The battle over 300
Today I sit before my p.c. hammering my brain for ideas. My blog has led me into the jaws of wolves that disguise themselves under the sweet name of ‘fans’. Their demand for more writings on the blog is about to turn me into a seasoned writer! However, when I opened this blog, I had no idea that it would be such a great success. The credit of my success goes to a person hereafter referred to as ‘One Certain Official (OCO) to whom I also dedicate this article revealing the secret of my success.
As the title suggests, it was the famous battle fought over the post ‘300’ that carved out my literary empire. The warring parties - ‘one certain official’ from ‘one certain department’ of Goa University, pitted against ‘the protector of innocent, defender of the weak, man of ladies, patron of studies, the one and the only, the great, Jay Joshi.
OCO took great trouble to shape my career as a writer and to demonstrate that freedom of expression can be challenged and crushed in a department that teaches values like freedom and liberty to its students.
It so happened that in the article titled 300, I wrote that I found a speech made by OCO, sorry- HOD- demoralizing and devoid of interest. Further on, I wrote that HOD had said that we could be made to stay on Sundays if we did not do our work on time. OCO was disturbed by these ‘serious allegations against a Head of Department’ and called me in his office to ‘give me an opportunity to improve as I was only a student’. The conversation that followed was full of moral content if not interesting.
‘I wanted to talk to you about this blog of yours,’ OCO screamed. His efforts to control his anger were having no effect. ‘You are the owner of this blog?’ I said yes. ‘Are you he author of the content on the blog?’ I said yes. (This guy should be in the police. He’s good at interrogation!) ‘He said that if my remarks were seen by anyone outside the University, people would think that we (Certain Officials) call people hare and demoralize them! When I had joined MA course, my friends had told me that majority of academics and government officials don’t have sense of humor. The guy I was facing was an academic and a govt. official. His words made me wonder whether he had any sense at all.
This judgment of OCO made, I used a trick I always use when my mom gets annoyed. –sing stupid songs in your mind. The first words that came to my mind were “main naa sudhrooongaaa!” (I won’t improve)
“tum jo chaho kaho
jo chaho karo
Main naa badloongaaa!
Main naa sudhroongaaa!
(Say what you want, do what you want, I won’t change; I won’t improve!)
When I recovered from trance, I told him that I had no intention to hurt anyone’s feelings; OCO must have misinterpreted the blog. This was oil in fire. During the next few minutes, I cursed myself! What a fool I was! OCO was an accomplished academic. A professor, his intellect and judgment was far superior to me. How could he misunderstand? The fault was all mine!
Even though I later sank into another of my stupid songs-“Yede mooh band kar” (shut your mouth you bas***d) (this song is specially designed for people other than parents) I heard OCO say “written explanation”
A letter did come the next day asking the reasons why I found HOD’s speech demoralizing, it also read “please provide proof that HOD has said “you will be made to stay on Sundays” that demand convinced me that my assessment of OCO senses was more or less correct.
As my poor brain was incapable of replying to such formal letters, a friend wrote the reply for me indicating that OCO might have misinterpreted the blog. The key to what made my blog a success lies here.
Before we wrote our reply, we sent the link to this blog to some respected people including some advocates, noted bloggers, professors and journalists. Not one of them could find any objectionable content in the blog. On the contrary many who saw this blog became my fans. People from Mumbai, Pune, called me up late at night to tell me that they were reading my blog and were impressed. Calls poured in like rain and I had to request some friends to answer them for me and also read and reply to the 'mail-nami' that had flooded my inbox.
(this is how JKR must have gone through when she wrote HP) I heartily thanked OCO for making me into a celebrity overnight!
However if OCO knew his demoralizing speech had reached so many people, he could have had heart attacks from rage. To keep his already fragile ego and to protect him from dying young from hyper-tension and heart attacks, I told him that only two people had read the blog as there were only two comments posted by readers. Even though I wanted to be JKR, I was being made into Slaman Rushdie by OCO (that's what people of my locality call me now)
This did not stop OCO from getting wild. He found that in my letter, I had alleged that OCO had misunderstood! This was serious offence against a university official who had served 15 years in ‘one certain department’ of Goa University.
If the Vice Chancellor of GU heard about his speech being bad, he could be questioned!! So he wanted another unconditional apology. He said he had worked with the press and so knew how responsible writing was to be done (press, so that’s where he learnt to harass people with stupid and unending questions)
Further on he had discovered that I was a proud and arrogant student. If that was the case, I thought I would better leave the University otherwise my irresponsible writing on the blog combined with my newly discovered qualities of conduct, would make life unbearable for him.
After the case of me being pulled up for post on blog went to the press, he must have run down the toilets in GU looking for water to pour on hair of his head burning with rage!
Anyway, I have left the GU and the post titled 300 on my blog remains intact. As far as my MA being spoiled is concerned, why do we all study? To make money of course! I now have eight months to figure out innovative ways of earning cash till the next academic year begins! By that time I might join another certain department of another or if I am fearless enough, Goa University and complete my degree.
As of OCO, some great thoughts comes to my mind when I think of him-“Two things in this world are infinite-the universe and the human stupidity—and I’m not sure about the universe”
I see dumb people everywhere. They don’t even know they are dumb. And some of them become HODs.
As the title suggests, it was the famous battle fought over the post ‘300’ that carved out my literary empire. The warring parties - ‘one certain official’ from ‘one certain department’ of Goa University, pitted against ‘the protector of innocent, defender of the weak, man of ladies, patron of studies, the one and the only, the great, Jay Joshi.
OCO took great trouble to shape my career as a writer and to demonstrate that freedom of expression can be challenged and crushed in a department that teaches values like freedom and liberty to its students.
It so happened that in the article titled 300, I wrote that I found a speech made by OCO, sorry- HOD- demoralizing and devoid of interest. Further on, I wrote that HOD had said that we could be made to stay on Sundays if we did not do our work on time. OCO was disturbed by these ‘serious allegations against a Head of Department’ and called me in his office to ‘give me an opportunity to improve as I was only a student’. The conversation that followed was full of moral content if not interesting.
‘I wanted to talk to you about this blog of yours,’ OCO screamed. His efforts to control his anger were having no effect. ‘You are the owner of this blog?’ I said yes. ‘Are you he author of the content on the blog?’ I said yes. (This guy should be in the police. He’s good at interrogation!) ‘He said that if my remarks were seen by anyone outside the University, people would think that we (Certain Officials) call people hare and demoralize them! When I had joined MA course, my friends had told me that majority of academics and government officials don’t have sense of humor. The guy I was facing was an academic and a govt. official. His words made me wonder whether he had any sense at all.
This judgment of OCO made, I used a trick I always use when my mom gets annoyed. –sing stupid songs in your mind. The first words that came to my mind were “main naa sudhrooongaaa!” (I won’t improve)
“tum jo chaho kaho
jo chaho karo
Main naa badloongaaa!
Main naa sudhroongaaa!
(Say what you want, do what you want, I won’t change; I won’t improve!)
When I recovered from trance, I told him that I had no intention to hurt anyone’s feelings; OCO must have misinterpreted the blog. This was oil in fire. During the next few minutes, I cursed myself! What a fool I was! OCO was an accomplished academic. A professor, his intellect and judgment was far superior to me. How could he misunderstand? The fault was all mine!
Even though I later sank into another of my stupid songs-“Yede mooh band kar” (shut your mouth you bas***d) (this song is specially designed for people other than parents) I heard OCO say “written explanation”
A letter did come the next day asking the reasons why I found HOD’s speech demoralizing, it also read “please provide proof that HOD has said “you will be made to stay on Sundays” that demand convinced me that my assessment of OCO senses was more or less correct.
As my poor brain was incapable of replying to such formal letters, a friend wrote the reply for me indicating that OCO might have misinterpreted the blog. The key to what made my blog a success lies here.
Before we wrote our reply, we sent the link to this blog to some respected people including some advocates, noted bloggers, professors and journalists. Not one of them could find any objectionable content in the blog. On the contrary many who saw this blog became my fans. People from Mumbai, Pune, called me up late at night to tell me that they were reading my blog and were impressed. Calls poured in like rain and I had to request some friends to answer them for me and also read and reply to the 'mail-nami' that had flooded my inbox.
(this is how JKR must have gone through when she wrote HP) I heartily thanked OCO for making me into a celebrity overnight!
However if OCO knew his demoralizing speech had reached so many people, he could have had heart attacks from rage. To keep his already fragile ego and to protect him from dying young from hyper-tension and heart attacks, I told him that only two people had read the blog as there were only two comments posted by readers. Even though I wanted to be JKR, I was being made into Slaman Rushdie by OCO (that's what people of my locality call me now)
This did not stop OCO from getting wild. He found that in my letter, I had alleged that OCO had misunderstood! This was serious offence against a university official who had served 15 years in ‘one certain department’ of Goa University.
If the Vice Chancellor of GU heard about his speech being bad, he could be questioned!! So he wanted another unconditional apology. He said he had worked with the press and so knew how responsible writing was to be done (press, so that’s where he learnt to harass people with stupid and unending questions)
Further on he had discovered that I was a proud and arrogant student. If that was the case, I thought I would better leave the University otherwise my irresponsible writing on the blog combined with my newly discovered qualities of conduct, would make life unbearable for him.
After the case of me being pulled up for post on blog went to the press, he must have run down the toilets in GU looking for water to pour on hair of his head burning with rage!
Anyway, I have left the GU and the post titled 300 on my blog remains intact. As far as my MA being spoiled is concerned, why do we all study? To make money of course! I now have eight months to figure out innovative ways of earning cash till the next academic year begins! By that time I might join another certain department of another or if I am fearless enough, Goa University and complete my degree.
As of OCO, some great thoughts comes to my mind when I think of him-“Two things in this world are infinite-the universe and the human stupidity—and I’m not sure about the universe”
I see dumb people everywhere. They don’t even know they are dumb. And some of them become HODs.
Your have typed something that is awesome ........too good like simply great....I mean you understand ,my feeling right!
ReplyDeleteJay Ho! Jay Ho!
Great work lot of muck in Goa University will be posting you more clue in the days to come.
ReplyDeleteChao
Great......
ReplyDeletenot some of them, but most of them become HODs