शर्मनाक क्षण.

It was December 1968. I was reading in class nine in TNHE School Kaluahi. Mahendra was in class five in Karmauli Middle School. Kripa was also with him. The block level examination was held in the Khajauli Middle School, to select better students for district level examination. I taught Mahendra too much for the test. Though he was not so brilliant, test time preparation made him capable to understand the questions. Fresh preparation caused his success in the block. Kripa could not succeed. District level test was to be held at district headquarter Darbhanga. The venue was Zila School Darbhanga. Many intelligent students of different blocks appeared in the test. I took a room in a roadside hut on the western chauraha of DMCH. That hut belonged to the breakfast hotel owner, which was in the front portion. The room was in the backside. My room was in the southern portion. There was another room also in the northern side. In that room two other students stayed. I had brought rice, pulse, beaten rice and all necessary things from home. The only problem was to cook food. The hotel owner cooked food and I paid for the same. We took bath on the roadside PHED tap. The toilet was backside big mango orchard. Hundreds of men, women and children gathered there with water-pot in the hand in the morning and evening. Among them majority were of rickshaw-pullers, hawkers, beggars and outside new comers like us. There was a single cot in the room. I had brought one blanket and one bed sheet. One teacher was sent from the school to see the student. I was ignorant about the teacher. The very first day I saw him in the Zila School. I am forgetting his name but he was from village Bengra. I didn’t think that he had reached for my shake. When we started from there he came with us in the hut. He took dinner with us and stayed with us. In the morning, he gave me a bill of Rs five of bus and rickshaw fair. I refused to pay the same. He became annoyed and at-once became ready to leave the place in angry mood. I said him about scarcity and promised to pay later. Initially I was pleased about his presence. I thought he would guide Mahendra. But he was useless. The whole day he was wandering hither and thither. He visited cinema daily. He came to us only at the time of taking meals and to sleep at night. It was winter of December. I had only one blanket, which was insufficient for three persons. Moreover, he was a guest who was eligible to have major share of it. The purpose for which he was sent was not fulfilled, rather he proved himself a burden. Furthermore, he was a very low quality person. Once I heard him talking with his friend. He was talking very cheaply using vulgar words, which is generally not expected from a teacher.
The test was to be taken for one week. One day I was sitting in the field, which was in the backside of the examination hall. Perhaps the test subject was mathematics. One student brought the question in the field. I also became tempted. I solved the questions, went to the window and called Mahendra. He was not expecting the help, so he heard my voice after a good time. I totally forgot what I was doing. It was illegal which was to be done hurriedly. Two senior students came silently and caught me. They took me before a teacher who was taking class under a tree in the field. The teacher shouted on me and slapped me strongly. I was very ashamed and returned with a heavy mind. I promised not to repeat the work in future.