It was June of 2007 and I’d just entered ninth class.
According to the convention, it was time our batch moved from the junior house
to the senior house. A month had passed and the anxiety of being under the same
haunted seniors was yet unsettled. The royal command we had in junior houses was
no more. The days of giving commands were over and days of nodding heads to the
commands had begun. In the classroom too the ordeal of new teachers was unprecedented.
Like earlier, now there were very little chances of fooling the teachers and escaping
from the assignments.
Besides this uncomfortable servitude experience in new
waters, the announcement of school inspection created some more ripples. So,
prior to a week our preparations for the showtime started. From cleaning the
dormitories to updating our class assignments, it surely was a real kick in the
gut. Not only students, teachers too were preparing themselves for the
judgement day. For the house masters of course it was a double task. More than
the classroom their house was their point of worry, as they knew, even after
taking care of everything still there could be surprises waiting till the right
moment.
Now let's come to the real story. Then, the house master of
Neelgiri house was Mr S. T. Maithri.
He surely was not a routine personality you would meet. He was funny by his
actions but had a very grave temper. He spoke more with his gestures than
words, that’s what made him unpredictable. Sometimes his gestures seemed funny
but one never knew if the gestures meant other way too. Anyway, from his past
experiences he knew that when the inspection panel pays a visit to a particular
house, a member of the panel would randomly point at a student and ask for his
name from the house master. See, that was a matter of concern to Mr. STM. He
was a kind of personality who cared little to remember names. Now he had to do
something about it. So to avoid any possible embarrassment, he came up with a plan.
He held a meeting with students of his house and told them to simply nod their
head for whatever name he utters in such a situation.
Such a well thought plan right? Easy too. But wait, I didn't
mention about the existence of a second house master. Mr.M. Y. Kurugund, the physical education teacher was the second
house master of Neelgiri house. I think he needs no introduction as he’s like
any other PET. He would never miss an opportunity of flattery in such events.
So he was there with the panel everywhere, though his presence was not at all
necessary.
That evening the inspection panel visited Neelgiri house. After some
random walk through the house the panel started an informal interaction with
the students. A panel member- who didn’t forget the convention- pointed at a
student and asked Mr STM for his name. With a most friendly, confident grin Mr.
STM said, he is "Sharanabassappa".
The student too in a humble manner nodded to the response with a smile. Well,
before everything was okay, a 'noise' from the background said, "Sir,
he's not Sharanabassappa, he's Sunil Hanasi” Any guess who was that
noise? Well that's why I introduced Mr MYK, the PET. Didn’t I? Only the PET
didn't knew what was happening and before he could realize, the panel chairman
sarcastically said "I think the second house master is dynamic than
the first house master" and went
out.
