The principal was patrolling the middle school corridors, his hands interlocked behind his back, when the peon waylaid him. 바카라Sir, Mr. Mendonca is waiting for you in your office.바카라
A frown marred the principal바카라s mature forehead. 바카라Does Mr. Mendonca have an appointment?바카라
바카라Yes, sir.
바카라Well then, serve him tea. I바카라m coming in a few minutes.바카라
The peon shuffled his feet.
The principal delinked his fingers and waved him off. 바카라Come now, Biharilal! Go do your work! What happened? Mr. Mendonca is not going to bite you!바카라
Biharilal seemed to brightened at this suggestion. 바카라No sir, but his companion might.바카라
바카라His what?바카라
The principal abandoned his invigilation and hurried alongside the peon to his chambers.
At the threshold, he stopped. The picture before him brought to mind a postcard, the kind one of his animal-lover friends 바카라 no, his 바카라pet-parent바카라 friends 바카라 might have dispatched from merry vacations.
Both the occupants of the chairs sat still, facing his desk in silence, their backs to him. He imagined their eyes glazed over, as they regarded the portrait of Rabindranath Tagore adorning the wall.
Mr. Mendonca had adhered to his regulation outfit of khaki shorts and matching shirt.
Next to him, perched on a throne all of its own 바카라 a Golden Retriever, its furry tail brushing one leg of the chair.
The principal set a cautious foot inside his threadbare office.
Mr. Mendonca turned around. 바카라Ah, Principal sahib! I hope I didn바카라t disturb your busy day.바카라
The principal lumbered to his desk from Mr. Mendonca바카라s side, anxious to maintain more than an arm바카라s length from the giant canine.
바카라Not at all, Mr. Mendonca. Who is your friend?바카라
바카라This,바카라 he said, motioning to his companion with a grand flourish, 바카라is Thomas Mendonca.바카라
바카라Ah, I see,바카라 the principal said, though he didn바카라t.
바카라You must be thinking 바카라 what is a dog doing here?바카라
바카라The thought had occurred to me, yes.바카라
바카라I have decided to enroll Thomas in school.바카라
The principal바카라s taut shoulders relaxed. 바카라That is admirable. There are several good training institutes for dogs, perfectly excellent trainers who 바카라바카라
바카라No, no, Principal sahib, I am talking about your school 바카라 The Central Public School. It is the best as far as I am concerned.바카라
바카라You want your dog to attend a children바카라s school?바카라
Mr. Mendonca tapped his index finger on the table. 바카라Technically, he바카라s a child.바카라
바카라What?바카라
바카라He is just the same as any third or fourth grader in your school.바카라
바카라Mr. Mendonca, I cannot grant him admission. You must be well aware of what you are asking here.바카라
바카라Why not? Under the RTE Right to Education Act, you must grant permission to children of varying backgrounds and financial condition.바카라
바카라But Mr. Mendonca, you are talking of a different species itself!바카라
바카라Why not? What is the problem? He is a perfectly docile animal. Observe, he just sits still and watches us talk. He will not interject until asked to.바카라
The principal regarded the hound. He could not deny the truth of Mr. Mendonca바카라s statement. The dog 바카라 Thomas 바카라 reposed on the chair, his tongue hanging out, his liquid brown eyes fastened on the principal.
바카라Already he is well-trained, and who knows, with the education this school offers, he may turn out a canine prodigy!바카라
The principal shook his head. 바카라I am sorry but I must refuse. There is absolutely no guarantee when he might snap and start barking at students or even biting them.바카라
바카라This is an outrage, Mr. Principal. You cannot deny admission to a prospective student without any grounds.바카라
바카라I have perfectly logical grounds!바카라
바카라Such a flimsy pretext will get thrown out by a court in minutes! I will file a case instantly. Just you watch!바카라
Mr. Mendonca stormed out, Thomas tagging along at his heel. Biharilal, poised near the door, jumped aside to dodge the swish of the tail.
The peon must have been loitering there for some time, the principal gathered, without offering the tea and refreshments he always set before guests. On this occasion, the principal could not scold him for the omission. Biharilal had not found a chance to offer beverages, and even a warm cup of masala chai might have done little to restore Mr. Mendonca to his senses.
바카라What do you think, Biharilal?바카라
바카라About what, sahib?바카라
He observed the peon바카라s hangdog expression and decided against it.
바카라Never mind. Fetch me some tea, please, Biharilal.바카라
#
The legal notification arrived in a brown formal envelope. Somewhere on the first page in the sea of letters and legalese, he glimpsed the name 바카라Mendonca바카라.
He called the chairman of the board, who assigned Barrister Sengupta to represent the school.
The lawyer filed the necessary injunctions and warned him to prepare himself for a day in court, should the case ever make it that far. The principal accepted with some trepidation. Surely the court would not hear such a preposterous motion. When even human schoolchildren did not receive the necessary education, it was ridiculous to expect man바카라s best friend to swoop into their place and filch it from under their very nose. And why stop there? Why not grant education rights to every species? Why not shepherd every variety of lizard, whale, hawk into a classroom, and force them to recite times tables like everyone else did in school? Why should other animals get by with acquiring only survival skills while humans alone suffered the whole gamut of subjects?
Despite the Principal바카라s sound logic and sense, he found himself in a few months plonked down in the front row of the courtroom, before a scowling judge. The whole atmosphere threw him back to when he was eight years old, and had been summoned to the headmaster바카라s office. He had received a stern dressing down in his father바카라s presence. The present situation rung eerily familiar. It was a regular civil court, but sitting there beside his lawyer, he felt like a common criminal.
Mr. Mendonca and his furry friend sat across the aisle. Thomas Mendonca occupied a chair with his tail sweeping the floor as he wagged it in apparent glee. His owner directed a sideways glance of annoyance at the principal.
A policeman standing a few feet ahead of him ensured order in the courtroom. The lawyers for both sides made their arguments. Barrister Sengupta delivered a passionate speech 바카라 the RTE was clearly worded as to grant right of education to 바카라children바카라 who were underprivileged. Children, in accordance with dictionary definition, meant human beings.
The prosecuting lawyer stated the definition was open to interpretation. It was ambiguous. Barrister Sengupta objected, and declared it an outrage 바카라 the definition was quite clear. The judge thought otherwise, and eventually placed the onus on the school to prove why they could not provide education to the dog.
This should have pleased Mr. Mendonca, but the principal saw him lean over to his lawyer and whisper something into his ear. The lawyer then rose to his feet, and his next words chilled the principal바카라s heart:
바카라Until then, your honour, we request that a temporary injunction be granted so that the dog can begin attending classes. We can view this as a trial period.바카라
The judge nodded. 바카라Excellent idea! There is too much intolerance these days. These cross-species integrations will only increase our unity in diversity.바카라
The judge바카라s pounding of the gravel echoed the thudding in the principal바카라s chest.
#
Mr. Trivedi stood at the head of the class, staring in wonder at the bizarre mix of students in his classroom. Tall, short, sweaty, thin, stinky, plump and bushy-tailed.
In all the years he had toiled to achieve his Bachelor바카라s degree in Education, he had never received instruction in the art of tutoring furry students. He had had to blink several times to absorb the sight of the front row, where a special chair replaced the usual bench. The dog sat upright on the chair, watching Mr. Trivedi with an apparent air of anticipation. His minder stood by him, bearing the same sheepish grin as his charge.
Even though the children were only in second grade and learning basic arithmetic, he did not believe his new student could withstand the stress.
On Thomas바카라 first day in class, the students hurried to stroke its muzzle and pat its fur.
The leash around his neck and the minder accompanying him bolstered their confidence, and they did not run away screaming as Mr. Trivedi believed they would.
They called him Thomas, as instructed, for he did not respond to Tom or Tommy or any other condescending variation of his name.
The children recited their times tables, and the dog joined in with his rhythmic growls, short sharp, staccato barks in tune with the chanting of 바카라Two twos are four, two threes
are six.바카라
The principal stopped by.
바카라How is it going, Mr. Trivedi?바카라
The principal바카라s moustache was drooping, his face had aged ten years. Mr. Trivedi had shared with his colleagues, in the privacy of the staff room, that their headmaster now resembled Atlas, the weight of the world pressing down on his shoulders.
바카라What can I say, sir? We바카라re doing our best.바카라
The chant of the times tables rent the air. The principal and the teacher beheld their charges, both the human and non-human ones, as they attempted to imprint basic arithmetic into their memory.
#
Mr. Mendonca dropped in one day when Mr. Trivedi was teaching.
바카라How is he doing, Mr. Trivedi?바카라
The teacher grew morose. How could he answer this question? How could he articulate that the dog, well-intentioned though he (not 바카라it바카라) might be, could not pronounce times tables or even answer two plus two? Thomas might have well have been saying four, but his bark proved inscrutable, and Mr. Trivedi found himself incapable of translating it.
바카라Uh, not bad, Mr. Mendonca.바카라
The owner latched on to these words as high praise. 바카라Oh, that proves it! He is such a smart boy! Aren바카라t you, my lad?바카라
He tickled his ward behind the ears.
바카라Mr. Trivedi!바카라 A voice boomed. 바카라Where can I find the principal?바카라
Mr. Sharma stood outside the class, his hands on his hips. His sudden appearance surprised Mr. Trivedi, for Mr. Sharma stayed in the shadows mostly. He had, like most fathers, relinquished the control of his children바카라s academics to his wife, and had scarcely stepped inside the premises of the school.
Mr. Trivedi said, 바카라He must be in his office.바카라
바카라He is not! I need to find him instantly, and complain about that infernal monster!바카라
He had spotted the dog, and thrust a quivering finger in the brute바카라s direction.
As Mr. Trivedi feared, Mr. Mendonca took umbrage.
바카라That monster, as you call him, is my child, Mister!바카라 Mr. Mendonca raised an equally vicious set of pudgy fingers and wagged them in Mr. Sharma바카라s face. Mr. Trivedi quickly intervened. 바카라Let us all calm down and go find the principal.바카라
바카라Your child? Have you lost your mind? Has your wife has borne this monster in her stomach for nine months? Have you ever stayed up all night to feed this hungry pup? How dare you compare our loving little packages of mush to this animal? See how he bares his teeth and growls!바카라
Mr. Trivedi beckoned the peon urgently. 바카라Biharilal! Fetch the principal, please, and the watchman too!바카라
바카라He is not a hulking animal! I have a court order that grants him permission to attend classes.바카라
The dog began barking. The children seized their cue and soon, little whimpers and whines broke out throughout the room.
바카라I will get your court order and your stupid dog thrown out, you rascal!바카라
The next few minutes, Mr. Trivedi later said, had blanked out in his memory. In truth, he chose not to remember it. Each time he relived the sequence of events, the trauma arose fresh in his chest.
Mr. Sharma lunged at Mr. Mendonca, and the dog, correctly interpreting this as a sign of aggression, leapt at Mr. Sharma.
The ensuing kerfuffle drowned out a small but significant gasp. The dog pawed Mr. Sharma, while Mr. Mendonca and his helper tried in vain to pry him off.
One of the children yelled above the din. 바카라Sir! Jitesh has fainted!바카라
Mr. Trivedi rushed to the spot. The boy lay still on the floor, his lips blue and his face ashen.
The Principal and Biharilal arrived by then.
바카라Biharilal, take him to the nurse.바카라
#
The retreating monsoons had done their job and left the land cleansed and wet. The sky had cleared, and the sun had broken through the clouds, shining down upon the inhabitants of The Central Public School.
An air of calmness reigned in Mr. Trivedi바카라s class when the principal stopped by.
바카라How is it going?바카라
Mr. Trivedi glanced up from his desk, bent over a stack of notebooks he still had to review.
바카라Very well, Principal Sir.바카라
바카라What news of Jitesh?바카라
바카라He has recovered well. Have you calmed Mr. Sharma down?바카라
바카라He promises to not file a police case against the school. Have you heard from바카라?바카라
바카라Mr. Mendonca? Oh yes, sir, I chat with him on WhatsApp. He lives in Switzerland these days. They have opened the world바카라s first interspecies school there. Thomas is progressing excellently.바카라
바카라Amazing! The Swiss are capable of anything, I tell you!바카라
Suddenly the silence struck him. 바카라Why are the children so quiet?바카라
바카라I have set them a composition to do.바카라
바카라Excellent. What바카라s the topic?바카라
바카라My favourite pet.바카라
