My Parents were so loving and gentle, with never a harsh word, allowing us children to do whatever we liked, that it was a miracle in itself that we did not become "spoiled" kids.
But going to grade school and the smaller classes brought out some of the mischief in me.
I wonder how in later years I became so serious as to become a nuclear physicist at Harvard!!
I was never interested in studies. The Nuns in the convent were scary and intimidating to say the least. In fact the scare was so great that we could not remember anything in class.
I ended up coming second last in the class, with a friend of mine thankfully being at the bottom of the class!
Question in Science Exam:
"What is the Milky Way?"
My Answer:
"The Milky Way is to drink the milk in a glass of water!"
But my friend who used to come last, wrote:
"The Milky Way is to milk the cows!"
And so he got the Dunce Cap, which I narrowly missed-- because there was only one Dunce Cap in the class of our teacher, Mother Peter Simon, a terror to the students!!
{For those who do not know, the Milky Way is the name given to our Galaxy of stars, which are so dense they have a Milky appearance. They teach this to us in Astronomy.}
At home I recall how I used to pour cold water into the shoes of the devotees who had come to pay homage to my father, and who had left their shoes outside while entering the house. When they left the house, their shoes made a weird "squishing" sound and their socks were like a wet sponge.
I also recall how my father was travelling with his devotee, Justice G.P. Bhutt, in a train on a long journey from Delhi to Maharashtra. My brother and I were also with our parents in the same compartment.
Finding a moment alone, I took the first opportunity to throw the shoes of Justice Bhutt out of the window of the moving train!
When we reached our destination I recall seeing Justice Bhutt asking the welcoming crowds for directions to a shoe shop.
Why did I play these pranks? I have no idea. Not that they made me laugh afterwards. It was just for the sake of being mischievous without any reason at all.
In later years my Mother always used to say to me:
"These hard studies have driven out all the laughter and cheer from Priya and he has become so serious now!!"
The last picture is of me as a spiritual counselor, author and publisher, still retaining a part of the mischievous smile, without the attendant mischief! ( I hope!)
I wonder how in later years I became so serious as to become a nuclear physicist at Harvard!!
I was never interested in studies. The Nuns in the convent were scary and intimidating to say the least. In fact the scare was so great that we could not remember anything in class.
I ended up coming second last in the class, with a friend of mine thankfully being at the bottom of the class!
Question in Science Exam:
"What is the Milky Way?"
My Answer:
"The Milky Way is to drink the milk in a glass of water!"
But my friend who used to come last, wrote:
"The Milky Way is to milk the cows!"
And so he got the Dunce Cap, which I narrowly missed-- because there was only one Dunce Cap in the class of our teacher, Mother Peter Simon, a terror to the students!!
{For those who do not know, the Milky Way is the name given to our Galaxy of stars, which are so dense they have a Milky appearance. They teach this to us in Astronomy.}
At home I recall how I used to pour cold water into the shoes of the devotees who had come to pay homage to my father, and who had left their shoes outside while entering the house. When they left the house, their shoes made a weird "squishing" sound and their socks were like a wet sponge.
I also recall how my father was travelling with his devotee, Justice G.P. Bhutt, in a train on a long journey from Delhi to Maharashtra. My brother and I were also with our parents in the same compartment.
Finding a moment alone, I took the first opportunity to throw the shoes of Justice Bhutt out of the window of the moving train!
When we reached our destination I recall seeing Justice Bhutt asking the welcoming crowds for directions to a shoe shop.
Why did I play these pranks? I have no idea. Not that they made me laugh afterwards. It was just for the sake of being mischievous without any reason at all.
In later years my Mother always used to say to me:
"These hard studies have driven out all the laughter and cheer from Priya and he has become so serious now!!"
The last picture is of me as a spiritual counselor, author and publisher, still retaining a part of the mischievous smile, without the attendant mischief! ( I hope!)
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