Meeting the angry young woman of Ferozepur
Ihave a soft corner for Ferozepur, a border town of Punjab. I started my teaching career there 47 years ago. Its memories cling to my mind, heart and soul. I had first visited it as a teenager when my mother was admitted in the town’s Mission Hospital. The cry and roar of the trains there would haunt and mesmerise this village lad.
In my early twenties, I visited Ferozepur in search of a job. The first lecture I delivered at an academy known as University College, where I was hired as an English tutor, makes me nostalgic. Situated in the Main Bazaar, Narang’s Book Shop was the only store of its kind that catered to public needs. My interest in reading also grew.
Working as an assistant professor at Ram Sukh Das College and then at Dev Samaj College for Women, my income would swell. My visits to the English Book Depot in Ferozepur cantonment, where young wives of army officers would buy the latest English books, created an interest in me to regularly read ‘The Psychologist’ magazine, published from London.
It was here that I came in contact with a girl who used to be one of my students. She was more interested in reading general books than those prescribed in the syllabus. She had frequent outbursts of anger. One day, she was sad and pensive. She came up to me and started weeping. “Why do you weep, Sonu?” I asked. She said she didn’t know why lost her temper so often. Her parents had started ignoring her, and she would need someone to hear her out.
I asked her if she had seen a carpenter or blacksmith at work. Had she noticed how they spit in their fists before striking the hammer? I explained that it meant how they direct their innate anger to making their hammer produce quality work.
This hint ignited an intense desire in her and she directed her energy towards making a bright career. I told her that she could read books for competitive exams as a hobby but should not ignore class work.
A few weeks later, I shifted to DAV College, Jalandhar, from where I was posted to DAV College, Kangra. Years passed by and I got busy with the routine. The thought of Sonu would rarely occur to me.
Kangra is a historical town, best known for its Bajreshwari temple. During the Navratras, pilgrims from far and wide visit this place. During one Navratra festival, I was getting returning from college when I saw a couple coming out of their car. The woman’s face, with moles on both cheeks and chin, seemed familiar. Just then her husband called out: “Sonu, ask the driver to bring that bag.” I was suddenly reminded of my former student in Ferozepur.
My happiness knew no bounds. She smiled as I addressed her, “You angry young woman!” Both her husband and she were Indian Administrative Service officers. We talked of the memories of our Ferozepur days. Students come and go in a teacher’s life but only a few aspire to make a career as Sonu had done!
THIS HINT IGNITED AN INTENSE DESIRE IN HER AND SHE DIRECTED HER ENERGY TOWARDS MAKING A BRIGHT CAREER. I TOLD HER SHE COULD READ BOOKS FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS AS A HOBBY BUT SHOULDN’T IGNORE CLASS WORK