Sacchu - The Lovable Frankenstein of HA

Sacchu, the Frankenstein of HA, taught us English and History. Her very presence commanded admiration and fear among everyone, be it a student or a teacher. Girls shivered at the mere thought of her handling the subject. There would be a scramble starting every school year, to find out if Sacchu handled any subject. Many a sad sigh and despondent faces resulted if her name was on the timetable list. A lean tall dark lady who always wore stiff cotton sarees without pinning her ‘pallu’ looked like a witch without a broom. How she managed to get her sarees so stiff and crumple free no one knew. She had an idiosyncratic style of pulling her pallu over her breasts sometimes so awkwardly that we could see her blouse and chest! Her loud cackling laughter could make the most powerful, break into a sweat. She was terror personified. Instance silence used to prevail whenever she entered the arena of the classroom or the grounds. Much was the fear instilled due to her unique corporal punishments of kneeling and hard beats on the knuckles and foul language. There cannot be anyone during that period, not having experienced some of Sachhu's punishments.

Though the fear was deep rooted, many of us loved her to the core. It was the way she taught the subject. She would take us into the story and make us live it. I do remember the Story of the Sindbad the Sailor, in my eighth std when we first encountered her in English class. She made us soar with the story; experience Sindbad’s adventures as our very own. History was equally interesting when it came to Tipu-Sultan, the Battle of Palsy, The East India Trading Company, I grew to love the subject because of the force with which she taught us, the passion, the life, the love she brought into the lessons. Her grammer was impeccable. But soaring high in the world of fantasy we crashed landed in every class, that’s when the home works came by hard. We always felt if she ever experienced a sadistic pleasure in torturing us with so much to read and write.

If a student hadn’t completed the work assigned by Sacchu then that was a day the girl rather be not in class. Girls feigned sickness and ran to the sick room. But she would follow or send someone to bring the girl back to class as she never believed anyone falling sick. Once the girl was in class the drama would start. Words so foul would be uttered that it would create silent Oohs and Aahs from the rest and which would be followed by punishments. "Kneel down, I say. How dare you try to trick me, Keep kneeling for the whole day" "Stand on the bench for a week. If you happen to sit you are done for" Well if the girl had her periods she would be done for anyway!

But kneeling was better when it came to her most terrifying and humiliating of punishments. It was the worst corporal punishment a girl can ever experience in her life. She would order the victim to remove her shirt and stand out in the school corridor with just her chemise and skirt. I do remember a girl, one of my classmates, who wept so desperately and refused to remove her shirt. But this terror of a woman went over and ripped her shirt apart and made the weeping girl stand in the corridor. It was a real pathetic site indeed. She never bothered about the psychological pain the girl would endure. This punishment was meted out to even the senior girls. No one escaped her. Not the first ranker nor the meek girl nor the cute girl. She never showed any special affection to anyone whosoever it may be. I think that’s the reason many of the poor girls did well in her class and the rich ones hated her and nick named and mocked her with all their might.

Her past was dug up to find out who she really was. Some told that she had a broken relationship and hence she didn’t marry. Some stories portrayed her as a martyr for her family who took care of her many sisters and an ailing mother, as her father had died at a very young age. Hmm... India is no place to be for a spinster. Parents whose children experienced the worst punishments said that having had no experience of the joy of motherhood, she must have got hardened and behaved in that fashion.

There was one incident that changed her altogether though. She was a complete different person after that. Way back the school had organized an 'All India Trip'. It was mainly owing to Sr. Jacob's interest that this was made possible. Still then the school had never had an 'All India Tour' and I don’t think it had another one after that. About 100 girls from the senior classes and a few from my class were taken abroad for the trip. Dad was dead against the whole idea of me going to an all India trip mainly because of my problematic periods. I had come of age that quarter as a result of which my parents were always on the edge when it came to going out and freaking out. Well that would be a completely different topic to handle and I would do it much later.

Well during this India trip, some of the younger and newer teachers had the guts to ask the students to make a small skit of the school and its teachers. One class mate of mine did a real good job of acting like Miss. Sacchu. She had enacted the way Miss. Sacchu gave away the corporal punishments and used foul language. One of her favorite phrases "You Dirty Pig" was enacted with such reality that it elicited much appreciation from the viewers. But news leaked out to Sacchu. Sacchu went on leave for some time and when she came back she looked very depressed and was a real sorry state to see. When she entered a big hush followed and she stood there in all her glory and said "I know what happened in the trip. You girls are too young to understand the meaning of hurting and passion for teaching. If you dislike me to that extent I would rather not take class for you. I know there is a mistake on my side too. And I will see to that I do not repeat the same." Saying so, she took her last class - a poem by PB Shelley. She refused to handle English for our class after that. I should say many of us were irritated on that particular girl who was the reason to this. But many sighed a relief silently.

I regret to this day that I had missed her class because of my unfortunate luck of being in the same class as this girl who was the cause of her transformation. She was the epitome of teaching and no one came to her level in any manner. Soon news hit our ears that she never again used the term "You Dirty Pig" neither did she order anyone to remove their shirts!

As I graduated to higher classes, she remembered me more may be because of my exposure to skit and painting competitions. Though she never took class for my set, she always talked to some of us in the class. I remember her coming running to meet me and my mom when we had gone for a school get together once. After I left school, I heard that she had retired and had gone to live in her stately home with her old mother. I still wonder whenever I think of school where and how she would be now and always have this feeling to again meet her once at least for a brief moment just to say "I love you Sachhu Miss.".