Anecdote #52

Another week begins at Magdalene College. It is also my last week here, the days went by so fast that I wonder where the time went. I began a new course that week based on the history of espionage. The course sounded very fascinating and it was something I had never studied.The professor, Dr. David Fowler informed us that after the retirement of a scholar who specialised in teaching this course it was not even available at the undergraduate level.We felt very privileged to receive this opportunity of studying this unique course which very few people have access to! Dr. David Fowler floored us with his knowledge. He knew each and every detail related to the topic. From the lecture we gauged that most of the spies in the UK were recruited from Cambridge! These spies worked as codebreakers near Cambridge in a place called Bletchley Park.It was a surreal feeling to know that some of the sharpest and most dapper people in the world, possibly even the inspiration behind James Bond walked the same streets as us!The lecture left all of us intrigued and we couldn’t help but ponder over all the facts we had gone over in class.
This was one thing I couldn’t wrap my head around was the behaviour of Mr. Fowler. Though he had a phenomenal hold over the subject yet he was (if I had to be subtle) eccentric. 
During the lecture the two Americans in our class were seated right in front of him and he majorly spoke to them. The rest of us siting behind which consisted of only the Chinese and one Indian (ie me) were non existent to him.
At one point while he was explaining a concept he asked us to refer to youtube to watch videos related to it. Subsequently he looked at the Americans and said, “You guys can teach them how to use Youtube.”
Apart from them the class only had Asians. We immediately understood where he was coming from and what he had implied intentionally or unintentionally. All of us exchanged glances of shock and disappointment.
I firmly resolved that I wouldn’t participate in his class henceforth.

 
It was that day I realised how it felt to be treated unequally.

As I had afternoon classes, it was five by the time we got free. I decided to go for a stroll to Jesus Greens with Urmeen and Manmeen. I told them all that had happened. 
They did not let me be upset for too long as they kept my mind preoccupied with their humour. The next thing I knew, we were back to our favourite hobby, cracking jokes.
Incidentally that day the table tennis playing area was empty. We couldn’t contain our excitement as it is was always occupied. 
Seizing this golden opportunity we played for quite sometime while playing Hindi music. 
The fun and games kept my mind engaged and I forgot about what had happened.

That day when I went back to my room the only thing I was upset about was my dorm. How I wished I lived in Cripps Court. The evenings always felt like an abrupt goodbye because I had to leave my friends early to go back to my dorm. I wanted to sit and chat with them, discuss every part of my experiences in detail. Though I gave them an inkling about how I felt, I never truly admitted to it. I was afraid that if I said it out loud, the loneliness I was repressing would emerge out of the shadows.

I did not know then that the next day would bring a solution to this problem too.

Stay tuned to find out how.