Whenever pressure mounts

Not very far away, tucked in one corner, is the place which has won the best place to be in. It’s demeanor and surroundings belies the serenity it holds within. No wonder, it is dubbed as the most favoured destination by our visitors. In fact, it won by a majority of three to one. An independent poll with no political affiliations and hence no reason to tweak the results. People visit it frequently, and at times more frequently than the situation demanded. As soon as you enter the place, you rule. You cut yourself off from the madness of the world. You are at peace. Explains why, people generally go there whenever pressure mounts. Yes! It’s the loo in the office. A place where you can disappear, without the risk of being missed.

That's His Day

Who is He?
He works in an office for a salary, He has friends, He has enemies, He has dreams and He has inconsequential people to answer back. Now, He is biting his nails over the last point.

Timidly He walks in. The time is 9.45 am. Authoritatively, He punches the card. A beep. Satisfied that his one day’s salary guaranteed He marches straight, glances right, walks straight again, takes a left and reaches his destination. He does all this with German precision, as if He has been programmed for it. In fact, He has been preparing himself for the day since yesterday, when he reached home from office. And after office he would prepare himself to go to the desolate home. Which even after 2 years of inhabitance feels alien. It’s a vicious circle and He’s always running away from something.

He unloads his bag and slumps down in the chair. A cast-iron frame with black resin upholstery, to give it a leather feel. He couldn’t have cared less. Then He switches on the computer and switches off his mind. He leans dangerously on the chair with his head resting on the brow. He gently closes his eyes and an opportunistic fly lands on his cheeks. He lazily swats on it and ends up swatting himself. The fly is fast. Then he digs his nose, scratches at objectionable places, yawns, make funny noises and many such things which will soon have to be clamped on. At 10.20 am people start trickling in herds. They giggle, crack a joke, laugh vociferously, whine; everything to make their presence felt. He on the other looses himself. He Prunes his hair, tugs in carelessly loose ends of the shirt, sits straight, hides the frayed shoe with the other (pointless, because both are tattered) and tries to look like a seasoned professional. He fails miserably.

Someone wants him dead.

At least that what He feels in Someone’s presence. At 11am Someone enters the room. Sooner Someone shows up, than He pretends as if the entire load of work in this world is dumped on him. He buries himself in the computer screen, concentrating hard on a word file (though he doesn’t know what it contains). All the time dreading to be called by Someone. The air becomes heavy.
Soon the summon comes. And by hoarseness of the voice He knows what was coming.
With He standing besides, Someone rattles out, “didn’t I tell you…..are you brain dead……were you dreaming……do I speak Martian……” He looks down at his toes, and sees an ant carrying something twice his size. He felt sorry. Not for the ant.
If someone was observing He for a period of time, he would have thought that he must have become thick skinned by now. But He is thin and so is his skin.

At 1 pm. He is sitting idle. And someone barks, “Why are you not doing anything?”
At 1.15 pm. He is reading a newspaper and Someone barks, “Why are you reading a newspaper?” At around 2 pm He escapes to the loo. Not to poop but to spend some quality time. 10 minutes later He emerges only to come face to face with Someone. But this time Someone didn’t have anything to say. May be he ran out of words or he had something more pressing to attend to in the loo. Phew!

He’s a habitual cribber. An inborn thing, which runs in the genes. He picks up the phone, dials a number which he’s so used to dialing and starts doing what He’s so good at doing. Crib, crib and crib. He gives every reason to feel sorry. For the other person in the line.

It’s 6.20 pm by his watch and this time He picks up a book and not a newspaper. Someone is reading a magazine, and occasionally looks at the mobile phone. Usually when the phone rings around this time, Someone would pack his bags and leave for home ( to torment his wife). He knows it and so is as eagerly waiting for the phone to ring. Finally the phone rings. Someone gets up from the chair, packs his bag and leaves the room. But at the door he pauses and says politely, “Hey! I want the work finished today.” He wanted to say ‘no’ but said ‘ok’.
He Thinks.
Someone hated him and the feeling was mutual. He is sad and cursing the place. He wants to jump off a cliff and have a freefall, but doesn’t want to land. But like every mortal, He’s greedy. He needs money to blow on fancy foods, wants to wear fashionable clothes, hit the pubs and movie theatres and show off. If only he could control his materialistic urges, his problem could have solved. The solution is so obvious, that it misses almost everyone. Though He plans to do it someday, he knows very well that there’s no day called someday. But the line has to be drawn. He understands the futility of running after glitzy things. Realization dawns on him that salvation lies is austerity. In giving up and not holding things tight. It’s now or never. He has to be bold and take the step.

At 9.45 am, the next day, He shows up at office again.

Shriskin and I

Finally the summer vacation was over. Getz whiled away the time in fun and frolic without ever giving his studies even a passing thought. Vacation meant an apt time to forget about mathematics and anything that is remotely related to it.
No wonder I was hopeless in it. Exactly the reason why Madam gave me sums to practice during holidays so as to brush up my skills. And had she not been considerate enough, I wouldn’t have promoted to the sixth standard. She asked me to spend more time on mathematics and less time on fiddling around. And I promised her I would. But someone had wisely said, “Promises are meant to be broken.” Sooner the summer vacations had started than my promise flew out of the window and ended up never seeing the light of the day.
The next day my school would reopen and so would my can of worms. My unkempt promise was sure to give me blushes and now it’s too late in the day to undo it.
First of August. I got ready for school. Everyone showed up neatly dressed up in their school uniform. I caught up with my friends and we started sharing our vacation’s escapades. And while we were at it, Ulga Madam directed us to get in the classroom. And it sort of rekindled my fear of mathematics, because I knew I would have no place to hide within the confines of the classroom if Madam threw a single question at me on the subject. It would be Greek to me. Moreover, now I didn’t have the comfort of Rukbin to keep me company, as he had left. Lucky fellow. While these thoughts were haunting me, Madam checked-in and started taking the customary roll call, as if to check who all had braved to come back to school again. To add injury to insult, she enlighten us to the fact that this session we’ll have to study more like, geography, zoology, history and other such dreadful subjects.

As if all this wasn’t enough, she asked us if we remembered what she taught us last year. I try not to remember anything that’s taxing to my brains, especially if it’s about numbers. And one year is a lot of time to forget the multiplication table. Madam seems to have read my mind, and said “Getz, your face says you haven’t bothered yourself to study during the holidays”.
I think there is a right time for everything. There are some protocols that needed to be adhered to. Hence I didn’t approve of Madam broaching studies so early in the session. If I was the Principal, I wouldn’t have allowed such blatant acts of injustice. My plan of action; 1st week: games and more games to get into the groove. 2nd week: only two lessons per day. 3rd week: three lessons per day. Then bit by bit I would have introduced literature, geography and last but only the last mathematics. Of course I didn’t communicate my master plan to others. These lesser mortals wouldn’t get the spirit. I love going to school too but one needs time to switch to something as dreary as books after spending the entire vacation in amusing oneself.
Time flew by ever so slowly when I was in the classroom. After so many hours of thoughtful contemplation, only the third period of the day was over. It was a geography class and though geography was history now, I must admit I hated the subject less than others. Surprisingly, at times I was considerate enough to love it. Then Ulga Madam came in to take the fourth period. And I saw a boy standing outside the classroom. Madam asked him what his name was and what business he had standing outside the class. As if boys of our age had no business other than to be inside a classroom. His name was Shriskin and he was apparently lost in the myriad of classrooms. All this while, he was sitting in the wrong classroom, when he should have been here. With the mystery solved, he proceeded to sit beside me. We had a tete-a-tete about his alleged misfortune and why he was sitting in some other classroom. I rightfully counseled him the importance of knowing one’s classroom, and the consequence of sitting in the wrong one. Though in reality it’s all the same, as long as it’s a classroom. Soon after, the bell rang and Madam left, but not before asking me to commit to memory the dreadful multiplication table.

I came home from school, after a brief session of playing. I saw my imprudent sister buried in books. I told her how irrational she had been in picking up books right after school. One should take some rest after a wearying day at school. A brain demands rest from studies. If only she was wise enough to understand the implications. She told me that one should prioritise their work, and should go about it as the situation demands. Sometimes she made a lot sense, and the situation demanded that I learn the multiplication table, without wasting any time. I had to do it discreetly though, lest she snicker at me on learning that a boy of sixth standard didn’t know the multiplication table. I didn’t find it unusual albeit. The next day, on being asked by Madam, I rattled out the multiplication table. And this is the price I pay for my sincerity, dedication and hard- work. She gave me a sum to solve on the blackboard. After a lot of mulling over, a little helping hand from friends and Madam’s guidance, I finally managed to solve the problem. It was quiet a community effort though, and I didn’t understand how I pulled it off.
I knew what I wanted from life, and in this pursuit I never failed to show up in the playing field after school. If not with studies, I was extremely sincere as far playing was concerned. I religiously followed the routine of playing after school. And basketball was just the right sport for me. It took precedence over football. And I had a very good reason for doing so. My nature didn’t permit me to stay put at one place for long, and what for a goalkeeper who has to stand like a statue for hours except to field the ball and toss it back to the players. So I’ll continue to love basketball till someone decides on a goalkeeper for it too. I reached home to find Deuwta (father) also lumbering home after office. To save myself from Maa’s reprimand, I gave myself a dry-cleaning and took to my study table, to practice my most loved subject, mathematics. And as expected I didn’t know what to do with it. Sleep was threatening to take over. It’s was a hard day for me and for Deuwta as well. At times office can be as demanding as mathematics. A new party had come to his office, and he was expected to craft some piece of equipment. Nevertheless my problem was more pressing and I asked him to get me out of it. I showed him the sum to which he said, “But you have done a similar one at school”. I told him that the sum I had done at school had to with ‘labours building a house’ and this one was ‘labours building a box.’ The two things were as different as chalk and cheese and therefore required different use of arithmetic signs and symbols to crack. Anyway, he tried explaining me how to solve it, but my head was simply not accustomed to mathematics. I grew more deadbeat and the numbers started playing hide and seek with me. My father was livid and I came to the conclusion that he may be a good father but one cannot say the same about his teaching skills.


The next day a funny sailor greeted me as soon as I entered the classroom. Someone had artistically sketched it on the wall. And that someone was Aigor. Greisha had been kind enough to share this secret with me and told me to keep it so. I furtively shared this little secret with Shriskin, and told him not to share this classified piece of information with anyone. So the end result was, except for the teachers, it was an open secret in the class. Shriskin found the caricature quite amusing too but Ulga Madam it seemed had a different take on it. She wasn’t at all amused or rather upset and wanted to know who did it. Everybody kept mum as nobody seemed to know who committed this ghastly act. Finding no answer she prodded Globe, the captain of the class. Of course he had no chance of knowing it as the sketch was already there by the time he came in the class. Saying it would have been a betrayal not only to Aigor but to the whole class. Moreover, one could never discount the fact that tomorrow he could be standing in Aigor’s shoes, for some action which teachers could never learn to appreciate. While all the interrogation and class reprimand was on, Shiskin was having a busy day copying the literature homework from my copy. In this fanaticism, he had spilled a few drops of ink in my book, for which he apologized by saying it won’t spill again. This implied that he would continue to do his homework in the classroom by jotting it from my book. Soon after, Madam summoned Shiskin to do a sum similar to the one I had done the day before at home. Poor fellow, who only did his homework by copying it from my book. Surprisingly, he managed to pull it off, that too sans any external help. Then it was the turn of the Principal to take the center stage. He told us it’s bad manners to show artistry in the school walls as it’s no less then our personal property. Aigor simply didn’t have the guts to owe up his misdoings. Well I guessed not everyone had the audacity like me to face the truth.



After school I stuck to my routine to play. After playing, I had to accompany Shiskin to drop him home supposedly to shield him from the wrath of his mother for being late. I asked him who would save me from my mother. And so we struck a deal. After I had dropped him in his house and faced his mother, he would drop me at my home to face my mother, which looked like a viable option. And it worked. His mom didn’t scold him; she even made me sit like mom does to our high-ranking visitors. I was even introduced to his aunt. I even managed to bag two kittens on my way home. Actually it all started when Shiskin asked, “Do you like cats?” I replied, “Not at all as they climb all over the place, even places which are inaccessible to me”. Then he said, “I love them and I have even built homes for them. Do you want them?” He meant cats, and suddenly my dislike for cats, which lived in houses like we do, seemed illogical. And so I said, “Yes I want them.”
He kept his promise to save me from my mother, and so off we went to our house, with two kittens to keep us company. I followed the ritual and introduced him to my mother. Mother asked him whether he liked staying in the old place or this place. “I liked the old place, but gradually I am beginning to like this place as well” replied Shiskin. Mother somehow thought that was a pretty intelligent answer and told him that he was a clever boy. I thought that was a dashed run of the mill reply. In the meantime my sister Laika came in and I introduced her to Shiskin, who in turn introduced her to the two kittens. She fell in love with them, and would have had taken possession of them had I not acted promptly. I reminded Shiskin that he brought these kittens for me, and not for her. He agreed and said, “It’s ours”. I thought he proved his friendship with me. After he had left and the ownership issue settled, we got down to business. Laika and I managed a large wooden box, cut out windows and gave the kittens their new home. By the time we left them, we were already late for studies. Moreover I had a herculean task ahead. I had to do a sum, for homework and I was in a tight spot. If I took it up to mother she would scold me. And If I showed it to father, we would start explaining it to me. And of course I couldn’t do it of my own. So I smartly decided to do it in the class, as someone would be there whose parents were more considerate. While I got down to study some other friendly subject, I saw Laika petting the kittens.
School life teaches you a lot of things, especially things like; you should never draw in the school wall and take part in the drawing competition at the same time. It so happened that our school was on a hunt for a new artist, among us, for the school magazine as the old one went missing. So Ulga Madam asked us to produce one piece of art each, on the basis of which the new artist was to be decided. The next day we produced our shot at art hoping to claim our share of fame. Aigor presented his masterpiece in his usual drawing book. And indeed it was a masterpiece, because madam picked him to be the incumbent artist of the magazine. Thing were looking bright for Aigor until she started leafing through his drawing book to look at his other masterpieces. There she found the sketch of the same funny looking sailor whose enlarged version was on the school wall. The euphoria was yet to sink in when she started to give a good talking to Aigor for trying his hand in the classroom wall. She even asked him to seek forgiveness from the principal, which meant the matter would have to be settled at the highest level. The principal made him paint the wall where he once had drawn. Though that was quiet a grueling time for him, I guess all is well that ends well. He was let off without any further action and he even became the chosen artist of the magazine. Poor fellow never got the suspension.

One fine day when I was beginning to think that school is after all not such a bad place to be in, I saw my cartoon in the school newspaper. I was solving mathematics on the blackboard. I was swollen with pride and I thought I looked a complete dapper, until my eyes fell on the caption below which said, ‘It’s not a donkey, It’s Getz’. Understandably I was furious and I decided to make is a public issue. The result was a meeting where Ulga madam pronounced that the root of the problem was mathematics. She told Shiskin and me to bend over backwards to improve our poor show in the subject. My honour was at stake and so I vowed to prove my worth. But Shiskin was determined not to change, and it took a lot of persuasion to make him think otherwise, at least for the moment.
To honour my oath and what madam said, I decided to cut down on my time on the field and dedicate more time in studies. I knew it was a tall ask that required a great sacrifice. Towards this end I decided that I would play for only about an hour and half. After all I am a man of words. But if you compare the football field teeming with friends with the study table loaded with incomprehensible mathematics, I am afraid the former is far more overwhelming. Hence after I had reached the field, it didn’t’ take me long to forget about less interesting things like studies, and as usual I reached home late in the evening, battered and tattered. Then I realized that the only thing that I am lacking in is willpower and to hone this skill I will have to do things which I disliked over things which I liked. Simple and effective. And to kill my natural instinct to play more and study less, I started my experiment with Pitha(Assamese cake). I love eating Pitha. So when my mother served it to me, I resisted my temptation and kept aside one chunk of it to be had only after I had studied. The next day after waking up against my will I dedicated sometime to books and checked on my piece of Pitha. Luckily it was still there, safe and intact. After school I made up my mind to keep my little experiment on. I was determined not to play football today. But it seemed fate had other plans for me. It always notoriously conspired to fail me. To begin with my legs played havoc and automatically dragged me towards the field, inspite of my best efforts. As if that wasn’t enough, while I was merely watching others play from the sidelines, when the ball automatically came in my direction. Now what would one do under such circumstances? Of course I couldn’t break my promise, but can I disrespect the ball either, and so I ended up playing. Soon after I was livid with myself for falling prey to my temptations. Now that the promise was broken, it made no sense to keep the Pitha lying there unattended. I swallowed it guiltily. Laika would always latch on to any opportunity to sneer at me, probably because it hard to come. This time also she laughed at me for not being able to keep my promise. The next day the school was closed, and as it was pouring, so was any prospect of playing. I took up to practice mathematics. I realised I was heading nowhere, so I decided to let Alik help me out. He was known to be good in mathematics. When I reached his place I found him paying Chess, all alone. I told him straightaway that I had come to practice mathematics with him and nothing could convince me otherwise. He invited me to join him in the game and then I discovered the correlation between Chess and mathematics.
He told me that Chess helps one get better in the subject. I had no reason to disbelieve as he was already good in the subject, especially by my standards. So I joined him in the game and as expected I lost twice. I figured it out that its got to do with his better grasp of mathematics as the two things are related. Though I felt bad and decided that I would defeat him one day in the game. Hence I would go to his place everyday on the pretext of practicing mathematics and we would have protracted sessions of the game instead. I guess I am a fast learner, except in mathematics, and in a short time I picked up the nuances of the game. On occasions, I was able to trounce him in it and gradually I started playing this game with Deuwta (in Assamese we address father as) and Laika. The game gradually grows on you. Deuwta must have realized that as I was a hopeless case in mathematics, I had a future in this game or maybe he saw that that that’s the only thing I am good at. Whatever was the reason, one day he bought me a book on the game, which would help me play better. I had a knack for this game and now I could beat him every time we had a face-off which surprised him and me nonetheless. In this accomplishment I became conscious that mathematics was the casualty. To rectify it, I took another oath. That is: I’ll not play this game again till I get better in mathematics.
History proves that every great mortal had to face resistance from lesser mortals and one had to fight great odds to be the winner. It was no different with me and Shiskin. Our school was organizing its annual cultural show. And everyone started behaving as if we didn’t exist. We were shunned from each and every activity that was to be staged because we were weak in mathematics. We were hurt but not down. The ever ingenious Shiskin found a way out. It so happened that a play was to be enacted on “Chatrapati Shivaji fighting on a horseback”. But as it wasn’t logistically possible to bring a horse on the stage it was decided that Shivaji will have to fight standing on his own feet. But Shiskin saw the opportunity in this hitch, and we dressed up and became the exemplary Shivaji’s horse and on this horse fought the gutless Bheynat, impersonating as the fearless Shivaji. In the end, the horse, i.e. we, won the maximum accolades from the audience and the wrath of Bhaladyar for daring to take part, that too a gallant horse.
Shiskin is my good friend but it’s always so vain to plum the depths of human mind. I didn’t know what he was going through but I was feeling the pinch of being ignored. And also that we got the school test report card and as anticipated, it didn’t give me any reason to cheer about. I thought I would tell my mother to sign it so that it saves my father from the trouble. I guess she read my mind and she asked me to get it signed by Deuwta. I braced myself for the impending hurricane but surprisingly he was uncharacteristically composed and didn’t appear upset. He said, “Your score of two should put you to shame. Someone else scoring two isn’t reason enough to justify your result. You should be ashamed.” Immediately the things which my school friends would say, which I would so happily brush aside, made a lot of sense. They would say “Why don’t’ you guys work a little harder?” For the umpteenth time I had promise to study harder, but at this point I knew I had to straighten my records right.

So when I came home and without further delay I got down to studies. And I also stuck to my plan of tackling the harder subjects first and so I zeroed in on mathematics. I got down working out a problem of ‘eight saw and twenty four axes’. I honestly raked my brain and literally banged my head against the wall, but it remained the problem of ‘eight saw and twenty four axes’. So I headed towards Alik’s home, but this time to solve mathematical problems and not solve the problem of paws and king in chess. Alik was a genius and I rate him no less in mathematics as a physicist would rate Einstein. First he asked, “Show me how you would tackle the sum”. I tried and went awry. Then like a magician he unraveled the mystery, in a step-by-step process. I got the trick. While I was coming home, all jolly, my path crossed Bhenai’s and he asked, “You two are still leading a nomadic life, I also met Shiskin on the way”. The first time I had done something constructive and there goes a man who says I was fiddling away. I was soaking in the euphoria, when my sister approached me with a sum. She wanted me to show her how to do it. Now obviously I didn’t get its head or tail, but being an elder brother I cannot admit it. What would she think if I tell her that it is too much to ask from me and that I could help her out in it no better than a roadside hawker can. I bid my time and said, “I have some errand to run now, you go and play, I’ll keep it ready for you by the time you come back”. It worked and she left. In my solitude I tried to do the sum, but I reached nowhere. Shameful it was for not being able to do a third standard sum. Then something happened, a miracle, which was a milestone for me. I solved the problem. Failing to comprehend the problem, I decided to use diagrams and Gods goodwill. Then skeptically I tallied my answer with the answer given in the back of the book. And hey presto! I got it right. I was jubilant and I ran straight for Alik’s home. On my way I met Shiskin parked under a tree. He was sulking over something and I guessed it was over mathematics. I asked him, “Shiskin, one boy and a girl goes to the jungle to pick peanuts and they manage to collect 120 nuts. The boy collects twice as much as the girl. Now what would you do?”. “I would knock his block off and break his nose”, pat came the reply. I clarified and told him that I was speaking mathematics here. To which he said, “I have got nothing to do with it. I am mentally disturbed now. The kitten which I brought has died today prematurely”. I expressed my condolence; because that’s the best I could do at that moment. Then I caught up with Van and shared my success story with him. On my way back home, I bumped into Urak and I brought him home and demonstrated again how I did the sum of my own. When Laika came I showed her how to solve it and told her if she has other tough sums to crack, she is welcome.

One may not get the essence, but it was quiet a feat for me. I wished that the whole world would somehow assemble around my house and I would demonstrate and re-demonstrate how it did it. I believe Newton or Einstein must have felt the same way when they got their revolutionary breakthroughs.
That’s how it started It’s strange how one single moment can change things so drastically. The subject which gave me nightmares, sleepless nights, headaches, nervous breakdown, and everything that means trouble was bit by bit making its way into my good-books. I actually, without being hard-pressed, took it upon myself to finish up the entire sums from the books of the third standard. The going was tough, but I managed to wrap up the entire book within five to six weeks. In the process I gained a lot of confidence. I was coming of age, while Shiskin on the other hand was where he had left. In other words, a happy-go-lucky guy he was, he would busy himself with his assortment of domesticated, otherwise wild and abandoned, animals. His mother would read the riots act to him everyday but he remained pretty unruffled. I think after all these years with animals, his has become as thick skinned as them, if not more.
He had also become quiet sharp like them. Like on the day of the dictation he would inevitably have an awful headache.

The next day, in the literature period, madam taught us about circus. And that was the only time in my life that I saw Shiskin, in rapt attention in the classroom. As soon as he reached home he started practicing the moves, which circus people do. When I reached his place, he told me to throw cushions at him which he would catch with his legs. Now why on earth would anyone want to catch cushions with their legs? But his antics didn’t end there. After specializing with the pillows, he wanted me to toss China wares at him. Unfortunately, two plates slipped past his deft legs and crashed down. One plate flew past him and crash landed in the window. Needless to say, it broke the window as well. I was in no doubt that his circus plans were dashed, and we were in deep trouble. We got down fixing the glass when Shiskin’s mother came in the scene. She wasn’t at all pleased with what she saw, and as usual Shiskin bore the brunt. But mothers being mothers, she forgave us and told us what they always do, get down to studies. The day after the incident, Shiskin didn’t turn up at the school. When I met him on the way, he said he was not well but I suspected he was practicing his circus tricks. He can fool his mother and the teachers at school with this account, but not me of all people. On probing further, he told me about his customary avoidance of Ulga madam’s dictation period. He said rather dryly, “Why come back home with a score of two”. It seems he already knew what marks he would get, hence what’s the use of taking the trouble of sitting through the test and let Ulga madam do the formality. The situation was definitely alarming, and I told him if he continued to miss his classes, he would never learn. But Shiskin was a master planner. He had already planned his future and no wonder it had got nothing to do with studies. He said he wanted to join circus. He would perform live shows with the help of his dog. He would train his dog to count numbers, just like what Ulga madam told them in the literature class about circus. I thought he was kidding when he summoned his dog, Lovjik. I think he took the class too seriously than to Ulga madam’s likings. Shiskin then sprinkled some sugar granules on the floor. Then he ordered Lovjik, the dog, to count the sugar particles, starting from the digit one. The poor dog naively wagged his tail and started licking the floor. Shiskin was annoyed and the dog was just plain jolly. I told him that teaching a dog is akin to teaching us. If you teach him with love and patience, he will grasp. The ever ingenious Shiskin lovingly petted Lovjik, and whispered something in his ears. Then he lobbed one sugar on front of him and told him to bark. But Lobjik it seems was in no mood for education. Like owner like dog. But after sometime, out of the blue, for reasons apparent only to Lovjik, he gave an abrupt bark. Shiskin was jubilant and he though his dog was a fast learner. If indeed it had barked because of Shiskin, he was indeed a fast learner than Shiskin. This time he gave Lovjik two granules of sugar and told him to bark twice. This time he would either bark continuously or he wouldn’t bark at all. I think Shiskin would do better to leave it alone. In the meantime his mother came and Shiskin went through the usual ritual of being scolded. As expected she ended her statement by telling Shiskin to study.

Shiskin’s behavior baffled me and I kept wondering what kicks he got by indulging in such bizarre activities. These questions kept haunting me while I took to my study table. Hoping to find an answer, I asked Laika if she had encountered a similar character like Shiskin in her class or had she come across an incident where if someone plays truant and someone from the class goes and complains to the teacher about it. What I wanted to know was, whether it would be judicious if I relate the matter to Ulga Madam. She said such incidence of a student giving it away to the teacher is unprecedented, but according to her it wasn’t such a bad idea as if would help the teacher monitor the errant student better. Though she was just being candid, I didn’t approve of such blatant acts of betrayal. I thought a second opinion would help. I was about to ask mom about it, but she somehow read my mind, as she does more often than not. I guess mothers universally have this intrinsic quality, and they get the premonition through some clairvoyance or through a crystal ball which they hide in a cupboard. She asked, “What is troubling you tiger, is it Shiskin?” See I told you, I hadn’t even mentioned his name and she knew. Well I had to tell her but I acted responsibly. I covered up Shiskin’s school-going-phobia from her, lest she puts it in the ear of Ulga madam. Mom told us that it’s our responsibility to bring him on the right track and make him study. On hearing this I ran straight for Shiskin’s home, sensing the important role I have to play now. On reaching his place I found Shiskin, his mother and aunt, on the dining table, sipping tea. It was then I discover that Shiskin’s father was a martyr, who died in a war fighting for his country. It was a proud thing and a sad event, in the same time. What a paradoxical state and it struck me what it was like to grow up without a father. I never imagined it until now. No one to scold you, no one to bail you out from mathematics and mother’s wrath, no one to brag about with friends, and lord knows what not. It’s a great loss. That night I resolved to bring him back to school and study together. And if the need be I would even go to the extent of putting in a word to Ulga Madam.
But next day everything went awry. I parroted my usual rhetoric about Shiskin being ill again. Everyone decided to pay a visit to Shiskin to wish him well, with words if not with flowers. After all he remained sick half the year. Sensing trouble, I darted off to Shiskin to warn him of the impending danger and told him to be sick. He was performing his legendary head down, legs dangling up act at that moment. He was practicing for circus. We rushed to his house, where in split seconds he lied down in the bed, down with fever. To give a realistic touch he started grunting and interrupted it with coughs. Everyone came and bid him well. While he was being economical with the truth, I noticed the tip of his shoes jutting out underneath the blanket. In the rush he had forgotten to take them off. I cautiously managed to hide it from public view. After they left he leaped out of the bed and said victoriously, “Hehe …nobody had a clue, I am saved”. But I told him with all seriousness I could muster, “No we need to talk, we have to settle some serious issues. You cannot continue to avoid school and do circus. You are not cut out for it.” He was unyielding and replied rather matter-of-factly, “Why not? I have even trained Lovjik a few tricks.” And if to corroborate what he just said, he went upside down, head down and legs up. His master stroke. Just then Lyon came in and said, “My cap……..arrey! Shiskin why are you doing it?” He had a startled look on his face. Shiskin started to give justification, but Loin wasn’t convinced. He called up everyone and narrated them the truth. No one spared him of their verbal volley. Shiskin gave up and told them that he wanted to join circus and he had no intention of going to school again. That he had studied enough or he had had enough of studies. Whatever, but his take was that he was now overqualified, academically, for circus. Everyone told him that he was an ignorant to think that mainly illiterates join circus. Rather one has to study a lot to join circus. They were even threatening to tell Ulga madam if he keeps on avoiding school, when we heard a ruffle of footsteps outside the door. As if by instinct, Shiskin darted off to lie in the bed again. When Iegor opened the door, imagine our surprise when we saw Ulga madam, standing there, with a grim look on her face. Shiskin’s heart must have skipped a beat or two. She walked in and straight away and asked Shiskin, “Is it too severe?”
“It’s a sham, he has no fever. He’s just acting it out”, pat came the reply from Yurai. Immediately Ulga Madam squinted at me accusingly. I knew I had to think fast and come up with a good reason. I could feel the blood shooting up my head and my heart almost threatened to jump out. I uttered, “I said so because Shiskin told me to say so.” I was holding my breath and I desperately wished I was Superman, so that I could disappear from the scene as fast as possible. Shiskin slyly slid out of the bed and gingerly squatted down in one corner of the room, at a safe distance if Ulga madam is to launch an attack. Then Ulga Madam and the others went into a huddle and their topic undoubtedly was Shiskin. I saw the opportunity and joined them for value addition. Madam asked Shiskin what made him avoid school. Then Shiskin gave the most honest and clear-cut answer of his life. He said, “I am frightened to go to school lest I again score two in the test. Hence I have decided to give up school and take up circus full time.” I wouldn’t say that was the cleverest reply you would hear, but it had the effect of calming Ulga madam a bit. She told him what he had heard a thousand times before; to come to school, study hard and then join circus later on if he’s still not changed his mind. The Ulga-madam-effect was showing instant result. He agreed to attend school. But he was not so agreeable when Ulga madam decided to keep his mother posted about what had happened. Though he didn’t dare argue with Ulga madam.
The next day Shiskin walked in the class and sat beside me. I thought the good old days were back. After the class I saw Bhaladya coming towards us. I thought Shiskin would get a mouthful from him but instead he hurled his bile at me. Then we were summoned to the Principal’s office. This is what I call a perfect example of out of the frying pan and into the fire. Our hearts raced and inspite of the pleasant whether I could feel the heat. We sheepishly walked in, with out hearts on our mouth. He offered us seats but I knew it was a trap. First you show consideration, and then when the prey is in your territory, with his defenses down, you launch the assault. We kept standing, all set to run for life if things go out of hand. Then the principal asked Shiskin the same question Ulga madam had asked and he gave the same honest reply which he gave to Ulga Madam. The principal became pally, to some degree, and asked, “That means you are weak in literature? So you need to work hard on it and push your limits. Look at Getz, he was poor in Mathematics but not any more.” Whatever he said made a lot of sense. I slogged like a dog. I thought we were through with this session but I was wrong. The principal added, “Getz, I think you are not his good friend.” True, what he said made sense, but not this time. He continued, “If that wasn’t true you wouldn’t have lied to your mother, to Ulga madam, and you wouldn’t have connived with Shiskin in all his wrongdoings.” I was enlightened and I promised I wouldn’t repeat my mistakes.
On being probed further, we told him how we had tried to train Lovjik to count sugar granules. Surprisingly He didn’t seem amused and thought it wasn’t working. He said, “It’s not that easy to train dogs to count. One has to be a professional trainer who could actually make dogs bark at will and make him stop at will. It’s like if the counting is up to three, he would make the dog stop after three barks.” Well it seems our principal knows a lot about circus. After all he has been running a school with students like us. He agreed to help us train the dog and let us perform in the school cultural show. The precondition was, we will have to finish our literature course first.
After we walked out of the principals room, with our head held high, Bhaladya and few others swarmed us like we were some celebrity and they press people. We gave them an exhaustive narration of what just conspired. They finally decided that I was to take responsibility for Shiskin’s studies.
With a mission to make Shiskin a little more literate, I headed to his place. While in the flight of steps I heard the whining of Lovjik. When I opened the door I saw the dog standing on a stool, and taking a cue from what the principal said, Shiskin was training the dog with a whistle in is hand. Frankly speaking I didn’t expect to see him glued to the books, but it was too early to fall back to the old habits, after that stint with the principal. I barked, “What’s with you, you had promised that you wouldn’t let the dog near you until you finish the literature studies.” He immediately yelled at Lovjik and shooed him away. It must have scared the poor thing to death, for he ran away with his tail wedged between his legs. Shiskin looked in the direction of the door and declared, “All, his fault, let’s get down to studies.” These words were nonexistent in Shiskin’s vocabulary, until now and I heaved a sigh of relief. I gave him his homework of spelling and I picked up my homework of geography. I noticed that he was extremely restless, as if some invisible hand was pricking him. Suddenly he announced, “Finished.” That was too fast to be true. When I checked his copy I found mistakes abound. He was desperate to escape and I was adamant to make him stick around. I forced him to do it again.
Luckily we had left behind the Ulga madam episode. Ulga madam did put-in-the-picture of Shiskin’s mother about what had happened and as expected Shiskin got quiet a scare. But slowly things were beginning to fall into place. Shiskin acknowledged that he never liked to stay away from school but the tests put a damper on whatever motivation there was to go to school. He said he especially missed school when he saw all of us going to school in our uniform. For quite sometime I thought he was running with fever and so he was just blabbing nonsense. I was glad to realize he was not.

While on our way home I asked Shiskin what makes him cut down on the study-time. He told me he would spend the extra time in training Lovjick the tricks which the principal had told. And he’s had a fair amount of success on it. Because when we reached his home, he called Lovjik and held forth a hard-paper with the numeric ‘3’ written on it. And wow! Lovjik obliged with three successive barks. And just to confirm the it was not a fluke, he showed him the numeric ‘5’ and Lovjik complimented with five barks. Then Shiskin said triumphantly, “I have taught him to stop barking whenever I click my fingers. Initially he didn’t understand my signals. Whenever he would bark the intended number of times, I would reward him with a piece of meat or sugar, and I would immediately swap my fingers. I continued the practice until one day I didn’t give him the cut of meat. I would only swap my fingers. He understood that swapping the fingers meant he would get a reward and so he would stop barking.” All this while I was half mesmerized and half in wonder at the ingenuity of the boy, and I caught myself with my mouth wide open. “I always do things upside down, you know that right. Now my mind is free to concentrate on studies. ” He said it with such an air of carelessness that I was offended. In a way, he had taken me for granted. All my effort at his study table had actually gone in vain. I told him that I am not teaching him any more and left in a huff.
If there was something that is more unpredictable than the weather here, that’s got to be Shiskin. The next day he came to school, loaded with pile-up of books. He took them to Ulga madam and said, “Look madam, the work which you told me to do at home. I wrote it again, properly in the fair copy. Because I couldn’t write it properly, Getz spent a lot of time in helping me out.”
Ulga madam listened to him in rapt attention, like she never did. She must have felt she was in a reverie. It seemed that, it was the kind of a day when whatever Shiskin said, madam would listen and respect. Then he added, “ I have a dog named Lovjik and he knows how to do mathematics.” See, he could say anything a get away with it. “So can he perform in the forthcoming annual cultural day?” Ulga madam agreed to everything.

The school cultural day was around the corner. And the entire school was buzzing with activity. Everyone started preparing for their act. We also got down to business. Lovjik, the main protagonists in our show, had to polish his skills and we went all out in this pursuit. Lovjik now understood different gestures, responded to different questions and acted with an air of indifference too. But we had to train him in intervals. While in training, Shiskin had to keep feeding him. As a result Lovjik became stuffed and he would get sluggish. So we would let him hang loose for sometime to help him digest his food.

The cultural programme started. After different performances, came Lovjik’s turn to show his antics. Shiskin was jumpy and so was me. And rightly so. This was Lovjik’s first stage performance and he had never performed in front of such a crown, leave alone a crowd as loud and huge as this. But Lovjik was born to take the stage. I thought, he never looked so focused in life, and he appeared completely at ease as he would be when lounging out in his wood-crafted, Shiskin-made abode, with his tail wagging in anticipation of food. Well! Shiskin mustered up his courage and led Lovjik to the stage. And Lovjik a talent he was, responded to each and every question thrown at him and performed as taught. It seems, he had learned his lessons well, better than what Shiskin used to do.
The hall echoed with thunders of applause. This frightened Lovjik and I though he would run off the stage now, when Shiskin glared at him and gesture him to stay put.
With the stage-fright culled, Lovjik continued to give one hit performance after another. Then on Shiskin’s request someone from the audience threw a mathematical question at Lovjik. All waited in anticipation of the answer from Lovjik. I was at the edge of the seat, and I felt as if time had stopped. The silence was deafening and I could clearly hear my heart pound against the chest. After eternity Lovjik gave an answer. To my horror I realized that it was the not the right one. Shiskin miscalculated it and gave the wrong answer to Lovjik. Everyone started shouting, “Wrong answer, wrong answer.” Shiskin was cheered moments back and now he was being booed, and I was just a dumb spectator.
But he was not to be bogged down. He simply couldn’t afford to, after having to go through so much; taunts from fellow students, chastise from mother and teachers alike, and almost losing Getz’s friendship. He bought time from the audience and started to give it a second shot.
After a moment or two he said, “I am ready to give the answer.” There was a pin-drop silence and not a soul breathed, not a bird fluttered their wings, and it seemed the whole world had come to a stop. Since the answer was a two digit number, Lovjik gave a single bark. One hearing it, everyone again exploded out shouting, “Wrong, wrong.” Shiskin told everyone to stop. He was in complete control of the situation and he knew what he was doing. He was a transformed man, a professional showman. He confidently said, “Now Lovjik will bark the number of times which when added to the previous number, will give the right answer.” Then Lovjik barked nine times and I started praying. And indeed he was right. The correct answer was ten. The entire hall erupted with applause of so high decibel that I thought the walls would come crashing down now. Of course no such thing happened, Shiskin hugged Lovjik. I don’t know whether Lovjik understood the magnanimity of the situation, but he started licking Shiskin’s face and wagging his tail vigorously. I guess he was happy that the ordeal was over. It was their moment of reckoning.

From the next day Shiskin was a changed man. The unruly Shiskin had transformed into a compliant one. He no longer fiddled away his time. He would always be engrossed in a book and if one had seen this side of Shiskin a few days back, he would have had an instant heart attack. Earlier it was as common to catch Shiskin with a book as it was to see U.F.O in a café. But all these were history now. He even tried his luck to be the editor of the school magazine. But his previous records went against his selection. Nevertheless he became the in-charge of the school library. No mean feat by any stretch. And he even managed to score three out of five in the spelling test. Seeing him, one would get the impression that he had score five out of five. His rise from doomed-to-failure to success didn’t go unnoticed. Everyone showered him with praise and recognition. In short, he was going places. And indeed we were.

Shiskin as a librarian was as strict as any teacher was to her pupils. He meant business and when someone borrowed a book he would give him a long sermon as to how to handle books carefully. Before the Durga Puja vacations, he had finished reading almost all the books. He also gave it to Laika and Getz to read.

After the Puja vacation was over, we were selected in the school basketball team and Shiskin was made the team captain, which was on the basis of our performance in literature. Soon our basketball team, under the tutelage of Shiskin, became one of the toughest team to play against. The kind of team you would want to place your bet on. Though Shiskin’s team became strong, his grasp of the literature subject didn’t. He was still scoring three out of five in it, till he started to believe that Ulga madam has gotten into the habit of giving him three no matter how he fared. I advised him to take Ulga madam’s help to brush up his literature. And within four months time the result was there for all to see. Now there was no one in the class who scored less than four.

Shiskin and Getz were walking down the street. No words exchanged. Suddenly Shiskin spoke out, as if out of a trance, “Ma would always say, you don’t study for me. You study for yourself. Now I can show my report card to her and proudly tell her that I am on my way to stand on my own feet. She would be proud of me. Actually my aunt is also very good. I was a little harsh while judging her. Because she would always tell me to study. But it was all for my good. I love her too. And I……………………” Shiskin continued with his verbal volley and Getz happily trudged along.

Train Drain

With portly luggage and heavy emotions, I reached the New Delhi railway station. Immediately, just like how flies get attracted to uncovered sweets, coolies in all shapes and sizes thronged me, offering me their service. I politely declined, at times not so politely. Going by my gangly demeanor, they probably sensed that I won’t be able to carry the baggage of my own. And I was determined to prove them wrong. A bull-headed person I am; I swayed, swerved, and bumped into people, in fact anything to keep myself from falling down. I was in no doubt that I looked like a dipsomaniac, who is always on a bun. With much ado I reached the platform, with my luggage and my bones intact.

Finally, at 2. Pm, the much awaited green flag fluttered, from a disembodied hand, so it seemed. The train blew an ear shattering whistle, until I thought that my ear drums could take it no longer. Finally the train chugged along leaving behind people coming to see off relatives, the chaiwala, the posts, the vendors, the other stationary trains and everything that’s Delhi, at least that’s what I liked to see things as. I was coming home.

Now that the 2424, Rajdhani had left the NDLS, things started falling into place. The once overcrowded compartment looked pretty spacious. With luggage tugged underneath the seats, differences settled, people busied themselves with playing cards, reading newspaper, chatting up with co-travelers, gawking at lady passengers, and anything that could be done within the confines of the train. It always surprises me how so many people could have decided to travel at the same time, day and place, everyday. I was traveling alone, as usual, with a novel to keep me company. I started taking in what’s around, studying people hoping to find a pretty girl to start a conversation with. Though in reality, I like to keep to myself. So much so that as soon as I board a train I am at my taciturn best.

Now let me introduce you to the immediate neighbour to my left. A middle aged gentleman, wearing thick rimmed spectacles, supposedly lost in the newspaper. Supposedly because, he was more interested in what the girl, sitting right opposite me, was reading. Above me was his accomplice, because he seemed one step ahead. He didn’t even need the newspaper as a garb to ogle at the pretty thing. I guess her mother didn’t take too kindly to this, and as if by telepathy there came another middle-aged man to her or rather her daughter's rescue. No offence meant to the new arrival, but his size measured poorly to take on two full grown, Delhi-bred males high on libido. Well soon after, a baby started wailing furiously, that reminded me of one of my colleagues, who can produce such noise without so much an effort. You just need to tell her to open her mouth. Now, coming back to where I left, the baby I later realized was upset with the baritone voice of the announcer, who from time and again tells us where our train has reached. There was a newly married couple some berths away from me. They stuck to each other, like a nail to a magnet. The bride exuded joy and I only hoped that she doesn't become another victim of a tyrannical mother-in-law.
A train journey could be a fascinating one, if you keep your eyes and ears open (though I never seem to enjoy it). You can see people dozing off in awkward positions, with their mouth wide open, oblivious to the flies and insects getting a freeway. It also amazes me to see how two to three full grown people cramp themselves in one single seat, entangled with each other and sleeping as if there’s no tomorrow. It’s a comical sight. If you have nothing better to do, you can also kill time by listening to people’s conversation. There will always be one character who will occasionally throw shafts of mordant wit. Like when one peanut vendor was roaming in the platform and his sales pitch was, ‘Time Pass, Time Pass”. One unassuming gentleman called the vendor and asked him in a pretty nonchalant way how much time a packet will pass. The poor vendor replied five minutes. The gentleman bought the packet and made the vendor wait beside him, as he started having the nuts from the packet, keeping and eye on his watch at the same time. The rest is history. I remember another incident where an old man made a pass on a college girl. The girl politely turned back and said, “Keep your mouth shut, if your rotten teeth are dear to you”. That shut his mouth for good and everyone burst out laughing. There are far too many like this to fit into this much of print space.

As for my journey, I always felt the train took a detour while I am homeward bound. Hours seemed like days, and the train inevitably runs late, for some reason or the other. This time it was no different. Thanks to Indian Railways, the train, as I learnt, was running three hours late. And that meant three hours less from the already depleted 10 days leave and escape from deadlines, clients, computers, creative briefs and everything that is synonymous with stress.
At around half past two in the evening, the train reached NJP ( New Jalpaiguri ) and which meant I had covered 2/3rd of the journey, about 1000 km. This was the first time I alighted the train, to soak in some fresh air and give my posterior some breathing space. I saw vendors selling cheap Chinese electronic gadgets, ranging from battery to hi-end cameras. I guess they smuggle it from across the border, which is not so much a bad thing to do considering we poor souls get to buy a Casio watch, supposedly for friends, for as less as hundred bucks. I was tempted to buy some colourful watches, more so because a girl was haggling with one vendor about a particular watch. Well! Good sense prevailed and I dropped the idea, but not before the girl had asked me my name. Which I was pleased to oblige. The girl, who was also traveling alone somehow figured out that I was also an Assamese, going home on a vacation. She must have empathized with me, who was also, as I later learned, working in Delhi, away from home. Though the acquaintance came late in the day, I couldn't have been happier. The boring, lonesome journey suddenly became exciting and worth traveling. She joined me in my compartment and we chatted till I dozed off and she unremittingly continued with her verbal volley. I knew girls are talkative by nature, and I was willing to take the risk. But I never imagined that it could be of such intensity and I realised 'Girls will be Girls'. And every time she spoke, it seemed her eyes spoke a language too. Dancing and glowing with every statement she made. Sooner than I had imagined, the train was crossing the mighty Saraighat Bridge and the mightier Brahmaputra. I always loved the spectacle. Spectacle because, I always feel that nothing can cross the Brahmaputra unless the mighty river grants permission, and a train crossing the river looked like the river giving way to it to slide past its lap. Many of my co-travelers threw coins to pay their reverence. So did my friend. Who religiously genuflected and with all her strength threw two coins (one on my behalf, as I didn't want to get up and risk losing my window seat). That was the only time she kept her mouth shut. Thank God!
But not for long, as she started talking again and the next thing I knew, the train approaching the Guwahati Railway station at around 8.30 in the evening. I was greeted by a labyrinth of dilapidated thatched makeshift huts, foul smells and heaps of garbage, which flanked the railway track. I couldn't have been happier as it meant I was reaching the station. I was desperate to reach home and it seemed as if the train had had enough too as it started to squeak and grunt while struggling to come to a grinding halt. A sense of unhurried lassitude had descended on the train and one gets the impression that it wants the passengers to go get off its back as soon as possible, so that it can relax too.
I wasn't expecting anyone at the station neither was she. I helped her lug her belongings, which weighed more than me. No wonder I had a hard time carrying them when it was getting difficult just to carry myself. Though it was offset by her lovely company. We exchanged our contact numbers, and I was clumsy enough to lose it. But some things are better off for a short time, like the train journey.