It was a rainy day and it was the
8th period of the day. I was in my 7th standard then. It
was the English hour. My English teacher, Ms Loretta Solomon was in charge of
that hour. All of us liked Miss Solomon (as we called her).Unlike other
teachers, she had her own box, just like we had one. A short scale, a pencil,
an ink eraser, a pencil eraser, a ball point pen, one each of blue and red were
always there in her box. She is an Anglo Indian and she did not like a hair out
of place. She used to wear knee length skirts, do her shoulder length hair with
two hair pins behind her ears and be as fresh in the 8th period as she was in
the 1st. She was and is the role model of many of my school students,
including me. She came into the class, wearing her usual smile. We were tired,
but never had we failed to smile back at her.
Usually, she used to check our Home Works
(HW) for the first 5-10 minutes and start
the day’s lessons. Those of us who had not completed the HW would be
asked to stand until we are done with it. The same happened that day, but
unfortunately only one boy, Sam (name changed) had not completed his HW. Sam
had very few friends. He was the most rebellious and the rudest person of the
class; he never cared for other’s emotions. His day, as we thought, would not
be complete without making at least one girl/boy cry. Hence, as a girl of his
class and a victim of his bullies, I hated him to the core, just as all others
did.
Consequentially, when Sam was asked to stand,
there were short chuckles among us. This was quite enough to infuriate him: we
could make out that he was at the height of his anger throughout the hour. When
our teacher left, we were busy packing to leave for home. My place in class was
only one seat behind his. So, as I was placing my books inside my bag, I heard him
say to another boy: “What does she think of herself? Did she forget how rich I
am? Now, she tops my hit list; Watch what happens hereafter!”
The next day, as soon as Miss Solomon came
in, the other boy rushed to her and said everything that Sam had told him the
day before. All of us were dumbfounded, including Sam. Being an Anglo Indian
School, discipline was
strictly followed. We thought it was the judgement day for Sam and he’s going
to be beaten up badly and given TC. All of a sudden the class was in a hushed silence;
Miss Solomon summoned Sam. He went to her hesitantly, shivering from head to toe;
she drew him close to her and raised his hung face.
We expected a tight slap and so did he.
But to our surprise, she smiled gently at him! We looked at each other in
complete confusion and he, stared at her blankly! She smiled again and said in
a gentle voice: “Sam is this the way you behave to someone who cares for you
and does things for your own benefit? Will your parents be happy if they come
to know of your behavior? Listen son! We are all children of God; what makes
each one of us different is how good or bad we are. What do you think you will
be remembered for? Your money? Your car? Your smartness? No son! You will be
remembered only for your character and goodness. Sometime in future, when any
of your classmates think of you, they should feel, ‘What a guy!’ and not ‘What
a wrenched ass!’ Decide for yourself! God bless you! Now go to your place.”
The class was still in absolute silence; I
saw Sam weeping (!!!). She started the day’s lessons- but none of us listened!
We were in an emotional turmoil deeply musing about what we will be remembered
for.
A few days back, I met one of my
classmates; I heard from her that someone who we thought would flunk in his board
exams is doing his Engineering in a very good college with a good score. The
credit of turning a bully into a human being goes to Ms Solomon! Wonder how
many teachers can take such credit!
