Teachers’ Day
August 2007 2:00pm I stared at my mark sheet. Eleven-and-a-half on thirty it read in red ink at the top of the papers I was holding in my hands. My eyes stung. Keep it together! The noisy classroom did nothing to help my emotions. I looked at the supposed embodiment of knowledge near the blackboard. After giving me an earful, she was now pulling the ear of a fellow classmate. A bright orange saree with a sequined border, a larger-than-her-face bindi (transl.: ‘a decorative mark worn in the middle of the forehead’ in Hindi) and big spectacles on her nose completed the scary teacher look. Ofcourse she wouldn’t have meant to look scary but that is how my history teacher looked to me, then. “Did you pass?” My best boy-friend pulled my hair from behind. I glared at him and his grin vanished into a pity smile. “Sorry Dude!” he patted my arm. I shrugged. “She gave the topper three marks and me half-a-mark for the same answer Da. ” I shook my head again. “I wo...