The Professor

The man was furiously pacing, to and fro, like the pendulum of a grandfather clock. The click-clack of his footwear breaking the silence that clung in the air. With the hands tightly clasped behind the back, his grim face telegraphed the weight of the matter zipping around in his mind, seeking clarity.

The visitor watched this metronomical event and soon his neck and eyes started ringing alarm bells of pain. The visitor chided himself for sitting in an awkward position and trying to closely follow the movements, in rapt attention. Unable to bear the silence any longer, he interrupted and asked, "What is the matter with you and why are you so agitated?"

Stopping at mid stride, the professor looked at the visitor for a few seconds and then came over to sit beside him. A temporary and welcome relief washed over the neck and eyes of the visitor. Both spent a few more moments of uncomfortable silence, waiting for the other person to speak first.

With a sigh, the professor explained the reason - three chance interactions with children, attending academic streams, has deeply affected him.

The visitor nodded his head half-heartedly, not knowing what his response should be on this topic and wondering why is this about children? Sensing the imminent loss of a pair of ears to drown with his woes, Professor immediately started elaborating on his screenplay.

Generally, it is our belief that childhood appears to be the happiest phase in human life. But it might be wrong. The visitor mouthed an enthusiastic "Why so?"

"Ask the school going children and they will tell you a different story" replied the Professor. The visitor refrained from asking "which children?" The visitor's face started exhibiting crease lines of confusion.

Professor, attempting a firefight explained, "After all, they endure the peer pressure from parents, grandparents, relatives and friends & relatives of all the above-mentioned stakeholders. What is left for the child to call its own - imagination and unfulfilled dreams!"

Interest welled up and some of the crease lines took leave from the visitor's face. Still, he could not shake the foreboding that some more serious confusion was about to engulf him. With trepidation he asked, " who parted with these pearls of wisdom and why?" 

Instead of responding to the questions, the professor's lips parted to deliver a second narrative - Parents have limited time to observe the child. For them a child is a product to be packaged and future delivered. No doubt they spend the best part of the day, every day, to earn for ensuring the package is future groomed. The child fully understands this and appreciates it. But prefers to get there with some modifications to the parent's plans. In effect, the child is happy to have the guide without moral preaching, 24×7 on all channels.

The confusion quotient in the visitor's mind was raising, as a child's viewpoint was being repeatedly mentioned. His reasoning was quite simple - the points made were definitely not sitting well with a child's utterings! The visitor felt like a person caught in quicksand - chose to stay calm in the chair. Hoping for an abrupt end to the narrative, he was afraid to seek an explanation at this point. Left with no other alternative, the visitor laced his fingers tightly and kept them behind his neck to stem his welling up anger. This was to safeguard himself from being accused of manslaughter. The professor did not deserve this.

The professor had other ideas - he wanted to cap it all with one more instance. A child bemoans the timings - when elders choose to ask questions, give out suggestions and handout admonishments. Why a child should not engage with two or more interesting activities, simultaneously. Why should this be called a waste of time? The elders demand to be left undisturbed while carrying out simultaneous tasks. The child never terms it a waste of time. Where is the logic in this? The child too wishes to be shown the same consideration. 

What is wrong if minimum effort could lead to maximum returns, what is wrong in exploring this advantage? Why should parents always harp on the lack of wholehearted effort? Why do they conveniently forget the fact that they might have heard the same complaint from their parents? Sometimes, a child might boldly say these thoughts and many times just murmur and walk away.

The visitor wondered whether the professor has had such a lasting impact - personal childhood experience as well as from his purported interactions with yet to be identified children! Is it because of this the professor was speaking in a child's voice! Multiple alarm bells started ringing in his ears.

Finally, the emotional outburst of yet another narrative came to an end, without even a customary popcorn intermission. The visitor could no longer remain a mute listener. He demanded of the professor to lift the veil and reveal the "when, where and who?"  Deep space silence hung in the air. The visitor braced himself for a renewed pacing -the-floor performance. 

To his surprise, the professor stood up sporting a smirk occupying a large space on his face. This set the visitor's anger on boil. Sensing an outpouring, the professor hastily uttered - in here, in my mind and just now! To add some flavour to the suspense, he declined to reveal " the who?" mentioned in the narratives.

The number of interrogatory marks thrown around the room must be enough to fill a pushcart! The visitor cursed himself for having chosen this day to call on the professor. Belatedly, the visitor remembered that he had endured this sort of "seance" awhile back, in the past! Yet like a lamb, he had walked into the slaughterhouse.

To set things right, he decided to seek a remedy for his forgetfulness, as soon as possible!