Series: Unveiling Geeta- A Journey through Pain and Redemption by Nalin Verma (Part 7)

In this series, Nalin Verma captures the poignancy of relationships and how love can make one hopeful despite being hopeless.

Previous Parts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

My Professor Bhaiya got me admitted to the boys-only school within days of my arrival at his place. The room in which I lived seemed like a prison, but the school offered me the opportunity to breathe freely. There, I could play with my classmates and talk to them at will. Professor Bhaiya was a bachelor, serious, and withdrawn. He spoke to me only occasionally and remained engrossed most of the time in his books – Shakespeare, Wordsworth, P. B. Shelley, and Mark Twain, as he was a professor of English literature.

Occasionally, he came to my room and gave me some lessons in English grammar and composition, which I tried to memorise. I made friends at school. I was okay with literature and language but poor at mathematics. I liked the books that had stories and pictures of birds and animals. Professor Bhaiya didn’t see much prospect for me, but I managed to pass my Matriculation examination on the first attempt. That changed Bhaiya’s attitude towards me and he got me admitted to a co-ed college where he taught.

As I was about to leave for college on the first day, Bhaiya warned, “It is a co-ed college. Keep away from girls and be friends only with boys.”