Jamia Millia Islamia...Jamia Sr.Sec.School

Chemistry was not a subject we looked forward to. 

It was a subject we endured. 

But it was also a subject that came with its own world. 

A separate laboratory, peculiar style of teaching and a teacher who, whether we liked it or not, left an impression on all of us.

Malik Sarwar Khan Inami was our Chemistry teacher in XI and XII in the year 1985-87. 

He was a shorter height healthy person, with nice beard and bright face. 

A smart person altogether. 

He carried himself with a quiet dignity that set him apart from the other teachers. 

He did not need to raise his voice to command attention. 

He did not need to tell jokes to keep us awake. 

He simply taught, and he expected us to learn.

He used to come to take period before five minutes and wait in his lab before appears behind the curtain to classroom. 

The first thing he does is to pick chalk and write "Chemistry" with date on black board then holding chalk in his hand, he starts delivering the lecture in English, without a single word of Urdu. 

Sometime when he uses to call Wasi Sahib, his lab assistance in Urdu, he delivers Urdu in English accent. It was a small thing, but it made us smile. 

The only smile we would get in that class!

No joke, no smile, just flat teaching and in short, a boring 40-minute period.

Another specialty he used to say before ending his lecture was 

"Rest we shall take to the next turn." 

We would hear those words and know that the period was almost over. The bell would ring. He would leave. And we would breathe again.

Other than few girls and buttering boys in front row, we all were fed up with dryness & monotony in class. Sometime when we talk about him, we used to describe him in chemistry that 

"Malik Sahib is although an inert gas but pale yellow with pungent smell". 

It was a joke that made no scientific sense but made perfect sense to us. 

He was there. 

He was present. 

But he was unreachable.

There was not a single doubt about his teaching. 

He was very serious and sincere in the classroom, used to deliver and finish syllabus in time disregard if it has been understood by students or not. 

He did his job, did it well and on time!

What more could you ask for? 

Well, we could ask for a little warmth.

 A little humor. 

A little humanity. 

But Malik Sahib was not in the business of warmth. 

He was in the business of chemistry!

One funny thing was passed on to us by our seniors was his nick name 

"MATRU."

His nick was the only way of entertainment for us. I guess they termed him Matru due to his appearance and fast walking. It may be derived from "matar ka dana", (Chickpeas) which is round in shape and could roll easily. 

The name stuck & once it stuck, it became ours. 

We would whisper it in the corridors; write it on desks & say it under our breath when he walked past. 

It was our rebellion. 

Our secret. 

Our small victory over the boredom he represented.

One day while waiting for him in class, he gets little late. 

Students were sitting, chatting and laughing in class. 

Zia was standing next to window overlooking principal office, just to alarm in case he arrives. He was our early warning system!

Suddenly he starts shouting "Matru aa gaya", "Matru aa gaya" (Matru arrives).

He forgets that his voice can be heard outside easily but kept shouting till he remains 10-15 meters away and then everyone went quiet and took respective places. 

Books opened. 

Pens picked up. 

Faces straightened. 

By the time Malik Sahib entered, we were the picture of innocence.

As usual Malik Sahib went to lab washed his hands and appeared behind the curtain & instead going to black board where many of us tried to write "Chemistry" in his style and forget to wipe it, he asked only one question. 

"Who was saying Matru aa gaya"!!

Tell me, "Who was saying Matru aa gaya?"

Pin drop silent!

Nobody wants to utter a single word. 

Actually, nobody likes him, therefore he had no "chamchas" in class. 

The front row, usually so eager to please, looked down at their desks. 

The back row, usually so loud, became invisible. 

Nobody moved & breathed.

He waited before someone dares to accept, but to no avail.

He finally ordered "Wasi Sahib zara qamchi laayyega" (Mr. Wasi please bring the stick).

Wasi Sahib brought the stick. 

He then asked everyone to line up, and he stand on the exit door. 

One by one he punished everyone with stick and adjourned the class in anguish. 

He did not ask who did it. 

He did not care who did it. 

We were all guilty in Malik Sahib's class, therefore collective punishment was the only solution.

Everyone was happy to get additional 10-15 minutes of fun while expelled

We had lost the period, but we had gained the story, and in school, stories were worth more than lessons.

Once he took sessional test, I attempt it and person next to me Qyamuddin who copied the same wording and without a single thought the same line was copied as it is by the whole row of about seven students.

It was a rare incidence that we saw Malik Sahib smiling in a satirical way and questioned, how it is possible that everyone written same line with same wording?

He finally written off that question and none of us secured any marks on that. 

We had been caught. 

Not by evidence. 

Not by proof but by our own laziness. 

We copied the same mistake & Malik Sahib, for the first time, smiled!

We have noticed a drastic change towards ending of session of class XII. 

He became little polite, actually, he has started coaching for engineering entrance exams and invites many class XII students to join. 

During 1986-87, he charged handsome amount from students, therefore, majority of them couldn't afford & avail.

The same teacher who never smiled in class was now smiling at the door of his coaching center. 

The same man who never spoke a word of Urdu in class was now speaking the language of business.

While coming out from examination hall after attempting entrance for engineering, we found Malik Sahib standing out with few of his people approaching every single student of Jamia Senior Secondary School to retrieve the questions. 

His efforts didn't stop there. 

Once he caught me in front of Kewal Store and talked to me for the same business. 

He wanted the questions. 

He wanted to know what had been asked and he was not hesitant to ask. 

Finally, he succeeded in compiling list of model papers for entrance exams and for sure it brought nice return for him.

Looking back now from 2007 to 1987, I found that maybe we were right in our thinking, but Malik Sahib was not wrong as per the materialistic approach. 

He was doing exactly what a professional supposed to do. 

At least he was doing all his efforts to make money rather trying to drain Jamia, which in fact becomes the normal practice later. 

He was not corrupt or lazy. 

He was simply a man who understood the system and played by its rules and in a world where everyone was trying to survive, Malik Sahib was trying to thrive.

Many of the reader might think that how disrespectful a student could be by writing all these about a teacher!
Well,

Answer is simple, it's the incident(s) that happened right Infront and these are the accounts of what has already happened.

The students are human being and being mischievous is their right though as an adult at this time we might have some regrets of what we have done but at the end it pure STUDENT LIFE.

Jamia middle school.....Hameed/Farooq sahib

Mathematics was never just a subject in Jamia Middle School. 

It was a challenge, a hurdle, a test of patience and survival, and that is why most students tended to take tuition from Farooq Sahib during my school days back in 80's.

Farooq Sahib was the safe choice, the familiar choice. 

He taught at school. 

He taught at home. 

He was also a class teacher of different subject, which meant he knew us beyond just our math's skills. 

He knew our weaknesses, he knew our strengths, and he knew how to push us.

While in VI standard, we were introduced to a new teacher.

Hameed Sahib.

Topi, sherwani, normal height and small black beard. Smart, intelligent, quick and always carrying a black leather bag with him. 

Within a few days we grew afraid of his carry bag. 

That bag was not just a bag. It was a warning because inside that bag was a stick!

He joined the school and every day made it a practice to open his bag, take out a small stick and hit all the students on their palms. Believe me, it hurt a lot and became worse during winter season. The cold made it sharper, and the sting lasted longer than usual.

Girl or boy, all had to keep their hands on the desk. 

He would come with the stick and hit right on the palm and a wave of pain would intrude inside with sensations that remained for 15 minutes and even later. If you were late to the class or delayed in keeping book and notebook on the desk, then you had to pay a higher price. Otherwise, one hit was a normal practice.

He was given with one section, and the other section went to Farooq Sahib, who continued with his usual style of teaching at school and later giving tuition at home.

Since Hameed Sahib was good in teaching and due to his hit man habit, many students sought tuition from him to find an easy escape. 

The logic was simple. 

If you understood him, you avoided the stick.

He lived near to Zakir Nagar masjid, and the specialty of his tuition was far different from Farooq Sahib or any other teacher at that time. 

He rejected the normal style and adopted a new style, created a classroom, placed chairs and a glass green board. T

his attracted many students despite the fact that he charged Rs. 200 for one hour per student per month as compared to Rs. 150 of Farooq Sahib.

Initially there was no problem, but the whole school smelled the rivalry between two teachers when students started withdrawing themselves from Farooq Sahib and joined Hameed Sahib.

Farooq Sahib often became irritated and frustrated due to this in the classroom and students had to face the heat. 

Most of the time we saw his anger inflicted on to Mirza brothers.

The advantage with Farooq Sahib was that he also taught another subject and was a class teacher, not limited to one subject.

During half yearly examinations and specifically the maths paper, I got both of them as my invigilators.

It was like two lions in one territory.

I had some problem in one question, and I asked Hameed Sahib near to me for clarification. He came and told me if I can't understand then attempt another question.

Hameed Sahib went to the other row, and Farooq Sahib immediately approached me and asked what I was asking Hameed Sahib. I repeated and told him that he refused.

Farooq Sahib became a little angry and explained the question to me along with the solution. 

I felt delighted.

After a few minutes, Hameed Sahib approached me again and questioned what Farooq Sahib was telling me. 

I told him the truth. 

He asked how many questions were left.

I said five.

Do you find it difficult?

I said yes, one of them and I pointed it out.

He then solved the other question for me.

Farooq Sahib was staring from another row and came soon after Hameed Sahib departed. Again, the same things happened and I got another question.

Overall, their rivalry solved four questions for me 😄

Actually, I was not alone in that room as beneficiary, Tanweer & Shamama were among others.

Looking back and remembering those days with such rivalry made me smile because students were benefited by them in so many ways, although what benefit we got was totally wrong.

I still remember, once Hameed Sahib came to me and offered me to join his classes free of cost and I refused him with thanks. 

The reason for his offer was that he always covered more than what he covered in class. Therefore, majority of students took tuition from him to perform better in class and in sessional assessments.

I have given many additional hours to the subject at home and by the grace of ALLAH secured a position in grade VI.

Often, I met Hameed Sahib during college and senior secondary days. He passed always smiling and I always look back to my palms.

Jamia senior secondary School...Gupta Ji

GUPTA JI

Biology teacher in Jamia Senior Secondary School during my stay in 1983-87.

Even today I don't know his full name, other than Gupta Ji. 

He was tall, dark old man in his 50's. 

A thorough gentleman and well versed with knowledge of his subject. 

Biology lab was incomplete without Gupta Ji and Jumman Bhai (lab assistant). 

They were a pair, one taught the theory and one prepared the practical, and together they made biology come alive for boys who would rather be anywhere else but in a classroom.

I have chosen mathematics and Urdu in class XI, but have enough experience with Gupta Ji during IX and X. 

Those two years were enough to know the man, enough to respect him, enough to remember him. 

He was not the kind of teacher who shouted.

 He was not the kind who threatened. 

He was the kind who simply stood there, patient and calm, and waited for you to realize your mistake on your own.

When allotted with section C in IX standard in Higher Secondary School, I was pretty happy and satisfied because maximum friends of class VIII were there with me. 

It was the first time that section C was created in 1983-84 due to bad results and complete IX "A" was filled with those students who didn't succeed to class X. 

Therefore, newcomers from middle school were accommodated in a fresh section "C".

However, new to Higher Secondary School, new to biology class. 

Those days biology class was situated on first floor, just above the chemistry lab and class. 

The whole block was in symmetry with one on middle school side. While coming from principal office, it was on the left side of pathway going to Jamia Nursery School (new building) and extended up to playground overlooking physics lab. 

It was a classroom like any other, with wooden benches and a blackboard and windows that let in the Delhi heat, but for us it became a stage where a small moment would become a lifelong memory.

It was a biology period, and we all were sitting in a jolly mood and listening to Gupta Ji. Taqueer, Rashid, Muzaffar, Qyamuddin, Zia and I was sharing one table, and Tauqueer continuously saying something supported by Rashid Rafique and Muzaffar. 

They were the talkers, the jokers, the ones who could turn any classroom into a comedy show and I was part of them.

Gupta Ji once pointed out "Beta chup ho jao" (Son, please keep quiet). 

His voice was soft, tone was gentle & he was not angry. 

He was just asking, requesting, hoping that we would listen.

Since he was very polite and we were new to Higher Secondary School and the fellow sitting with me were really Guru, therefore they kept continuing and I was part of them. 

Someone laughed and Gupta Ji once again "Beta... Khamosh ho jao."

He just continued with cell, membrane and dissection and we continued with joke dissections, totally unaware of next happening. The words floated over our heads. The warnings meant nothing. We were young, we were foolish, we were having fun.

Tauqeer said something funny and we couldn't stop our self. The laughter came out before we could catch it. Echo of our laughter went from one table to another, reaching to Gupta Ji and finally came back to us. It was loud, it was uncontrollable, and it was the last straw.

Gupta Ji stopped and asked angrily, who was he? No one uttered a single word and Gupta Ji asked once again, who was he? The silence was thick, the kind of silence that makes you hear your own heartbeat, the kind of silence that makes you look at the floor and wish you could disappear, and then the third call came.

I thought, if I take the blame, then these people will be spared and what maximum will happen? Gupta Ji never beats anyone. 

Maybe he will slap me once and that's it!

On his third call, I raised my hand.

He then said, come here.

I went to his desk. He moved back to the door, closed it and took one thick piece of wood (palang ka paya) (I don't know the English of it).

I looked at it and said to myself, Zubair, this is your last day in school. 

In one hit you will have a broken bone. 

I also looked at my friends. 

They were also in a state of shock, but not like me. 

Another thought came to me that, today I will be paying the cost of friendship.

Gupta Ji angrily moved at me. I closed my eyes and tightened my body in position of "Saawdhan" (attention).

Yes, he struck me by holding it in both hands and I felt it on my hips. The pain shot through my body, sharp, burning, unforgettable.

Second one on the same place but all to ALLAH, the almighty and to the termites who infested the wooden piece therefore once struck it broken into two.

Gupta Ji looked at broken piece and then at me. 

Ordered me to go and sit down.

Class finished.

All my friends asked if I get hurt. I said no. We went to canteen, relaxed a bit and cursed Tauqeer who finally cleared the bill.

I decided not to take blame of anybody, but it was a temporary decision and I repeated the mistake many times for my friends and still in practice, despite loosing alot in many ways.

Next day Gupta Ji called me and asked, did I get hurt?

He said to me, "I know you were not alone but you took the blame."

"Beta, class mein khamosh rehte hain, mujhe maarna achcha nahi lagta hai, ab khayal rakhna."

(Son, be quiet in classroom, I don't like to beat anyone, be careful next time).

I also forget yesterdays' happening because his love prevails his punishment.

Jamia Millia Islamia....Jumman Bhai

JUMMAN BHAI was a prominent personality of Jamia Senior Secondary School.

Basically, he was responsible for many things in school other than administrative and teaching job. Right from ringing of bell to provide mice for dissection in biology lab, he was absolute. If the bell did not ring on time, the classes would not begin. 

If the mouse did not appear in the biology lab, the dissection practical would not happen and somehow, the bell always rang on time, and the mouse always appeared. 

That was Jumman Bhai. 

He made things happen without anyone noticing how!

Jumman Bhai was having many friends with no enemy. He was always smiley with cracking jokes to all the people. It is very difficult for me to key down personality of Jumman Bhai, as he was a multidimensional man. 

A man who could be a caretaker in the morning, a smile spreader in the afternoon and a guardian in the evening. A man who belonged to everyone and belonged to no one in particular!

I still wonder from where he used to get rats for the laboratory. They would appear, somehow, whenever they were needed. Nobody asked where they came from. Nobody questioned the mystery. We just accepted it as one of the many small miracles that Jumman Bhai performed without fanfare.

There were three hostels in Jamia Senior Secondary School, and I have witnessed many students going to Jumman Bhai's house, within school boundary and adjacent to Hostel-3, and taking breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

All free of cost. 

His house was not just a house. It was a home for the boys who had no home nearby. A kitchen for the ones who were tired of hostel food. A place where you could sit and eat and feel, for a little while, that you were not alone.

During school time, many girls used to visit his house and the care shown by his entire family was beyond explanation. His family did not treat these girls as guests. They treated them as their own. 

There was no formality, no distance, no hesitation. 

Just warmth, care & the quiet assurance that someone was looking out for them.

If any hosteler is sick, it is Jumman Bhai, who used to take care of him. 

I remember one boy from the hostel who fell ill with high fever. 

The warden did not know what to do and then Jumman Bhai showedup. 

Nobody had called him or had informed him. He simply came, as if he always knew when someone needed him. 

He helped the boy walk to Ansari Health Center, his arm around the boy's shoulder, talking to him softly, telling him not to worry. 

After the checkup, he brought him back to his own house, not the hostel but his house, and made him lie down on a bed. He brought whatever was available in his home and sat beside him until the fever broke. The boy's parents were in another city. They did not know their son was sick. But Jumman Bhai knew and that was enough.

I never found anybody complaining of Jumman Bhai right from students to the staff. 

Not a single person & a single word. It was as if he existed outside the realm of complaints. As if he had somehow managed to live a life without making enemies.

If somebody dies, then it was Jumman Bhai and his family who arrive first to console them. Before the relatives & the neighbors OR anyone else even knew. 

They would be there, standing at the door, ready to help, comfort & to do whatever was needed.

When it comes to collecting money for Jamia Masjid, it was Jumman Bhai and family along with Mirza family who leads the way. 

His support was not limited to the students of Jamia Senior Secondary School. It went up to Fine Arts Department situated next to school. If someone needed help and Jumman Bhai could provide it, he would. It was that simple!

I am sure that his earnings were way lesser than the teaching staff, but he leads all of them in many ways. He leads them in kindness, generosity & in humanity. 

The teachers had degrees and positions and salaries. Jumman Bhai had something that could not be measured by certificates or pay scales. He had the love and respect of every student who ever passed through those gates.

He was the one who even dared go to Abdul Haq Khan Saheb to influence his decision if it comes to the benefit of any student and was very much successful. He did not do it for himself. He did it for the boys and girls who had no one else to speak for them and Abdul Haq Khan Saheb, a man of great authority, would listen because even the powerful knew that Jumman Bhai spoke the truth.

Although short in height by nature, his real height was more than many big people around.

If somebody asks me what are the values of Jamia Millia Islamia and what culture does it have?

I will simply reply to him, go and meet Jumman Bhai.

Love and affection for all, big heart to accommodate everyone, gratitude, courage to share even if he does not have, bring smile to someone even he is in pain, teaching the practical things to the students even he was not a teacher, getting them familiar with truth of life by help of easy and thoughtful examples, taking initiative to help the needy are few features of Jumman Bhai rather, feature of My beloved institution, JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA