It was bone-chilling cold on a foggy winter night in January 1974. It was my first night at the hostel of Punjab Public School, Nabha. A few hours back my parents had left me with a heavy heart as a fresh inductee in Class 5th who had just seen eight summers. It was well past midnight and I was struggling to catch my sleep under the two blankets on a new bed. Quilt was a big ‘No-No’ in our junior school. Low-height beds had been very thoughtfully designed for us young ones meant to soften our fall just in case we roll down from our beds. I slowly crept into my dream world and was fast asleep. Soon, I was rudely woken up by a thud. I had fallen from the bed. Simultaneously, I saw a lady with a lantern dressed all in spotless white quietly entering our dormitory.
I was petrified and kept lying on the floor with my eyes tightly closed. The very next moment I was picked up by her who nicely tucked me up in the bed with blankets all around. This was Miss Gopi Bala Malkani, our headmistress of the Junior School. Within the first month, I discovered that though she always wore a stern look, she was very kind at heart. I never found her hitting or scolding anyone.
However, all the defaulters caught by her had to undergo a very unique punishment. That penalty was to sit in front of her suite which had comfortable chairs lined with several bookshelves loaded with the latest books. The defaulter was supposed to read those books on a Saturday evening or Sunday morning while his classmates went to watch a movie at Senior School or were playing. The incorrigible rogues like me who never completed their homework in time had something worse in store for them. That was to trail Miss Malkani wherever she walked in the school while reading out aloud from the book. I realized quite late in life that the credit for my becoming a voracious reader and a freelance writer goes to Miss Malkani. Not only did she improve my English manifold but she also ingrained in me lifelong habits of personal hygiene. I clearly remember how we all stood in a long queue daily just before ‘Lights Out’ at 10-30 pm for her inspection.
We were supposed to show our trimmed nails and washed handkerchiefs, socks, vests and underwear. She always insisted that after washing, we should always squeeze the clothes to get the excess water out before hanging up to dry and never wrung. She explained that the elasticity would last longer. She was equally particular that we turn our mattresses each day before making our beds so that they are aired on each side.
One day I wondered, where I picked up the habit of cleaning my plate and the eating utensils with a napkin each time I sit on the table. She also painstakingly taught us to chew every bite twenty-four times before swallowing it. It was none else but Miss Malkani who travelled an extra mile to teach us these basic things of life. Hundreds of young boys from rural backgrounds from far-flung corners of Punjab passed through her caring hands not knowing a word of English. They mastered the subject within two years of her masterful tutelage. Simple things of life taught by her have left an indelible impression. All students of PPS join me in giving the most respectful salute to this ‘Mother Teresa of Punjab that we know of.
He commanded 15 Punjab in Lebanon under the UN flag in 2006 and was picked up to command the Assam Rifles Sector as DIG in the most sensitive sector of Churachandpur in Manipur. For his outstanding command in Manipur, he was selected as ‘Brigadier Operational Logistics’ for the entire Western Command in 2015.
Brig. Advitya Madan
