Down the memory lane - III

The JC Encounters

Nitin's cousin Varun was visitng us this weekend, and yesterday he suggested that we go for a late night movie show. So I reminded him that he has the luxury of sleeping in a class, while we have to go to office and work (well, one can question the work part, but we defnitely no longer have that luxury which we could avail in college).

While a debate on "who sleeps in the class" ensued, I remembered the only time I did fall asleep (and was caught by the teacher, most unfortunately).

Well it was one of the classes of Mr. Jitender Chhabra (usually called JC by us CS students) in my third year of college. JC was not a very experienced teacher - he was hardly a few years senior to us; but he had a passion for teaching and taught well, and was rather strict. For these two reasons, he was liked and hated by an equal proportion of students. I was among the ones who liked him, and (I think) I had a reasonably good impression on him. So, there was this class, scheduled right after lunch. It was quite hot, and after lunch I had an ice-cream, and was feeling somewhat sleepy. I didn't realize when I dozed off; only to wake up JC asking me to repeat whatever he had been teaching. Of course, I couldn't answer, and he ordered me out of the class. It really wasnt a shame to be turned out of the class - happened all the time - in fact, people took that in high spirits. But I was horrified at my first ever experience of being turned out, and that too from JC's class. I met a couple of friends as I exited, and they described my expression at that moment, amidst gales of laughter, later in the hostel. By that time, I was able to laugh at myself, but what I wondered for a long time was, how JC managed to single me out in a class of 60, when I was sitting in the fourth row from front, and wearing specs with photochromatic glasses.