Nurungukal....contd...

                I was conscious of the changes happening in me. In school I was timid and an introvert. But now a sort of resistance towards the established system of the society was emerging. A few years later when I was bestowed upon with responsibilities in life I realised the reasons for the change in my personality during college days. The first one was that I was snatched out of my intimate bond with nature and a society which provided a motherly intimacy. The second was that I was left alone to take decisions. The third and the most important one was an urge to be a hero to stand out from the crowd. Many a time I was drawn into controversies. On one occasion the wrath of a professor fell on me. The allegation was that I threw a contemptuous glance at him. When the Principal asked for an explanation from me I politely sought the meaning of the word ‘contemptuous’. He said that when I looked at the professor my eyes reflected high degree of my contempt towards the professor !!. But surprisingly this professor was not in any way connected to me. He was the head of a different department. I pleaded innocence, but in vain. The result was that I was suspended from attending class for a week. This triggered a resistance from the students and they launched a protest campaign. It was during the state wide revolt organised by the opposition against the ruling party. Naturally many wanted me to stand by them to intensify the strike in our college. My father was summoned by the principal. But he was a man of principles. He wanted the principal to amicably settle the issue instead of taking it to the streets.  In the conciliation meeting I explained that there was no intention of contempt, but if any body is offended I felt sorry for that. This was taken as my apology and the suspension was withdrawn. Since then I used to walk with a broad smile on my face, especially when a teacher was passing by!.