Online classes have entered the second week. The teacher sits at his
home and the students at theirs. They are separated by distances of kilometres.
Technology telescopes distances. Somebody is in Idukki, another in Thrissur,
and a third one in Wayanad. At the scheduled time they all come together on the
screen of a laptop, iPad or a smartphone.
The teacher begins the class. Is Roger Skunk’s problem genuine? Roger
says he can’t have friends if he keeps stinking like a skunk.
Go away, not now, Stella says.
What happened, Stella? Teacher asks.
My cat, Sir. She wants to sit in my lap.
You are a skunk, Mother tells Roger. And you should smell like a skunk.
Teacher continues the class.
A doorbell rings somewhere. Maybe in the hills of Idukki, could be off the
backwaters of Kochi. A door opens and closes.
Why can’t a skunk smell like roses? Roger questions Mother. Why should I
walk around smelling like an open sewer all the time? Mother takes him by the
arm. Come with me, she orders.
Just check whether the rice is cooked. Some kitchen somewhere.
Sir, why can’t a skunk smell like roses if he wants that? A student has
a doubt.
Identity crisis, Teacher explains. A skunk smelling like a rose is neither
a skunk nor a rose, you see.
What about human beings smelling like roses, Sir? Another student. Deodorant,
I mean.
The skunk’s smell is its natural protection from potential enemies, you
see, Teacher goes on. The stench keeps other animals away.
Suppose the skunk has no threat. He wants to play with other animals and
they’re ready to accept him with the rose smell, not with the skunk smell.
Get a barber. Mother is telling Father somewhere. Raju looks like a girl
now with that long hair.
Mother took Roger Skunk back to the wizard. She hit the wizard’s head
with her long umbrella and said, What did you do to my son? Change this
terrible rose smell and make him smell like a skunk.
Terrible smell, roses? Somebody exclaimed.
Perspectives, dear, Teacher consoled.
And the class continued with a lot of perspectives entering it from
different places.
PS. Should Wizard Hit Mommy
is a short story by John Updike, a lesson in Class 12 English of CBSE.
Related Posts: Ugly
Middle Position
Splendid! It's all about perspectives. The intermittent appearances of the mother outline the present scenario perfectly.
ReplyDeleteA skunk would still be a skunk even if it were called a rose but it wouldn't remain a skunk if it started to smell like a rose! Or is it??
It's a very interesting story of Updike which raises many questions.
DeleteI remember those days where we used to ask the same questions, it's like the story is asking the students find out answers for those weird questions by questioning there teachers��
ReplyDeleteWe discussed this in some detail in class, remember?
DeleteAnd one of your classmates gave me the plot for my story, The Ugly Middle Position whose link is given in this post.
DeleteHaha, are you taking online classes currently? It must be quite a commotion. I remember learning that story from class 12. This makes me nostalgic. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to have aroused nostalgia in you. Yes, I'm taking online classes for my own students. This post is certainly an exaggerated one.
DeleteAnd, btw, that kitten in the pic is sitting in my lap. I put it in a student's lap naughtily. 😃
DeleteWow, I simply found it so apt, rather like a shifting of people perspectives. And sure to smell of roses would have robbed the skunk of his identity. But then that is what most of our young ones are going through, identity crisis!
ReplyDeleteYou'll love the original story, 'Should wizard hit mommy?' by John Updike.
DeleteLike the description of the elephant given by blind men. Matter of different perspectives of the same object.
ReplyDeleteWonderful drama of life reflecting distinct images upon different souls....the problems imagined for to spin the head....to create an image...the image in a virtual space interrupted by ripples of distance in creating different images from one...I wonder what it creates who are still away from the virtual space...on any side of the web...image remains a dream....and the beauty is real....as the great poet said...
ReplyDeleteAlthough I did not enjoy Updike in whatever small exposure I could get to wade through, I love his playing with words...he is rich in that art...
But, I must admit that your pen touches every small yet interesting aspect of life in such an elegant manner that such becomes not only intriguing, but also thought provoking....always enriching....my regards
I know it becomes difficult for a reader who is not familiar with Updike's story to understand this post. Those who know the story and also know something about online classes of today sent me interesting comments on this in personal communication.
DeleteI'm grateful to you for your appreciation.
Our new normal as far as classes are concerned. :)
ReplyDeleteIndeed. As Dostoevky says in The Crime and Punishment, we will get used to anything. We are such creatures.
DeleteGreat details here, better yet to discover out your blog which is fantastic. Nicely done!!! For more visit cat coaching classes in Pune
ReplyDelete