My son, Onok, who is normally called by his pat name Guddu, is in the fifth semester (third year) of English Hons at University BT & Evening College, Cooch Behar. 

 I retired from service on the 30th of April 2023 and I joined Salesian College (Autonomous), Siliguri campus as Professor & Head in the PG Dept of English on the 1st of July 2023 but resigned on the 16th of August 2023. 

 I worked as an ELT resource person mainly for the eastern region for Oxford University Press (OUP) for about seven years where, I had some wonderful experiences, which I will share later. There was a time when there was hardly any work and the honorarium was also not increasing. Then came an offer from Pearson with a better honorarium but the area of work was vastly reduced. It was only the northern part of West Bengal generally known as North Bengal. The offer was also more lucrative as I could work for any other Book House and they would put my credentials on their website for anyone to offer me any assignment. With Oxford, I was not allowed to accept assignments from any other Book House. Then came the COVID pandemic and Pearson could not give me any work for over two years, whereas Oxford gave a lot of online assignments to my erstwhile colleagues. I was elated to receive a call from Oxford in early June this year asking me to rejoin OUP. I was simply elated. There was no saying no. I have already been approached for at least two assignments.

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Inquiry Training Model by Dr Aniruddha Burmon

22/01/2019

University BT & Evening College, Cooch Behar, West Bengal

I joined University BT & Evening College on the 18^th of October 2001 just before the Puja vacation. As the college reopened after the vacation I observed quite a few things that seemed strange. It is obvious that a lot of things will not meet my expectations. One of the many things I observed was a man called Gautam Roy the computer operator used bring a CPU on a rickshaw and take it back after the completion of the work each day. He used to be paid six hundred rupees for his work and another six hundred for the CPU including conveyance charges. He was quite a good operator. There was a Dot Mtrix Printer with the help of which he used complete the accounts and issue us Pay Slips.

On one occasion he invited me and two other colleagues to Sitai where he was starting a Computer Centre in collaboration with the Panchayet Samity. He requested me to take my car along and volunteered to pay me for the fuel expenses. I owned a Maruti Van those days. Before leaving he pushed in three computers in my car.

In the programme that was attended by quite a lot of people I gave my maiden speech in Bengali (that too in West Bengal). After the programme the Computer Centre was inaugurated. Smoke stated coming out of one of the monitors that came with me. The monitor was shut down soon after.

The principal used to keep on telling us that the college owned a number of computers and that University engineers had told him that they can be repaired. Tired of this I took one member of the non-teaching staff and tried looking for the computers. We found three boxes which contained the CPUs. I asked the Principal where the computers were. He simply pleaded ignorance. I argued, ‘Sir you are one who kept on saying that there were some computers’. He repeated his ignorance. I insisted, ‘Sir, you have taken over charge from the previous Teacher-in-Charge.’ He simply repeated his ignorance. Ignorance, they say is bliss! I requested the Principal to get them back but he kept on procrastinating. Ultimately he said that Gautam had written to him that the computers were with him. I wanted to see the letter, which he said he had thrown away. ‘OMG, how could he have spoiled such an important evidence?!’  Then I told him at least to get them back, that to with no effect. Ultimately, Bikash who had joined the office by now volunteered and got back the computers, albeit without one monitor! I remembered that Gautam had taken away three computers and one monitor had caught fire.

 That was towards the end of September 2002 when one day Anadi babu, the Head Assistant entered the chamber of the Principal when I was discussing something with the Principal. Anadi Babu informed him that one lakh rupees had been received from the UGC for the purchase of equipments and the money had to be spent by the 30^th of September. I butted in and asked the Principal to buy computers. Anadi Babu said, ‘We have a different head for computers, this amount is not for computers but for equipments.’ I argued in vain, ‘If computers do not fall under the category of equipments then what will? For B.Ed computers are definitely equipments!’ Anadi Babu of course agreed to look into the list of equipments provided by the University.

It was 28^th of September – Saturday – I was in a hurry to return home. Somehow it was being difficult to dodge the queries of the trainees. At last, as I free and about to rush out of the gates Anadi Babu wanted to talk to me. ‘Let’s talk some other day, Anadida!’ I pleaded, ‘I have to rush home.’ ‘Computers are in the list of equipments. We can buy computers!’ Anadi Babu shouted from behind. Instead of going home straight I reached the computer dealer whom I knew and asked the proprietor Izaz to get three quotations ready (giving back dates of course) in the way that the computers could be delivered by the 30^th! 5% of the total amount was supposed to be used for storage purposes. With the amount left we could get one Pentium 3 machine (Compaq), one Celeron and another CPU only which could used with one of the monitors we possessed.

I was out of station for quite a number of days. Luckily, the principal didn’t receive the computers. After I returned the college got its computers. One computer room was constructed behind the Principal’s chamber covered by dark glass.

No sooner the computers were procured and people started trickling in the first of the comments I heard, ‘Prof Burmon has bought computers but he hasn’t bought any printer!’ As if people could not use computers without printers. As I was not told directly I informed the middle man that there was already a printer in place which was being used by Gautam earlier. It was a Dot Matrix printer though but it was in a working condition. In any case we could buy as much as the funds that were available. The next allegation was, ‘He has bought computers, but hasn’t got an SPSS package! What shall we from Social Science do? Had he bought the computers from Computer World he could have got the package free!’ In the first place a person who was unable to handle computers was bringing these allegations. Secondly, one has to learn using this package in order to use this. And what even I didn’t know was this package cost over a hundred thousand rupees. During my next visit to Shillong I procured a demo version. I could hardly use it as I didn’t have any knowledge of Statistics. I never found anyone from Social Sciences use it either. The person or persons who were bringing these allegations are still not very conversant with computers even after some fifteen years.

I thought if I could attract the Group C and D employees we shall be able to use them later in life. And the easiest method to motivate them was to make them play games. In fact, most of them could hardly do any better than this. Again the same group was against this idea and informed the Principal. Even the principal thought that the computers would be damaged if people played games. So the project had to be shelved ultimately.

I started teaching three of my colleagues. They seemed quite happy too. But again the same group became vocal. ‘Why should U---- babu enter the computer room?’!!! Another person was lost.

Life in St Edmund’s College, Shillong

Serene surroundings with beautiful Assam type building and quite a number of gardens surrounded by hedges marked St. Edmund’s College. On the other side was the famous St. Edmund’s School.

What made St. Edmund’s unique was the Principal himself used to mow the grass and trim the hedges. He used to type the notice himself and nail it on to the Notice Board himself. He used to ring the bell himself. Right after ringing the bell and rush off to check all the classes with the routine of the whole college glued to the cover page of ‘practical note books’ with a swish of the cassock. We watched the same characteristics with Bro Shannon when he took over as the Principal. Of course Bro Vieyra was always followed by two huge dogs, which used to be there inside the classroom too. Both Bro Vieyra and Bro Shannon were idols to be emulated. As was their wont they used to mow the grass in the gardens as well as the playgrounds. It was a normal sight to find them trimming the hedges around the gardens. The Principal was always busy. Whenever he was served tea he would let the tea get cold, finish it in one gulp and resume his work. We had to address the brothers (our teachers) as ‘sir’, as is the tradition in India to address teachers.

The Principal, Bro R.B. Vieyra used to teach us both English and Chemistry. Prof Purnendu Bhattacharjee, Prof Dulal Bhattacharjee and Bro M.G. Shannon (Vice-Principal) used to teach us Physics, Prof Banamali Das Purkayastha Chemistry, Prof Mithila BHattacharjee English, Dr Dilip Lahiri Bengali, Prof R.B. Gurung, Prof Dinendu Bhattacharjee and another professor were in charge of Biology, Prof Jayanta Lahiri and Prof Biswas Mathematics.

We had a Games Secretary who was from Singapore. The time in his watch showed Singapore time. Whenever anyone wanted to know the time he would look at his watch, calculate & find out the time in India and tell! There was a recess everyday from 12.15 pm to 12.30 pm. On one occasion he called for a meeting during the recess. We had to assemble near the Notice Board. The Principal arrived and the Games Secretary started his speech. He said, ‘Last year we won the inter-college Badminton championship but there was hardly anyone to clap for us. Though St. Anthony’s College lost to us in the finals but nearly the whole stadium was clapping for them. For us, the prize was big but the path was narrow but for St. Anthony’s the prize was small but the path was big.’ The principal said, ‘The place where I was brought up people make you mad for games. Earlier a whole week was marked as College Week but no one used to turn up. Now, first half of everyday during College Week was devoted to studies. The second half was for games and sports. But sadly students leave the college after the first half. A dead person has not interested in anything. As you are not in anything you are also dead. Everybody may not play but there should be someone to cheer. I would like to see everyone in the field this time during Inter-College sports.’ These speeches had tremendous effect on us. During the next Inter-College Sports we found students of St. Edmund’s everywhere. We won most of the games and in most others we became runners up. St. Edmund’s was adjudged the overall champions. Then there was no looking back.

19/01/2019

I was a student of B.Sc then. One of my classmates wanted to bunk classes. There were three exit points – one towards the back which led to a market place in a place called Laitumkhrah, another towards the main gate and the other leading towards New Hostel and beyond, this again forked out near the Squash court towards BT hostel. He was possibly trying to take the third option and was in the narrow lane by the side of the Principal’s office. Bro Shannon, the then principal, rang the bell and started rushing towards the Library building which also housed a few classrooms and the physics laboratory. And very naturally they met face to face. The principal blurted, ‘Where are you going?’ ‘Biology lab, sir, I have a Zoology class, sir’, came the prompt reply. ‘You are from 1^st year B.Sc, isn’t it?’ (He had an uncanny knowledge of knowing every student by name and class.) Bro Shannon brought out the routine from under his armpit and checked the B.Sc 1^st year routine. ‘You have Chemistry. Why did you say, Zoology?’ He held my friend by the neck and took him to the Chemistry class. Chemistry class was housed in the Assam typed building, which also housed the Chemistry laboratory. ‘Sir, please take him in.’ Bro Shannon asked the teacher.

On another occasion, Bro Shannon was making his rounds after ringing the bell. He didn’t find a teacher in one of the classes. On query it was found that it was Prof Hassan Yousuf’s class, who took history. Prof Hassan Yousuf was the person who had defeated first Indian Chess Master Manual Aaron, when the latter had come to Shillong and played with some ten players at the same time. He used to be normally found in the teachers’ canteen (which was behind ours) and playing chess. Bro Shannon went to the Staff room collected the attendance register of students, a duster and a few pieces of chalk and went to the teachers’ canteen. Very quietly, keeping the collectibles on the table where Prof Yousuf was engrossed in his game, very politely said, ‘Sir, I thought you had a class!’ Prof Hassan was not seen anywhere near by the next second.

Prof Aga Ahmed of the Department of Economics was always late and naturally students wouldn’t wait very long. They didn’t have the courage of staying outside the class for long too. They would disappear fast! Not seeing the students Prof Aga Ahmed would leave. Bro Shannon had been watching this for quite sometime. One day, he picked up his lawn mower and started mowing the grass in the garden facing the class. It was the wont of all the Principals of or college to mow the grass whether in gardens or the football fields and trim the hedges. Prof Ahmed was late and seeing the Principal around most of the students disappeared. Prof Aga Ahmed came and not seeing the students in the classroom tried to leave. To everyone’s surprise Bro Shannon sprang from almost nowhere and catching the Prof by the waist and thrust him inside the class saying, ‘Not this time sir!’ Prof Ahmed never ever missed a class.

Pre-University or present day Higher Secondary (or +2 stage after class X) was taught in colleges those days and all the top ten positions in the University merit list in Pre-University (Science) was ‘reserved’ for students of St. Edmund’s. Only on the rarest of rare occasions one position went to some other college. Getting results was very difficult those. People had to visit the Telephone Exchange to get their results. Two boys went to meet the Principal and inform him of their results. ‘Sir, I have stood second and he has secured the fourth position in the merit panel’. Bro Shannon punched in their tummies and the poor boys fell down, hurt they were physically but more confused thinking what better result they could have brought! The principal picked them and apologized saying, ‘I was so happy that out of my happiness I punched you!’ What a principal! The rapport was never to be broken in their lifetime.

After my masters I joined a college in Nagaland. Somehow, whenever I met him after, he used to shout taking off his cap with his left hand and extending his right hand for a warm handshake, ‘Hey, you from Mizoram!’ Every time I had to correct him saying, ‘Sorry, sir, I work in Nagaland and not Mizoram!’ But he would repeat the same mistake over and over again!

Bro Shannon as a teacher of Physics volunteered to show us the cathode ray experiment, which is never shown in any college I was told.