Childhood.

Series26
In my lighter mood I used to write my views on different subjects. It is easy to write and criticise about anything and everything one happened to come across. Speaking negatively, and making inflammatory type of statements in the form of comments is counter-productive and harmful to the cause of the very principle on which it was initiated.
I never though of writing about myself.
I was born and brought up in a Hindu family in India.
My father was a government officer and kept mostly busy with his office job. My mother was responsible for framing my life and my views on life. She was religious and had staunch views about it.
I was shy in my school days. We had a man servant Abdul. He had to drop me to school and pick me up from school when the school time was over.

In the school I was considered an average shy type of a boy. I was not recognised in the first ten of the boys and girls who got special attention by the school authorities. I remember one incident that I can not forget.

In the school debating competition, at the school level boys and girls from all elementary level were asked to speak their views, for and against a given subject. The subject was about the country attaining independence. All the participants spoke in praise of the subject and about the progress the country made after independence and all that.

The Principal commented that there was no participant to speak against the given subject. This stirred up my blood. I marched to the stage and started addressing the students against the subject. I criticised the Government for indecision, chaos and lack of law and order, lack of basic amenity for life to most of the people of the country. I insisted that there should be compulsory military training for all from the school level. I spoke ill about a few leaders for scandal and scams as I knew from general talk, about their personal life behaviour and scandals. This inflamed the audience.
The Principal was annoyed and asked me to sit down. After the debate was over, the class boys hood-winked me and beat me and torn out my books and cap and clothes and manhandled me for my disrespect for the country. At the relevant time in Parliament debate had lasted for four days about the national slogan Satyamev Jayate or SatyamevJayati. I said they should toss the coin and decide it and do not waste public time for such issues and it should be used for other good work for the people of the country.

When I came home, seeing my condition in torn clothes and torn books, mother straight away beat me without asking what had happened. Till date I do not know what was my fault.

I started writing a wall paper. I would take a fullscape paper.
From the newspapers like Blitz, Illustrated Weekly, Film Fare,
Times, Express I would write important news, items of joke, thought of the day, and some college news, a cartoon and other items. I would paste it on the notice board for readers’ views.
Boys used to take it out and tear it off. And all sorts of comments were made about me to stop me to write the wall paper. This did not deter me. On the other hand it gave me strength that the boys were scared of the idea of a wall paper with news about the school and their turn may come too. The wall paper daily was seen on the notice board with date day and title TORCH was a
Daily item on the notice board. I had to keep awake myself late night to prepare the wall paper and it was really a problem to carry such an oblong piece and affix it on the board. In the week-end days I used to bring old issues of Readers Digest and important weekly papers for my material for it. I purchased some books on jokes and crossword puzzles. One day I published news about a professor summoning a girl in the reading room and his favourable treatment to her.

Gradually my presence was recognised. The boys and girls were all from princely states, children of famous doctor, lawyer, judge, police chief and they had their own group and gang. I took part in elections. In the first instance I was elected as class representative. Thereafter I was the Secretary of the English Study Circle and then a general secretary. Thereafter my progress knew no bounds. This turned me into a headstrong
fearless chap not in the say of anyone in the college.
I earned wrath of the Principal professor and everyone in the college. I was an outcast from their circle. I was not welcome in their group. I did not take heed of them. I used to meet high dignitary ministers and invite them for functions and all that.
They did not like but they were scared of me that they did not harm me. I knew what I wrote was never appreciated. But I learnt that work was worship. It pays. It did pay in the long run.
In my life. I advocated that honesty was not restricted in terms of money but honesty in food behaviour living eating was applicable and all that. With all such activity I became good at inspection that is finding fault. I mastered that I art. What others overlooked, I kept a note of it and used it at a proper time. Such
Information in the form of a bombshell created havoc.

In practical life too I unknowingly followed this art. I do not speak, I observe. I watch. I wait for him or her to make a mistake. Till then I was silent. Finding a lapse I was the lion and the lion was the lamb.

One has to work hard to find mistakes, and once it is found, he is gone. I had an upper hand. I have never stopped.