ROAD LESS TAKEN

To be honest, I am not an admirer of fervent patriotism. But, the following incident comes to my mind whenever we celebrate Teacher’s day in our country. While I was studying tenth standard, our class used to sit for evening studies in our school accompanied by a teacher. One day, a meeting was organized by Human Rights Commission in our campus, and we were studying inside the class supervised by our teacher, Fathima. The meeting was about to conclude and it was customary to end the public meeting with the National Anthem. When they began singing the Anthem, our teacher stood up still in her position paying the reverence to it. As the meeting took place outside the classroom, none of us bothered to pay any attention. Quite baffled by her action, some of us giggled, some were astounded by her staunch patriotism, some felt guilty and some did not react at all. Unperturbed by the commotion among the students, she stood immobile until the end without flinching a bit.   A teach...

              My cousin and I were on a trip to Tirunelveli to apply for a passport. It was summer; the scorching heat was quite unbearable. We had to wait until noon to get our work done. Hence, we had to look for a shady place to rest for a while. We seated ourselves on a cement platform, under a Neem tree, in front of a house. Of course, there were so many houses lined up in the area. After a while, a man came in a scooter and alighted to enter into his house. He gave us a sinister look as if we were there to loot his house. He disappeared into his house, locking his gate tightly behind him. I told my cousin that our land has lost its kindness and hospitality towards strangers over the years. We were sharing our nostalgia for the good old days when love-centered human life and money were only part of it.             Suddenly, I heard the gate opening from another house, and a frail old lady c...