CHAPTER IX RESIGNING FROM THE CLASS ASSISTANTSHIP

Chapter IX

Resigning From the Class

assistantship

            During the days of my paramedical classes, I was impressed by the lectures of Prof. S. N. Varma. He never talked anything other than Pathology and exactly on 45th minute, the points mentioned on the blackboard were completed with the fall of the chalk from his hand, without seeing the   watch. Equally impressive was Prof. A. B. Khan who used to prepare his lecturers with much labour. But everyone was not like those two great teachers. Once, students mimicked a teacher’s pronunciation. The teacher left the classroom abruptly.

            Later Prof. Varma came and expressed his disappointment with our behaviour. I was so aggrieved that I stood up and suggested that our classes should be suspended till the students apologised to the teacher. Anyhow, the matter was settled.

            During Holi girls were expressing comments on boys and  vice-versa. I did not know what prompted them but they titled me Searchlight of the Nation, probably seeing The Searchlight, or The Indian Nation newspapers every morning in my hands. The Searchlight Press, Patna, was burnt during 1974-Students’ agitation days, as it was critical of the Government. Later, the Hindustan Times replaced The Searchlight.

             I always had the choice of backbenches where I could sit comfortably and also could read the things I liked or I slept. In my pre-clinical days, once on the middle benches, I was caught sleeping in the post-lunch class by a teacher, Dr. K. M. Dubey, whom we used to call ‘Hitler’. But I have the rare faculty that I, for sometimes at least, can write or even talk in the phase of tandra, so I protested and produced the copy-book wherein the last line he had said was recorded. Though I admit, I was sleeping. During those days, a friend’s brother doing research on the Ramcharitmanas had observed that  I had given relevant reply for pretty long while I was asleep.

            So during those days, on the backbenches, I used to read books, on Philosophy, like that of Chesterton’s Orthodoxy or stories of O. Henry, etc. But some friends had the habit of drawing sketches of the teachers who were delivering lectures. Once, it was pointed out by a professor of Microbiology and surprisingly it was so, a friend of mine produced his copybook with the sketch of that professor.

            I had appeared for the class assistantship examination of PSM and on the basis of my essay on the Comprehensive Health Care, I was selected. Prof. D. P. Sinha was holding the class. The students whistled when some girls came late. The professor protested and restarted his lecture. Again another girl came, a whistle, again a protest. Again another girl came, again a whistle. The professor stopped his lecture and sat down. There was a long silence.

            Suddenly, I stood up and said, “I am resigning from the class assistantship. My written resignation follows.” The class was shocked. The boys apologised to the teacher for their misbehaviour. The teacher blessed me. Later on, in 1980, Prof D. P. Sinha came to join the NMO conference, at the PMC, Patna, even though it was the financial closing day i.e. 31st March, and he was the principal of the NMC, Patna. Students were later joking at me as if I was Ghanshyam Ojha that I had resigned (Ojha had resigned from the Chief Ministership of Gujarat during Nav Nirman Movement). I replied that I knew it was not an elected post but the class assistants should also be responsible for the discipline in the classroom.