I was on a routine flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad .I flew a
lot on that sector , either for official
work at the DPS Society ,or to meet my son at Delhi University ,or to meet
Sangeeta who was the Principal at the Himjyoti School in Dehradun .
Delhi Domestic Airport was crowded like a railway station
.Packed with people – most of their faces looking drained and greasy .Understandable –
it was Delhi weather at its worst – hot and humid .
The travelers were impatient to get their boarding passes ,which
would entitle them to enter the lounges where they could relax a bit – security
check ins suck your patience most of the
times .Being a experienced traveler ,I was carrying only hand baggage – it
helped me having not to wait at conveyor
belts at my destination .As I waited , I was
lookjn forward to reaching home
,having a shower , a nice cup of Lipton Darjeeling tea , and slip into my
airconditioned room .
The problem( sometimes a ego inflator !), of having been a Principal for 3 decades is
that there is someone or the other who will recognize you at a public place
.Thats one of the reasons that I dress up reasonably well – (tie intact !!)-
when I travel or go to a mall or the
movies . Everyone who smiles at me , appears to me to be either a student who I have taught ,or a
parent with whom I have interacted .Someone who smiles a lot is sometimes greeted with “Oh hello , how are
you doing”? This sometimes shocks people – and sometimes makes them happy !!. I
have noticed however ,that it has never hurt anyone .
As I waited – I caught the eye of a young man ahead of me in
the queue .He had been looking at me and giving me a smile .
I thought ,I had seen him somewhere . But I let it pass by
pretending to look at my ticket , and at the queue behind me .As he edged ahead
and moved forward he looked back
and waved at me . I waved back .Very soon we were next to each other – but on different
sides of the queue .( In airports ,people line up and sometimes queues take the
form of a “U”. So you come across each other on the two straight lines of the U
before you turn round the curve ).
“ Good evening ir”, he said rather enthusiastically .Enough
enthusiastically to make people turn their heads and look towards me .By now ,I was convinced that he
was a student whom I had taught .
“ Good evening”, I said .” How are you”,?
“ Fine thank You Sir. Do you recognize me” ? he asked
expectantly .
I have learnt not to lie .But there were so many people who were now part
of the conversation , that I thought it would be rude and arrogant for me to
say no .Besides ,my memory was reconnecting with him .Oh yes – he was a
terrific sprinter in school .I also knew that he was from Soma House .But for
the ife of me I could not recollect his name .But yes – I knew that below those
cotton trousers he wore – were a pair of very hairy legs !!
“ Of course ,I do” !! I said . “So you are going to
Ahmedabad ?” I enquired .
“ Yes I do” ,I , answered without thinking .He was now near the
counter . I knew that I had made the
cardinal mistake of telling a unnecessary lie .I was very uncomfortable – not
because I had lied ,but because what do I tell someone who thinks I remember
his name .
While he checked in , I phoned up a fellow Principal friend
of mine who was working in Panipat .
“ Vinoo – yaar ,what is the name of the boy ,we used to call
“ Harry”, because he had a lot of hair
on his legs?”.!!
Vinoo pondered – I could make that out in the pregnant silence
at his end of the phone.
“ Kulu , I will get back to you .Aur sab theek thaak hai”
“ Yes ,yes .Please get me his name fast .Treat it as a
emergency “ . I was panicking !! I was not interested in polite conversation .
I was cursing myself as to why I had lied .
I checked in .The boy was waiting for me .I did not want to meet him yet as I did not remember his
name .I pretended I was talking to someone else on my
cell ,as I shook his hands !
And then the worst happened .While I pretended to speak ,
the phone rang .We both looked at each other . He was too smart not to know
that I had been on a fake call .
The call was from Vinoo .He told me that the name
of the boy was Devinder (name changed ). I thanked him and rushed to Devinder
and gushed
“ How are you Devinder. Such a pleasure meeting you .Its
been ages”.
Devinder was over the moon that I remembered not only his
name ,but his House and the fact that he was hairy .
“ You are amazing Sir .You are phenomenal .And Sir you are
right about the hair . See.” He pulled up a bit of his trousers .And sure the
hair were still there .!!
I wonder though – what he must have thought of the phone call that I faked
while waiting to know his name ?
The bottom line – never lie .Its damn inconvenient .!! And
never never lie if you are ageing !! It
compounds the problem !
