Sir, he's not Sharanabassappa, he's Sunil Hanasi.

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.