This is an obituary I wrote for a part of my “ego” that believed that inspite of teaching in college for a year and half, I was still just a student and not faculty. That part of my ego sadly passed away a few weeks back.
Yes it is genuine but also supposed to be funny.
Yes this may seem narcissistic and most probably is.
No it is not modest but I have tried to keep it in check. :P
INDRAJIT SATBHAI – The Student (1992 - 2010)
In class on one side of the table you are faculty that sits with authority and critiques the work presented before it with apparent disdain. On the other side of the same table, you are just one of the students. For most of his students Indrajit was the most uncommon faculty. With his T-shirts and slippers he looked more like a student than a member of “the teaching class” in school. He started teaching the year he passed out of school and so only the batch he taught were his students. Everyone else in college were just his friends. A belief he stuck to till the very end. As expected for some one his age and based on how he completed his 5 years in architecture, his careless approach towards authority and zeal towards design, especially NASA was infections at times. By sitting on the faculty table [ the proverbial fence ] instead of behind it in class he tried to somewhat blur that line that separates student from teacher.
This brave effort however came to an sudden halt the Monday before last. When a student in Architectural Design class walked up to him with a blank tracing sheet after wasting time doing nothing in class all day, Indrajit completely lost it. Reacting in what is still considered his most unexpected behaviour and before he even knew it, the words had left his mouth. A tirade on how inconsiderate, irresponsible and disrespectful it was on the part of the student to not only have not worked on design in class all day, but also to not have the decency to at least write your own name on a tracing sheet when you bring it to the faculty.
As he realized what had just happened he stopped abruptly and fell silent, the look of shock and disappointment in himself on his face clearly visible. One could only hear the faint echo of his voice but it came not from the dead silent class but the sudden sad emptiness of Indrajit’s own heart.
He has since been replaced by, Indrajit Satbhai another young faculty member who continues to teach in his place with the same enthusiasm and juvenile carelessness. Although to equal his predecessor will take some time, the new Indrajit has adapted to his place in class and looks well on his way to become “The faculty that refuses to grow up.”
If you are confused by the last paragraph and cant figure out who I’m talking about, so am I. That’s the point. :P
