Blog # 5 Dated: 21 April 2022 (See Blog # 74 for details contained in this Blog)

 Dear Follower,

Hello Jee. Have you noticed that I am calling you a Follower now instead of Reader. It is so because you are reading me and following me. My blog has caused some of you to contact me to offer your valuable comments. No suggestions yet to improve my blog. But one or two of you made remarks similar to myself being called racist because they felt that I was mean to teachers in my blog. I maintain that I have truly reflected the state of teachers and methods of teaching as it existed in government schools in 1950's and 1960's. there in Srinagar Kashmir those days. ( there is no reason to believe that in earlier years the situation must have been  different.) I did not tell you how they would discipline us. Now read about that.

I had forgotten to say that there used to be an accessory - call it a teaching aid or discipline gadget. It was a stick which would be used frequently in the class. I am listing down the other discipline methods adopted by these teachers.

1. We were made to become a "murga". In this the child was asked to squat with no part of the body touching the ground. The the two arms had to be routed under the legs/knee and to hold our two ears with our fingers. We had to remain in this pose for average of ten to fifteen minutes. Since this was painful, we would try straightening up. One gaze from the teacher with the stick in the hand in a threatening posture would cause us to resume becoming a murga. (I wonder whether this was similar to Mayur pose in Yoga?) If a child would repeat trying to escape the ordeal, the teacher would put his bag of books on his back while he would be in the "murga" posture. This punishment was usually carried out if the homework was not done or some other serious reason. On occasions, we would find as many as ten or more children in this pose in a classroom simultaneously.

2.  Then there was "utha bethi" punishment. It was less harsh. In this we were to stand up, hold up our ears with two hands/fingers, then do sit ups counting to fifty or hundred or more depending upon the severity of the crime committed. One boy, the monitor of the class would do the counting in case we would count slowly.    

3. Facing the wall after standing up on the bench at the back end of the classroom. The punishment would last almost half an hour. This punishment would get awarded for repeated mischief in the class and disturbing the  teacher.

4. Then there would be punishment by striking / lashing on both the hands by the teacher using the stick. In some cases, the teacher would make some sturdy boy stand up. Then he would make the errant boy to hang on the back of the first boy. the errant boy would hold with his hands the neck of the first boy. The feet would be in the air. The teacher would then come and repeatedly lash his bum hard. The errant boy would shout  "maajei, maajei" every time the stick would fall on him. Then he would surrender and tell the teacher in a very pathetic tone and speech that he would never do the wrong thing again. (I have watched this so many times but I do not remember myself ever been one at the receiving end.)

5. Some teachers would make us put our fingers together for each hand and make us point them upwards. Then he would use a flat wooden piece to hit at the fingers tips. A painful punishment. Have tasted it. Sometimes they would lash the soles of the errant student. (Here some other boy would be asked to hold the feet of the boy into the position)

6. A time came when there was pressure on the teachers to abandon the stick. The teachers found another method of torture. They would keep three pencils or small sticks in between the fingers. Then they would press the tender hand of the child. The child would cry and seek forgiveness. Yes I have tasted this punishment also.   

Will you still feel that I am a type of Racist???

Hope the above is not giving ideas to any follower to try these methods on their children at home. Times have changed. If you try them that there is a chance that your child would report it to the police and you would be in jail. I am reminded here about a story I read. There was a pakistani family living in USA. They had a teenage son. He would do lot of mischief. His father would get angry and would threaten to beat him. On each occasion the boy would threaten back and say that he would call 911 and report the matter to police. This went on for some time, each not carrying out the threat. But one day the boy did something and the father thrashed him. The boy called police who came immediately. The father was reprimanded. He promised never to repeat his behaviour towards his son. He kept his promise. The son continued his wayward attitude. About a year after that the family had to return to Pakistan to attend a family marriage function. As soon as they arrived at the Pakistan airport, the father give a hard slap on the face of his son and chided him to call police. A crowd gathered around the family and questioned the father. The father replied that his son had made his life miserable and recounted USA stories. Everyone sympathized with him there.  As it was time to return, the father took an undertaking from his son that he would behave better otherwise, he would have to stay back in Pakistan. The boy weighed the two options and agreed to return back and behave.  

Ok, that is enough for today. Follow me again tomorrow. You must have noticed that I have been posting a new blog every day and hopefully, I shall continue for quite some time. I have lot of stories to unload from my memory.