..Ms.Lobo - my Mathematics teacher..

It all started in 1996 when I was in 8th std. It was St. Mary’s School in Veraval. Since my early school days only, Mathematics used to be my ‘favourite’ subject...only that Mathematics didn’t think so, like it continues to do so, continues to loathe me, continues to insult me..!!!

Anyways, it was 8th std. and Ms.Lobo was our Maths teacher. Partly that was the reason I loved school. Ms.Lobo, I mean..NOT Maths. She was strict, ruthless, punctual..virtually all the qualities that any student would dread to have in his/her teacher. But at the same time she was beautiful...or may be that’s the adjective we would use for her then. She was actually very sultry, tanned and all.

As it used to happen, practically everyday with me…I never was able to do the Maths H/W (homework;) a reason due to which Ms.Lobo never liked me. But what I used to like was this only:

Ms.Lobo: As usual Pankaj, you’ve not done the work today as well. I am not surprised. (She would say this walking towards me)
Pankaj: Sorry ma’am but even I am not able to understand why does it happen to me only and that to..EVERYDAY! (I would actually love her presence near me, although I knew she was in an angry mood but at the same time I knew she would ‘slap’ me..on my face that is)

And so it would happen. She would raise her hand (she was an ambidextrous…virtually good with both hands...no pun intended, strictly) then pinch my ears with her thumb on one side & the pen-nib on the other…with my earlobe practically sand-witched between the two. Yes, it would hurt. Then she would use her other hand (which was free until now) to pinch my cheeks, like the way teachers do when they are angry and not when they are happy with you! And I loved this ‘pinching on my cheeks’ part, I mean. She would continue to do so for at most a minute, while giving the rest of the class a pragmatic lesson. And I only wished it lasted even longer. If you were the third person viewing this, it was a very funny sight, with Ms.Lobo’s one hand on my ear and the other on my cheeks!!! And no it didn’t stop here. As I was her ‘special’ student, she went a step ahead…by slapping me. Not even today do I regret being slapped though. And she always went away saying this…Pankaj, I hope this was the last time I slapped you but well…what she didn’t know was how much I loved being pinched and slapped by her..!!!

Freak, some would say but I pity them as not everybody is fortunate enough to have a Maths teacher like Ms.Lobo and above all…have the ability to be her ‘special’ student..!

Such ‘encounters’ between me & Ms.Lobo continue till 10th std. i.e., 3 more yrs although by 10th std. she understood that iss ladke ka kuch ni ho sakta …and she was so right - I still liked her.

Years went by. I did my graduation, did my Post-graduation…many more Maths teachers went by…my Maths continued to be the same as it was in 8th std. but as they say, some people (teachers..or rather a teacher in my case) CANNOT be replaced.

Whatever is it with FIRST CRUSHes and tTEACHERS...its such a cliché..!!!