I have very little memory of the time when I argued incessantly with Prof.B about his style of teaching. Per him it was ugly and higly intolerable. That of course did not stop me from providing my honest opinion. Our bickering that began in 2003 went from one topic to the other and soon we could not stand each other.
We were always at each others necks until one fine day when I heard from other students at college that he had met with an accident. Something in me made me pay him a visit at the hospital. Confident that I would shock his ardent followers I walked into his room only to find him sedated and stuck to numerous wires. Turns out the brown nosers had bailed out on him.
According to his doctor, Prof.B have had absolutely no visitor through out his four day stay at the hospital. When nurses asked him about friends or family Prof.B would turn his face and choose to remain silent. Seeing me the doctor had some hope for Prof.B. Apparently Prof.B was highly diabetic and this accident had only scratched the scab deeper. Prof.B's injured leg was reeking pungent odor and pus. No amount of antibiotics would provide relief. They had to perform surgery and needed someone to sign the consent form.
Now here I was in a conundrum wondering what to make out of the situation. Reluctantly I signed the forms and the doctor at once took charge of the operation. I guess it was my star to thank for the successful operation of Prof.B. Eventually, I paid him regular visit till he fully recovered and took him back to his rental room. I tried my best to get him a maid and a cook and made sure he was fitting in well. Once fully recovered he resumed to his duties and I went back to my life. Our squabbles continued and neither discounted the fact that we had in a way connected. Our mutual respect for each other had gone up a notch and I now considered him more than a teacher, a father figure. He became that one crying shoulder I always counted on. Obviously when you have parents who constantly blamed you for their misfortunes in life you do need an outsiders perspective that can guide you well. (So readers do not judge. You know not the beginning of it!!!)
Well time moved and I graduated from college, got a job, and then got married. Marriage was a catalyst in the sense it deeply moved Prof.B to loose one person he had known past three years in his life. It was hard on the both of us but we both promised to stay in touch with each other. We called each other on a constant basis and I met him every time I went home. On one such visit home when I met Prof.B I out of the blues asked him about his past life. For a minute Prof.B was taken aback but then for some reason or the other he opened up to me in a way I guess he never did or never would again!
It so happens Prof.B is a XLRI alumni. In fact he was the gold medalist of his batch and his first job was as CFO of a very famous company (I choose not to name it). He married an IIM graduate of his time who is still in a very top position for a renowned bank. As he said he had it all. A beautiful and qualified trophy wife and a wonderful son whom he adored but then there was also EGO which, put an end to twenty years of marriage and made the relationship feel petty. Overnight, Prof.B signed on the divorce papers, gave up his job, and left his home penniless. He decided to start all over again at a place where no one knew who he was.
As fate had it he landed a job in our college. Just when he made up his mind to inform about his whereabouts to his wife and son he realized that even they had exiled themselves from their home town. Without any knowledge of their whereabouts Prof.B was lost. He searched them for a long time and then found them in Pune. When he called his wife and son they refused to talk to him. His wife had a valid argument. She had found someone and did not want him breezing into their lives when she was still in the process of working on a new relationship. Broken hearted Prof.B took up a life of a monk.
His pent up anger and frustration on women made him remove it all on us female students which gave rise to our fights. He later did admit that I changed his perspective and gave him hope. Over the years I have always made a point to keep him in the loop and treat him like family but a ugly episode makes me wonder should I?
Last year I called him to tell him about my baby on the way and instead of being happy he kept commenting on how I should find a job and not be a burden on my husband, and not gain weight, and then he started digging graves about my ex-classmates whom I do not give rats ass about. This kept repeating to the point of disgust. It angered me and in rage I asked him as to why was he talking rubbish? For which he blamed me for not being polite and being melancholy.
With pregnancy hormones in crazy range I was offended and decided to not call him ever.
And thats what I have done. Today it will be almost an year and I still wonder whether I should call him or not? I wonder whether he behaved the same way with his family and maybe that is the reason why they would not have any of him?
So far I do not know the answer and with a four month old my hands are full. Sometime soon I will ponder and make a decision so as to call or not to call this lonely and so lost a man!! For now I pray for him!
We were always at each others necks until one fine day when I heard from other students at college that he had met with an accident. Something in me made me pay him a visit at the hospital. Confident that I would shock his ardent followers I walked into his room only to find him sedated and stuck to numerous wires. Turns out the brown nosers had bailed out on him.
According to his doctor, Prof.B have had absolutely no visitor through out his four day stay at the hospital. When nurses asked him about friends or family Prof.B would turn his face and choose to remain silent. Seeing me the doctor had some hope for Prof.B. Apparently Prof.B was highly diabetic and this accident had only scratched the scab deeper. Prof.B's injured leg was reeking pungent odor and pus. No amount of antibiotics would provide relief. They had to perform surgery and needed someone to sign the consent form.
Now here I was in a conundrum wondering what to make out of the situation. Reluctantly I signed the forms and the doctor at once took charge of the operation. I guess it was my star to thank for the successful operation of Prof.B. Eventually, I paid him regular visit till he fully recovered and took him back to his rental room. I tried my best to get him a maid and a cook and made sure he was fitting in well. Once fully recovered he resumed to his duties and I went back to my life. Our squabbles continued and neither discounted the fact that we had in a way connected. Our mutual respect for each other had gone up a notch and I now considered him more than a teacher, a father figure. He became that one crying shoulder I always counted on. Obviously when you have parents who constantly blamed you for their misfortunes in life you do need an outsiders perspective that can guide you well. (So readers do not judge. You know not the beginning of it!!!)
Well time moved and I graduated from college, got a job, and then got married. Marriage was a catalyst in the sense it deeply moved Prof.B to loose one person he had known past three years in his life. It was hard on the both of us but we both promised to stay in touch with each other. We called each other on a constant basis and I met him every time I went home. On one such visit home when I met Prof.B I out of the blues asked him about his past life. For a minute Prof.B was taken aback but then for some reason or the other he opened up to me in a way I guess he never did or never would again!
It so happens Prof.B is a XLRI alumni. In fact he was the gold medalist of his batch and his first job was as CFO of a very famous company (I choose not to name it). He married an IIM graduate of his time who is still in a very top position for a renowned bank. As he said he had it all. A beautiful and qualified trophy wife and a wonderful son whom he adored but then there was also EGO which, put an end to twenty years of marriage and made the relationship feel petty. Overnight, Prof.B signed on the divorce papers, gave up his job, and left his home penniless. He decided to start all over again at a place where no one knew who he was.
As fate had it he landed a job in our college. Just when he made up his mind to inform about his whereabouts to his wife and son he realized that even they had exiled themselves from their home town. Without any knowledge of their whereabouts Prof.B was lost. He searched them for a long time and then found them in Pune. When he called his wife and son they refused to talk to him. His wife had a valid argument. She had found someone and did not want him breezing into their lives when she was still in the process of working on a new relationship. Broken hearted Prof.B took up a life of a monk.
His pent up anger and frustration on women made him remove it all on us female students which gave rise to our fights. He later did admit that I changed his perspective and gave him hope. Over the years I have always made a point to keep him in the loop and treat him like family but a ugly episode makes me wonder should I?
Last year I called him to tell him about my baby on the way and instead of being happy he kept commenting on how I should find a job and not be a burden on my husband, and not gain weight, and then he started digging graves about my ex-classmates whom I do not give rats ass about. This kept repeating to the point of disgust. It angered me and in rage I asked him as to why was he talking rubbish? For which he blamed me for not being polite and being melancholy.
With pregnancy hormones in crazy range I was offended and decided to not call him ever.
And thats what I have done. Today it will be almost an year and I still wonder whether I should call him or not? I wonder whether he behaved the same way with his family and maybe that is the reason why they would not have any of him?
So far I do not know the answer and with a four month old my hands are full. Sometime soon I will ponder and make a decision so as to call or not to call this lonely and so lost a man!! For now I pray for him!
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