorities change, miscommunication occurs; simply too much chaos. Amidst all this, I was having a light conversation with my colleagues Sandeep and Ajeet. Ajeet was telling us how he beat some crooks that week, with punches and dabs and round house kicks and all. Ajeet, by the way, has been a boxer, karate player, basically a strong lad we knew of. What we did not know was that he was so lethal! I was really scared to listen how he beat the crap out of those crooks, while enjoying a good laugh. Ajeet mentioned he was kind of a bully when a kid, used to beat other kids until he met this one professor in his H.S.C. year. He claimed he could improve only because of this professor, who really changed him. Sandeep also added, saying he also had this one professor who kind of changed his life. I said, there's always this one professor in your life who has an unforgettable impact on you. That was when visuals of my Hindi teacher lit up in my mind.
My academic performance in school have always been very good, always among top 5 in class. I have taken a beating from my dad at times only because I scored a first class and not distinction! I was in my teens now and had started to take things lightly, the usual metamorphosis which occurs during this phase of life. I tend to be overconfident at times, even now, and back then it was more prominent. I was in 9th standard and started to feel I can score first class in tests very easily. I would ignore all language subjects citing to myself not to waste time studying such easy stuff. Unit tests commenced and it was Hindi paper the next day. I did not touch the textbook until the day of exam, scanning through the chapters and poems 15 mins before exam bell rang. I wrote god knows what, and not even once did it run across my mind that I should have studied a bit.
Tiwari sir, serving his last term at our school, was the one to check my division's answer sheets. 3 days post exam, he comes to our class with bundles of answer sheets in his hand. He asked our class monitor to distribute the papers. I got mine, and was dumbfound to look at my marks - 15 out of 50, FAIL! I gathered myself and recounted all marks, which added to 15. I checked through the answers and thought I should have given a few marks more for some. My friends came to know about my marks and were equally shocked. I could not take it any more, so I approached sir asking for a revaluation. He glanced through the paper but did not increase my marks anywhere. I requested him, citing that it's the first time something like this has happened with me so it must be a mistake. He was cold about my pleadings. He ignored me and I had nothing left to do than coming back to my seat and cry. Taking pity at me, some of my girl friends (I remember Shraddha, Linanjali doing this) approached him requesting to increase marks and pass me. He simply refused!
So I had failed for the first time. I got the worst whack of my life from my dad. He beat me like crazy a day before my birthday, did not make me go to school on my birthday (I tried to be smart; I got my paper on 14th Aug, I decided to tell my parents on my birthday on 17th Aug so I may get away with less beating but (un)fortunately my dad came across it on 16th night and he figured out my plan which made him even more angry!).
That was it, Tiwari sir was my enemy now. I took it all very personally, cursed him a lot. I hated him to the core, could not stand him at all. I disrespected him (Don't ask how). And he was there, totally unaware of all this, preparing for his post retirement time. Since that incident, my parents started taking keen interest in my studies. My mom thought I had a difficulty in languages so she helped me with Hindi and Marathi. Rakhi, my cousin who was also my tuition teacher, was more focused on my studies now. My studies and progress was constantly monitored and eventually I started taking my studies seriously. Later on no one had to look after my studies, I did it all by myself. The rest lies in my academic records - 83% in S.S.C., 3rd in school and 2nd in Hindi, 75% in H.S.C. with 92 in Chemistry, 77% in T.Y.BSc Information Technology, 1st in college and 196/200 in University project and 72% in MBA Operations.
Could all this have been possible if Tiwari sir had been lineant back then? Probably yes. But that jolt was required back then. You may take 20 hard blows to break a rock but does that mean the first one was not important? For him it was easy to raise my marks and pass me. I never knew of anyone trying to persuade a professor to pass someone else. Still, he was adamant not to pass me, and rightly so! Perhaps he must have sensed what was necessary for me at that time and he did it. It was a tough decision for him as well, but he did it because it was right. And he has certainly helped one of his students progress in life.
Shraddha always told me Tiwari sir was a nice person and I must say I agree with her now, thanks to this happy realization. Thank you Tiwari sir. I wish you had a wonderful life so far and continue to do so. I am glad I could realize the significance of your action in my lifetime. God bless you sir.
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