Importance of Kashmir Files

AWASTHI SIR

It was about 1964 or 65 when I was in high school. 

MGHSS, school at Mandleshwar was a quality school and its faculty was outstanding. Its cultural and academic standard was high. Singh sir was excellent in Physics. His style of explaining complex principles of physics in so simple and dramatic way that students feel like they are observing the subject. 

Archimidies principles or Faraday's left hand thumb rule, we still remember them. Many a college going students, failed to explain such rules, though they answered correctly in the exams.

Similarly, Yadav sir was teaching us mathematics. His style was able to teach mathematics even to a layman.

Shuklaji was our sanskrit teacher.  Science students see sanskrit as useless subject, But everybody were then  keen to enjoy Sanskrit plays during annual function. I never saw thereafter any Sanskrit play in my life anywhere. His playback voice was so easy and deep, that audience were feeling like they are in Satyug.

Need of date is to create Sanskrit play groups in each school for true entertainment.

Being high school, science practical were also part of our curriculum. Practical exams were conducted a month ahead of main exam. An outsider was deputed to conduct the exam and give marks. Such examiner was the sole authority to give good marks.

One day our class teacher selected a team of 3 or 4 students including me to go to jetty at shore to receive Awasthi sir, who was arriving as practical examiner from a school, on other side of the river. 

We reached the jetty. Awasthi sir was unique personality. He was strong, about more than 6 ft tall, wearing greenish old suit and carrying one rolled mattress called holdal and a box. We greeted him and asked him to give us the belongings, but he refused us and himself carried them upto the place of residence. 

He was not talking to us so we all left him soon.

We all got good number in exam. 

But  his  habit to keep his suitcase all the times, puzzled everybody. 

Onset of new session Awasthi sir was transferred to our school and was taking mathematics classes. His voice was too high to disturb the entire school. It was observed that soon after start of lecture, while explaining mathematical equations on blackboard, pitch of his voice start rising, it seems that he was in trance. After a few minutes the voice feel like somebody is crying due to deep pain inside. Students stop listening lecture.

His this behaviour was enough to make an impression that he was whimsical or synic. He was not having any family. His food habits were also talk of the school. He was consuming only flour mixed in water. He was always wearing that one greenish suit, irrespective of season and probably he was not washing them.

He was not talking to his colleagues and everybody has discarded him as a human being. 

His movement from one class to other class was looking like some question mark is walking, answer to that might was not available even with Einstein or Ramanujam.

It was time when students were visiting teachers houses especially during Dushahra or Diwali festival.

He was living in one room house in the Moyede street.

I alongwith one of my classmate reached his house, doors were open and he was lying on floor keeping his bed as pillow. To see us, he got seated. His eyes were wet and looking emotional and ready to speak out. 

Both of us were eager to listen him. With heavy heart he remembered partition days. He had lost his wife and kids. His family was brutally killed by a crowed. 

As evidence he opened the suitcase, which was having old cloths of his killed family members having dried blood all over it.

There was no any civic arrangment to stop or atleast record about such crime to heal the innocents.

He disclosed that He is living with that memories and his body was just a carrier of  memories of that happenings. 

Newton's law, 'every action has equal and opposit reaction' had failed during partition. 

Recently, Modi has asked people to remember sacrifices of millions of such people, on 14 August every year as 'partition horrors remembrance day'. Can we do that? Especially after Kashmir files, which is an attempt to atleast remember who suffered in 1990.