CALL ME RAVI
“Politeness is the first thing people lose once they get the power.” Amit Kalantri Y ears ago, I had a student, who I had taught in his Junior College. He must’ve been 15 or 16 and I must’ve been 23 or 24 at that time. He was raised by his elder sister as their parents were no more. The sister, who was slightly older than me, would call me by my first name – Gerry. So, her baby-brother, my student, too, started calling me by my name. I had no problem with that at all. Yes, whenever he would do it inside the class, I would feel a bit awkward (Shall I say ‘hurt’ or ‘small’?), but, I would wear a comfortable mask before my other students. After this boy completed his Junior College, he joined Mumbai’s (then, Bombay) famed St. Xavier’s College to pursue B.A. One day, he took me around his new college campus and proudly described the great heritage of this educational institution. Now and then, I would hear him greet someone passing by, with – ‘Hi Victor’, ‘Hi ...