SOME LESSONS FROM LIFE: ASK MORE

There are some incidents which stay with us for life. This incident I am sharing dates back to when I was perhaps in Class 7 and used to study in a government school in Sri Ganganagar. Our Hindi tests were going on and the evaluation was such that the teacher would award 5 marks on the basis of an oral examination or viva voce. In the government school, we used to have classes under a tree as there was only a provision of classrooms for students of Classes 8 and above. Our Hindi teacher was new to the school at the time and did not know me very well. On the day of the test, all students were sitting under a tree and were being called out one by one for the oral examination.

That same day, when I was walking my way to school, my Tauji (father’s elder brother) who stayed in the same house as us and was a teacher in the same government school, was also making his way to the school. He was about to start pedaling his cycle when he caught sight of me and asked me, “Your examinations are going on these days, aren’t they? What subject’s examination do you have today? Have you prepared for it?”

I replied, “I have prepared adequately. At the same time, I have also studied everything that was taught in the class.”

“But for the oral examination, it will not be enough to prepare just from the textbooks. Now tell me, who wrote the Ramayana?” Tauji asked me.

I answered, “Tulsidas.”

He said, “No, Ramayana was written by Valmiki while Tulsidas wrote the Ramcharitmanas.” Then, suddenly Tauji posed another question, “Who wrote the Mahabharata?”

“I don’t know.”

“Vedvyas.”

Then Tauji asked, “Tell me the name of any one national poet of the country.” When I shook my head in negative, he said, “Ramdhari Singh Dinkar.” “Another national poet?” He then told me the name of Sumitranandan Pant. “Third national poet?” Again, when I did not reply, he told me, “Maithlisharan Gupt”. With this, our conversation came to an end and Tauji pedaled his way to the school, while I walked.

When it was my turn to be tested, and I stood in front of the teacher, I saw another teacher, Mr. Narendra Kumar, walking towards my teacher. Being a colleague from the same school Mr. Kumar had a great relationship with my Tauji and at the same time, he was also a good friend of my father’s. He was also of the opinion that I was among the sincerest students in the school. Since my teacher had his back to Mr. Kumar, the latter walked towards him from behind, stood next to my teacher with a gentle hand on his shoulder. In Mr. Kumar’s presence, my Hindi teacher asked me 1-2 questions, to which I gave satisfactory answers. When the teacher asked me to leave, Mr. Kumar stopped him and said, “Ask more.”

When my teacher gave Mr. Kumar a blank look, the latter repeated, “Ask him a few more questions.”

Finally, my teacher understood and immediately asked me, “Who wrote the Ramcharitmanas?”

I too gave him the answer in a jiffy, “Tulsidas”.

Again, Narendra Kumar Sir said, “Ask more.” My teacher then asked me the second question, “Who wrote the Ramayana?”

Again, I too answered quickly, “Valmiki”.

Yet again, Mr. Kumar urged my teacher, “Ask more!”

My teacher again asked, “Who wrote the Mahabharat?”

“Vedvyas,” I replied.

Narendra Kumar Sir prompted again, “Ask more.”

My teacher: “Name any national poet of India.”

Since I already knew the answer, I replied at once, “Ramdhari Singh Dinkar.”

Kumar Sir repeated his request, “Ask more.”

Teacher: “Name another national poet”.

“Maithlisharan Gupt”.

Because possibly, he was enjoying the scene and my rapid answers immensely, Narendra Kumar ji again repeated, “Ask more!”

My teacher again asked me, “Ok, tell me the name of yet another national poet”.

I then replied, “Sumitranandan Pant”.

Thereafter, my Hindi teacher said to Mr. Kumar, “Sir, I think this is enough! Let him go, please.” Then, congratulating me, he said, “Excellent son! Very well done!” With this, I returned to my place under the tree where my classmates were sitting.

I have often wondered at this coincidence where the same questions to which answers had been given to me by my Tauji merely 2 hours previously were asked to me by my unsuspecting teacher at the behest of another teacher who held me in great regard. Kumar Sir kept urging my Hindi teacher to ask me more questions and my teacher also asked me the very same questions my Tauji had posed me in the morning. To date I have been unable to resolve this puzzle!