“Why don’t you do something useful?” I asked Priya.
Priya is a class eleven student of mine. I had been asked to look after their
class for a while as their mathematics teacher was called to the office on an
urgent task.
Priya looked at me and smiled
indolently. Her maths notebook lay open before her even more lethargically. Sin
Ө and Cos Ө floated on the page like
butterflies looking for roses. All her classmates were busy doing one thing or
another.
“Why don’t you solve a problem or two of
trigonometry?” I asked.
Priya was not amused. She didn’t seem
particularly fond of Sin Ө
and Cos Ө.
“Why don’t you write a story?” I knew she
liked stories.
“Write a story?” She blinked at me. Writing
is not something that her generation likes to do. I learnt that as their
English teacher. They will listen to stories. Some of them, at least. But
write? Oh no, that’s so boring, dude.
“Hmm,” I said in her generation’s lingo.
“What about?” She demanded.
“Priya was in love with Sin Ө. Start with that.” I said.
She grinned at me before taking her rough book
and a pen.
Priya was in love with Sin Ө. But Sin Ө did not reciprocate her romance. ‘You silly
girl,’ Sin
Ө said. ‘Do you
fall in love merely because your witless old English teacher orders you to? Don’t
you have brains to know that I’m perpetually committed to Cos Ө?’
Priya had more brains than her English
teacher. English is the subject of semi-mental retards, she knew. They say
things like I am a petal
of flower offering itself at the feet of your love. As if love has feet! Priya
knew very well that Sin Ө
and Cos
Ө squared so
perfectly with each other that they merged into the best possible union like Yang
and Yin did in the Taoist symbol. Sin2 Ө + Cos2 Ө = 1. One.
Oneness. Perfect union.
‘I should not meddle with that union,’ Priya
said to herself. Her romance ended.
Priya gave me her story. It made me laugh
though I didn’t quite like her calling me a mental retard. But the story made
me love Priya ever more. I am an expert in fooling myself into believing that
anything said negatively about me by my students is not meant seriously.
“Priya’s romance is so fickle,” I said. “I
wish it didn’t end so easily.” The maths teacher was not back yet and Priya had
to be engaged still.
“Okay,” Priya said, “I’ll continue Priya’s
romance.” She took the book back from me.
Priya felt sad that her romance was spurned so
heartlessly by Sin Ө.
So she went off on a tangent and became Tan Ө.
I didn’t laugh. I felt sad, in fact. I couldn’t bear the thought of my beloved student metamorphosing into a trigonometric ratio.
PS. The last time I wrote a short story
was in September last.
More
or less of a man.
My most read short story: Halley’s
Fishes
Hari Om
ReplyDeleteOh, by Priya might turn out to be a budding Celestial Mechanic! A rising star, you might say... YAM xx
All the best to Priya 😊
DeleteThat was a real fun story. Your have talent for writing on any genre. Woke up just half an hour back and read it. Put me in a great mood for the rest of the day.
ReplyDeleteHappy to have kicked off your day in a cheerful mood. And thank you for sharing that cheer with me.
DeleteGood lighthearted read!
ReplyDeleteOne good thing about being with youngsters is they add fun to existence.
DeletePriya is a potential genius.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting classroom anecdote. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad my Maths classes are behind me. :D
Happy New Year to you, your lovely wife and your feline friends. (...and to Priya, too.)
Thank you for remembering all of us on the occasion. :)
DeleteGreat story sir, i never thought maths could be romantic. It was a fresh story ✨
ReplyDelete...and it's funny how I was sitting next to Priya when this happened,I remember this incident and had fun reading this..wish you'd write about me too sir! :D lol
ReplyDelete😊 You'll inspire a story soon, I'm sure. N, right?
Delete