Shala by Milind Bokil

this?’ her voice held a sharp edge now. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck rise.
    Some of the girls murmured amongst themselves. No one dared glance at me. The boys on the first bench are in any case meek and would not have dared turn around. It had happened once. Someone had made the mistake once of turning around to look at Surya, and Surya had taught him a lesson he never forgot.
    ‘Okay, so you guys are not going to volunteer so easily,’ she said, pursing her lips. Her anger was about to explode.
    ‘Get your ruler here,’ she said, pointing at Bibikar and, before he could step forward, she came to his desk and picked up the wooden ruler.
    ‘So are you going to tell me or not?’ she asked, tapping the ruler in her other palm.
    The discomfort in the class was evident. My palms were sweating. No one likes Bendre ma’am. The memory of her rude behaviour with Shirodkar was fresh in everyone’s minds. No one was going to speak out despite her warning. But the threat seemed real. Her ruler moved menacingly. No one had the nerve to bear the brunt of her lashings for the sake of protecting someone else. After all, it wasn’t a simple punishment like standing in the class for the rest of the time. The girls were losing patience.
    ‘I don’t want to unnecessarily punish the entire class,’ she said calmly going back to her desk. She turned to look at the boys and said, ‘The culprit must step forward. There is no point in hiding like a coward. Else the entire class will bear the punishment thanks to one individual.’
    The arrow hit the target. The girls were clearly agitated. One of the girls turned back and muttered, ‘Why should we suffer?’ Teredesai glanced back at the boys.
    I was shivering by now. I had not anticipated my act would lead to such a situation. I knew she wouldn’t like what I wrote, but I had not expected her to get so angry. I was petrified and had no choice now but to get up and admit to my crime. The moment they got the first caning, people like Teredesai and the girls would have blurted out my name in any case. Some did not even need that prompting. We had teased girls like Sukdi so much that she would not lose this opportunity to take her revenge.
    I looked out at the playground for a moment. The hot breeze blew dust all around. The distant mountains were lost in a haze. I knew there was no other option. I may as well get up before I was exposed by someone else. It was a do or die situation. I remember Zende sir pulling my ears. The words of the speech rang in my ears—‘Fame is the fragrance of heroic deeds’.
    I got up and said, in a calm voice, ‘I wrote it, ma’am.’
    Stunned for a moment, she looked at me. She had not expected the culprit to admit on his own accord. She thought I had stood up to point out the prankster, but here I was, confessing in the presence of the whole class. She recovered, her anger erupting with renewed intensity.
    ‘Come forward‘, she growled.
    I went and stood before her.
    ‘Stretch out your palm,’
    I stretched out my left palm. ‘Both palms,’ she said.
    I stretched out both palms.
    She hit out with the ruler on one palm with all her force. I could see her face contorted with anger. A stinging pain travelled from my neck down to the toes. I felt hot tears bubbling up, but I was determined. I gritted my teeth and was ready for the next one. I had decided to not show my weakness; not a whimper escaped my lips.
    ‘ Anushasan Parva , is it? Anushasan Parva ?’ she repeated as she continued to hit me with the ruler. ‘Do you have any shame? Take this! Take this!’ She continued battering me.
    My mind went blank, filled with a warm darkness. A reddish haze blurred my vision. The assault on my palms continued, but not a moan escaped my lips. I had noticed Shirodkar looking straight at me when ma’am hit me for the first time.
    Ma’am continued to hammer blows on me without mercy; one after another. She had expected me to beg her to