Past tense......Jamia Middle School

It was a fantastic chilled morning of January, a week after schools reopen after half yearly exams.

The class was 4th & section was B.

Hashmet saheb on routine home work check discovered that few pupil didn't finished their work.

He gets annoyed & asked for explanation.

The first student in his catch was"Yusuf".

upon asking yusuf replied as follows the reason for not completing the HW.

"I tried, didnt understand & so i went for fishing on okhla head & later did little swimming".



Now, this was totally indigestible for hashmet saheb that he did swimming.

Yusuf also realised the additives in his lie.

It was too late.

Hashmet saheb shouted "Mukhtar!!! Bring Mukhtari"
{Mukhtar was one of our classmate}
Yusuf directed to stand up facing wall till mukhtar returned with "Mukhtari"

Mukhtari was a fresh stick of bamboo tree with utmost flexibility, the bamboo tree(hub) was situated on the back side of school, in front of present jamia nursery & adjacent to Fine arts canteen.

Hashmet saheb hit Yusuf by stick & there was no sign of pain.

He hitted again & the same results.

He along with all of us were surprised because one hit of that stick can make any body scream.

He then ordered him to remove jersey he was wearing.

He removed the one to reveal another.

Hashmet saheb asked him to remove the second one & he did remove The second one to expose the third sweater!!

Little surprised & asked him to remove all.

Believe it or not!!!!

He has removed 16 nos leaving the 17th on his body.

Hashmet saheb then smiled & asked him to take all the clothes out from the table.

He spared him but loudly told everybody to refrain from lying in the future.

Although it looks like a simple episode but i want to key down this here due to one reason.

Yusuf discontinued education after one year & i got the news few years later that he died.

This small paragraph is homage to a lovely person with a good built & smily face, the only son of his father who once met me while i was in senior secondary school.

Father, a retired jamia employee, looked at me with empty eyes, hugged me & i felt the pain.

The grief of loosing son was clearly reflected through his wet eyes & fainted voice.

I never saw him since after & life continues as there was nothing happened.

Past tense.....Middle School

The option for middle school students to refresh themselves during recces time in 70's were very few like, Muzaffar bhai ki canteen, BachchoN ka Khwancha & few vendors at D of school gate or you may found meer saheb marching on school road along with his old trolley with little things to offer.

At School D {small grass patch(i cant call it park), fenced in D-shape}, during recess time, you may found Pandit ji selling ice creams, One vendor for chane murmure or similar items, Raj bir selling gol gappe & chhole.

My father had an arrangement with Nafees bhai, who runs a cafeteria on the other side of road (store) to offer me a biscuit for few months during 3rd standard.

I remember, i like that biscuit alot, but every day same taste made me irritated.

I used to look at the students enjoying the great taste of orange ice cream and every lick made by them increase my curiosity to feel the same on my lips.

Some how, pandit ji read my face one day & offered me ice cream!

I told him that i don't have money to buy, he said no problem,

Then he asked me about my father & i told him that he is jamia employee.

From then & so often, i start tasting different kind of ice creams.

A month later my father summoned me, asked me the reason to stop taking biscuits?

Standing mum.

Another question!!!

Why you are eating ice creams?

Standing mum.

He said don't buy anything if you don't have money.

Actually, Pandit ji took my father by surprise by asking him to pay for each ice cream i enjoyed during past month.

Later i came to know about pandit ji's secret weapon, i wasn't alone, there were many days scholar who tasted & enjoyed the great taste of ice cream & their respective father concluded the bills!

I was very young to understand the kind of sales techniques adopted by pandit ji, but what i always remember is the great taste of ice cream.