three moments

new teacher and election

One month later...

In our honors class, the atmosphere was buzzing. Our next class was taught by Professor Subhajit Chakravarty, who everyone affectionately referred to as Sir.

As he entered, we all greeted him with a cheerful "good morning." Sir responded, "Students, this is my first class with you in the 2nd semester, I think! Have I taken any other classes before this?"

"No, sir."

"Alright—how are you finding the physics of this same class?"

"Sir, it's very tough."

"You know, physics is actually very tough if you go only with class notes and CBCS books. Physics is very, very tough. You should also read those kinds of physics books in which interesting facts are included—you know, to make physics interesting. NCERT follows this approach, and if you check, you will get it. I have reviewed all of your mid-semester answer scripts, and the results weren't as good, but there is someone in this class who will go very far, for sure. So, today we're going to start with wave and optics. Anyone among you knows who arcytas was?"

Vishal Singh said, "No, sir."

Smiling, the teacher continued, "Oh, alright... He had a theory about light... He said that light actually emanates from our eyes and falls onto objects, allowing us to see them—So, are you COVID-pass students?"

Vishal Singh replied, "No, sir. We belong to the batch ahead of that."

"Alright—how about you all? Did you study from NCERT books during your 12th grade?"

Everyone remained silent.

The teacher said with a hint of amusement, "You know, there's no difference between you all and politicians—by the way, did anyone hear Rahul Gandhi being referred to as Assamese or Sonia Gandhi being called Gujarati?"

I said, "No, sir, I haven't seen that."

"I was giving an example, you see. Any politician, while delivering a speech in a different language, if you've ever noticed, they speak in another language alongside their own—until the teleprompter is available. Similarly, if you don't have notes, you won't pass because your concepts aren't clear. We've seen the first-semester papers of all of you. Everyone's marks were not great, except one student that I found impressive. If that student keeps performing like that, they will surely go far. I guarantee you that. Alright... is there anyone in this batch who appeared for NEET/JEE?"

Biswajit said, "Yes, sir, I appeared for NEET."

The teacher inquired, "How many marks did you score?"

Biswajit answered, "Sir, I got 400 in the first attempt and 440 in the second attempt."

"Did you take any coaching?"

"No, sir."

"Did you self-study during 12th grade or take tuition?"

"Sir, I studied on my own."

"What was your score in the 12th grade?"

"Sir, I got above 80, but if my marks in English and M.I.L. were better, I could have scored even more."

"Alright... How much did you score in English and M.I.L.?"

"Sir, I scored 50 in English and 45 in M.I.L."

"Alright, from which school did you pass out?"

"Concept."

"Your concept must be clear, you know."

We all burst into laughter.

The teacher continued, "There is nothing to laugh about. Bringing in such scores through self-study means your concept is indeed clear."