G.D .Mishra spoke,slowly deliberately “Principal Sahib” he began “Aapko pataa hai h kal raat kya hua”.?I looked at him with fixed eyes .I did not answer his question(ooh its such a eerie feeling as I write –it seems just like today ,now !).Sajjad took over “Doctor Aggarwal ki acchi pitaai hui.Aap toh yahah se wapas laut jayaye .Kyoh hamare yudh meih bali ka bakra bananaa chahte ho” he said .He continued (I am writing in English though the entire conversation was in Hindi). “We will not let you work peacefully .We will gherao you ,we will trouble you .We are not against you –but we are against privatization .Dont waste your time .You are a smart man and you will do well in Delhi where there are hundreds of private schools .Why the hell do you want to come into the government sector and disturb the balance here .Dont act like a stooge (“chamcha”,he called me ).”.The others were lookin at me and sizing me up .I now realize that they were gauging my mental toughness.And I now realize how important it is to be a good communicator My turn to speak had come .I began slowly .My voice was modulated and my ideas were thought out carefully .Gokuls words were ringing in my mind .He had asked me not to speak anything that these fellows could twist to their advantage.The wily,ambitious Brahmin was upto the task .He had not been a Secretary of the Teachers Federation of Rai for nothing .
“I don’t know your internal politics,and I don’t want to know it ” I began.Viresh tried to make a point but I told him not to interrupt me .He would get his chance after I spoke . “Tiwariji (Vireshs surname)aap isse vaad vivadh pratiyogta maniyeh .Aaap ko prash poochne ke liye samay baad me milegaa”,I said .I continued “I have nothing to do with your ambitions and strategies .I have come here to try and make a difference to the lives of hundreds of children .If you give me a chance to do that maybe you might see a great mind at work .You might be able to see the inherent passion,the knowledge and the vision .Who knows maybe you might be seeing perhaps the greatest educationist at work.But for that I have to be given a chance.You don’t even know me and my work.I don’t know about my future ,but I know what I have come to do .You will find me dead honest ,because money does not interest me to the extent that I will go about making it by illegal means .I know my job .I come from a very respectable and successful family.I like politics ,but I love poetry ,literature and music more ”By now I was in full flow .My passion had been ignited and when that happens –nothing can stop me .I was swinging my arms and moving around .Remember I was standing .They were sitting .It was as if I were taking a class .I needed to be in control .And believe me –I was bloody well in control !.
“And finally remember”,and I looked at Sajjad “Don’t ever threaten me .I am not frightened of anyone of you.What is it that you can do ?Beat me up ?So what –can you break my spirit ?Kill me ?What will happen –another principal will replace me .And where is the guarantee that he will be better than me .?Do what you want –I will not Quit.!”There was a huge emphasis on the words “Not quit”.I consider it to be among my greatest fightbacks(the one involving my recovery from the jaws of death in a hospital being the greatest) .!! I looked at Viresh and told him “Haan Tiwariji ,ab boliye –kuch kahenaa chahahte thae aap?”.There was stunned silence .And some of you who think I speak well ,should have heard me on that day)Viresh got up from his seat came towards me and put my chair to where it belonged ,shook my hands and said “Guruji,aap apni seat par bathiyeh .Hum aapko yahaan se kahin nahi jaane denge”.Bal Bharati Public School was finally born .!!In the evening ,I hit the bar of Ranjeet Hotel(on Hamidia Road ,the one on lake road had not been started then) ,ordered a pint of beer and their famous “Chicken Sizzler”.It is no coincidence that our last meal was also to be at Ranjeet Hotel and it was after a felicitation programme (farewell),in which Viresh Tiwari garlanded me and waxed eloquently about my contribution to the school .He had said that he hoped that one day I would return .To that extent he had not understood me well enough .I am never the one to return .But for the moment I had won my battle and war at Bhopal .!
It is tough building up schools .Even if the founder is a devil he must be given his due .I sometimes envy people who are lucky to walk into schools that have buses ,staff,children,furniture ,labs ,infirmaries ,affiliations,fire safety mechanisms ,safe drinking water ,buses ,drivers –the list can go on and on .Its a tough job –its easy for people to change things and point out deficiencies .But spare a thought for people who had nothing to change !People who came to set up structures and systems .!But then some people do it And at the end of the day I feel immensely proud that I was able to do it .But one has to be lucky to have a sensible management to work through .Mr Baveja was a workaholic and a perfectionist .I did not love him –but admired him(that’s why I prefer people who love me rather than people who admire me !) .I had a fabulous staff .Mrs Jagjit Kaur brought a touch of class to the staff –very elegant and always smiling .Abha Goel was the pusher –a bit of showperson ,but I could always rely on her when something needed to be done .Abha Sinha was a conscientious worker who did wonders with the Mont Deptt where she was ably supported by Debjani Sarkar .Then there was the round eyed Debjani Sen who loved to play the fool .One day I saw her dancing in the staff room all the time singing “yeh kaali kaali aankhen,yeh gorey gorey gaal”.I can never forget the expression on her face when she realized that I had been watching her all the while .She left subsequently and became a Central School teacher at Balaghat .There was also Poonam Krishnani-very petite was very strong willed ,who was not afraid to speak her mind .There was the sports teacher who also directed plays –Mr Shailendra Paliwal .Very talented and can you imagine I allowed him to direct a play called “Mera Gadhaa Banaa Collector”.!Why imagine ?Because our chief guest was the Collector .!!There were many more –the very sophisticated Nandini Trivedi,Vijaya Choudry ,Sunita Sharma (Maths)Mehroo Naqvi who migrated to NewZealand and with whom I had a telephonic conversation just a few weeks back .What a wonderful Commerce teacher .!There was also Johnson Verghese ,Kuldip Sagre(Music)who later joined the Indian Railways and Ram Asrey Dohare the librarian .There was also the mild and mellow Shamim Akhtar from Faizabad .A wonderful lady who taught Hindi and brought me my kababs and seewien on Id.!Very nice kebabs Mrs Akhtar –I still remember them every Id .Lily Saluja the lady with short hair (a la Princess Diana type)was also among the pioneers.I remember her husband who was a very interesting man,but sadly passed away in a road accident in Chandigarh .But leading the pack was the smart and attractive Dr Usha Ajay Singh from Lucknow .When we were interviewing her one of the experts (I think it was Dr Rajguru),got her bogged down on some concept of Chemistry.(she was a Phd in Chemistry) .I was more interested in her achievements in archery in which she had won medals .After the interview ,the panel thought she was overqualified for teaching in the school .And that she would quit .I held the opinion that Usha was a prize we could not afford not to win .She was selected .And what a contribution she made to the school .She stayed on till I was in Bhopal .Later she quit ,got selected in the Administrative Services and the last message I got from her were Diwali Greetings .She signed off by writing “Usha Ajay Singh.Collector ,Seoni”.You have travelled very far away Usha ,but you will never travel so far away that I will not be able to see you and remember you in my mind .And thank you for putting my dream into place in Bhopal .! There were the administrative staff also –Mr B.L.Aggarwal who was well into his seventies but still worked harder than all of us .He handled the accounts .Tariq ,along with Kalpana Bhatt supported him in his office work .Gokul ,Jagdish,Kamlesh and Guddi Bia were the peons .They worked laboriously and without complaining .Two housekeepers –Sunil and Mukesh made sure that the bathrooms and rooms never got dirty enough to catch my eye .I paced the corridors regularly and met all the parents .
The students were very keen to learn .We were a small school –only 900 kids when I left.I remember some students very vividly –Yashika Ahluwalia ,Biplop Sen,Sumit Dhaliwal ,Suman Kapoor(Kapoor Tent House),Raja Khullar(please some of you –could you provide me information of his whereabouts )Roli Saxena ,Srutika and Geetika Aggarwal (from Delhi-what a wonderful father they had)Pranav Seal(what a sportsman),Amisha Arora(what happened to her?)Mubina and Shireen Khan(am still in regular touch with Mubina ,though not with Shireen),Vineet Nair(now in London),the Correa brothers,Ahbhilash Sasi ,Bhavana Antrewala,the Richarayias,Vaibhav Khandekar and may more .It was a great school .We participated in many activities and we sent teams outside –to Lucknow for a international programme once .!!
Its not that the school did not have problems .I found myself under siege when a boy –Anil Neelkanth(maybe his first name could be wrong)committed suicide because he had failed in the exams .Everyone blamed it on the school and they wanted me to stay away from his funeral.But there was no way I was going to do that .It was like losing a son .I went for his funeral .I prayed for him .I offloaded what would have otherwise remained forever in my heart .I was also hounded for unfurling the national flag on the 14th of August .The Unions took over and interpreted it as if I was celebrating Pakistans Independence Day.(Incidentally Inderjit Gupta the then Home Minister of India had done the same thing in the Bengali School ,Raisina Road ,Delhi!!)There was a huge gheroa,the press played it up by printing it in “reverse”(writing it in white against a black backdrop!)calling it a “bizarre act by a overenthusiastic Principal”!!It was torturous and I even applied for anticipatory bail.!But I was able to tide over all that with what I had learnt from life( the saying “the worst of your fears and the best of your hopes seldom come true” became my favourite during those stormy days!) and and help from my friends and wellwishers.But one thing it did to me –it pitchforked me from oblivion to centrestage .Did I like that ?Maybe some of you who know me well can answer the question .!!
(Last part of the blog –friends ,places ,incidents .)
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