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this college for? To let a fellow student lead you all astray?’
    ‘Sir, I’m sorry,’ Gurpreet said in a low voice.
    ‘You are ready to trust your future in the hands of someone like Gurpreet?’ Raven asked the students. ‘Did you know he has failed twice in the same class?’
    ‘Not twice, three times,’ said Jatin.
    Raven noticed Gurpreet dart an angry look at Jatin and mutter, ‘Bloody marjaaneya, sucking up to a firangi. I’ll see you later.’
    Looking pointedly at him, Raven asked, ‘Do you even know who this Guruji is and what he does for a living?’
    ‘I said sorry …’ Gurpreet said in an irritated tone.
    Raven looked at him for a long moment, then turned back to the rest of the students. ‘Go back to your classroom, all of you. And to make up for this lost time, I will take an extra class during the lunch break.’
    The students grumbled and muttered in protest as they filed out of the tuck shop. Raven shook his head thoughtfully as he watched them leave. So now thefreedom movement had not only spread to a remote town like Kishangarh, but to its educational institutes as well. He thought of the Uprising of 1857. When the Indian sepoys had mutinied against the British. It had been one of the bloodiest mutinies ever witnessed by mankind. What would be the consequence of this movement? On the one hand was the Congress, demanding the British quit India, but it believed in the principle of non-violence . On the other hand were leaders like Subhash Chandra Bose who believed only war could gain India its independence. What would be the final outcome of all this? Would the Indians succeed in ousting the British this time?
    Raven shrugged his shoulders. Not that it mattered. He did not care one way or the other, as long as his students did not bunk his class.
     
    Raven looked up from his work. There it was again – yes, it was a knock. He looked at the clock. 12.45. Who could it be so late at night? He opened the door. It was Gurpreet and Jatin.
    ‘Oh sorry, sir. We thought Sir O’Michael lives here,’ said Gurpreet.
    ‘He lives four houses down the block, on the left. But what’s the matter?’
    ‘Sir, we’ve got a test tomorrow and we’ve misplaced our notes,’ said Jatin.
    ‘He didn’t make any notes. He was too busy watching the girls arriving at STH,’ said Gurpreet with a grin.
    Jatin kicked him.
    ‘Perhaps I can help?’ asked Raven.
    ‘No no, sir, we wouldn’t want to bother you,’ replied Jatin.
    ‘Now why would you say that?’ asked Raven. ‘Do you not like me? Or is it because you think I’m a cripple?’
    ‘No, sir,’ Jatin replied hastily, waving both his hands. ‘It’s just that you’re new …’
    ‘So because I’m new, you think I can’t teach? You’re casting a doubt on my abilities, young man.’
    Jatin replied, ‘No, sir … errr …’ He nudged Gurpreet with his elbow and muttered, ‘Why can’t you say something?’
    ‘Yes, sir; I agree, sir,’ said Gurpreet.
    Raven smiled as he saw Jatin rolling his eyes at Gurpreet’s reply. He led them to the drawing room. Pointing to the sofa, he said, ‘Why don’t you two take a seat.’
    ‘Thank you, sir,’ they replied in unison.
    Lowering himself awkwardly, Raven sat down heavily on the armchair. Something as simple as sitting down and getting up was a chore these days. But thankfully, not for too long. He was going to see the doctor tomorrow. He covered his legs with a blanket and let Jatin take the crutches from him and put them neatly beside the chair.
    ‘Look,’ he said, as he picked up his pipe from the table in front of him. ‘You must not hold what happened at the tuck shop earlier today against me. What you do in your free time or after class is none of my business.’ He put the bit of the pipe in his mouth and took it out again. ‘But if you’re going to disrupt my class, I will admonish you. Plain and simple as that.’ He fiddled with the tobacco. The smell of tobacco was addictive. He