MISS ANONYMOUS

I think one of the hardest things to tackle in life is to find out something anonymous. Even if you roll up your sleeves and pursue its trails, you will never get it, instead you end up with nothing.

One evening I was preparing some notes for the next day’s class. It was on Shelley’s ‘Ode to the West Wind’ which was my personal favourite. Those lines were always a great source of inspiration for me.

‘Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!

I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed’

I had immersed myself in the poem until I was awoken by a sound. It was my mobile phone ringing in the next room. I got up to take the phone. But the call ended. It was a number which was not in my contact list. I said, ‘a wrong number’ and went on with my work.

In the next class, my students and I were taken away by the ‘West Wind’. I was happy with my job in that new institution. I won’t say ‘New’ because it was like my own ancestral home. I was really missing my old classroom, library, canteen, the little chapel near the convent and every other place there. When I passed, nuns smiled at me as they knew that I was their old student, and all other teachers were familiar. Advices and blessings showered on me. I felt confident as I had previous teaching experience too. But when I started, I felt, duties piled on me and I struggled hard to get through it. Also, I found that all the teachers there were capable of multitasking. I was inspired by their enthusiasm. All those moulded me into a better me. I understood that everything is a new start. After some initial difficulties everything turned out to be comfortable with a very good working atmosphere.

That day too, I got a call on my mobile. I rushed to pick up the phone. But it ended after two or three rings. I checked and found out that it was from the same mobile number which came yesterday and exactly at the same time that is 7:30 pm. I was surprised and curious to know who the caller was. I checked the missed calls. That was the only thing I could do, because all these happened some ten years back. At that time, I had an old model mobile phone which had no special features, not even a camera. I found out that the code of the phone number was same as mine. So, I concluded it would be some of my friends for fun.

The next day I felt very fresh. My task was to find out who it was. I called my old friends. But they had no idea. Then I asked my colleagues, my cousins and everyone. They all said that they didn’t know anything about it. I was confused. The missed calls came daily at 7:30 pm. But I couldn’t pick up any of the calls as the duration of ringing decreased day by day. One day I rushed in great frenzy to pick up the call. But to my disappointment the call ended in a split second. I told my mother, ‘I am exhausted and worried too.’ ‘Who would be this?’ I decided not to take the calls and added the number in my contact list as ‘M A’ (Mr. Anonymous). Otherwise, I would pick up that call by mistake.

My colleagues consoled me. But it had affected me badly. Every time when I tried to untangle the knot, it got tighter and tighter making it unable to untie. In one of the classes my students asked me. ‘What happened to you ma’am? You are not like before. Did we do anything wrong?’ I said, ‘Nothing.’ But the next moment I broke all the protocols and told them about the anonymous calls. I saw the whole class fell into a mood which I had possessed. Instantly, I recovered and told, ‘nothing serious girls. Come back. Come back to our lessons.’ Then a girl asked, ‘Ma’am, could you please show us that number?’ I took my phone and showed them. I watched my phone move from hand to hand while everyone gave a 'no idea' gesture. But when it reached the second row, suddenly some girls exclaimed in great happiness, ‘Oh! This is our dear friend’s number.' With great surprise I asked, ‘Are you sure?' She said, ‘yes, this is her number and she is absent today.’ Everyone got surprised. With a big sigh I laughed to my heart’s content.  A lot of emotions came to me then which I couldn’t define.

I tried to recollect everything. It was the same eyes that were troubling me from the very beginning. When I came there as a new teacher, I had some initial difficulties which I had mentioned before. In my class I was troubled by two staring eyes. I was thinking that the student was not comfortable with my teaching style.  Every day I modified my teaching method to suit her. But she went on staring at me. When I go to the principal's room for some assembly announcements, she will be there staring at me from among a group of singers. She sings well. To tell the truth, everywhere I found her staring eyes. I was thinking that she didn’t like me personally. But this incident left me with a lot of questions.

Even later I didn’t ask her anything about the matter and she didn’t approach me too. But whenever students passed in front of the department, I saw her eyes staring from behind her friends. I would smile from within. Yet, I didn’t get the meaning of all those until the last day.

One year passed like that. One day when I was alone in the department, unexpectedly she came to the door. I waved her inside with a smile. She gave me her autograph book. It was their send off day. I took my pen to write in it. Then I noticed something was kept under the book. It was a card. She said, it’s for me. I opened it and read with great surprise, ‘To my best teacher’. There stood my ‘Miss Anonymous.'

Still, I can remember the smile she had that day. I know every teacher will have one or other experience like this. But for me this is a very special one.