Half convinced, half confused

I am happy today. Not only because I have returned to my oft-abandoned beloved blog and namma city Bengaluru, after a substantial gap of time, but also because I have just been in the company of some people I am feeling truly privileged to know.

So briefly what happened is: my excruciatingly boring weekends and the burning desire to learn music / dance formally led me in to a school close by. I enrolled for classes and geared up for some fun in the months to come.

After perhaps the second or third class one day, the coordinator / co-owner of the school spoke to us saying that she is facing issues with running the school in terms of finances and will have to vacate the premises and shift the classes elsewhere. The biggest reason cited was the magnitude of the rent and the differences in the vision of the two owners. All the students were understandably confused and there was hardly any response to her.

After she left, we were told that the second owner would like to talk to us and he descended upon us armed with snacks and a wide grin. Some pleasantries followed. The teacher sat there for some time smiling awkwardly and not knowing what to do, till it was obvious that the impending conversation will happen only once he gets going. So he leaves and we can see he is not fond of this half of the owner-pair. He makes gestures before leaving, instructing us to keep quiet and not divulge what the lady shared a while back. We brace ourselves.

The goodie man proceeds to tell us how the lady started out as a coordinator, requested for a partnership and now has antagonized all teachers, decided to vacate the place after manipulating everything in her favor. In short, she has duped him with a clever strategy and presently everything and everyone is going along with her and all our man is left with is an empty basement and a harmonium.

Chit-chat starts in the class gradually. And this is a classic case-study for anybody who is trying to find out how pain and drama gets humans pumped up, grouped together and animated. To be honest, I feel my share of angst at the calculations of the woman and sympathy for this eloquent victim. Opinions are shared back and forth while his tearful father also joins us, visibly stunned at the ‘degradation’ of the society.

The most vocal student commands the rest of us to follow him outside and directs the father-son combo to leave the matters to us. We parade in a straight queue, all anxious and stirred. Before the discussion can commence a tall fellow with a constant smirk remarks how these matters happen and should not be of any significance to us, we to continue the classes wherever the teacher goes as if nothing has transpired – make peace with the world, get your stuff going. Some others hum in agreement – half convinced, half confused. I smile inwardly – obviously this was to happen. Grown-ups don’t bother themselves with trivialities or ethics – they move on. Let’s be honest, I would have done just the same – why complicate my life with something so avoidable.

But just then, the leader’s voice rings aloud. “We are all intelligent and sensitive people – we will not behave apathetically and let this go. We are not here for the sake of it, but for inner satisfaction, but at what cost? This could be a management issue that is of least importance to us, but then there are people involved with real emotions.”

The mood begins to change. More people volunteer brave thoughts and ideas. I contribute my own two pence sheepishly. And a path-breaking statement is made about making an effort to put things in order, even at the risk of failure. The house is brought down. A decision is taken about the next course of action. People leave on a very upbeat note.

In a new town, it is nice to meet thinking people with a desire to spend time on a righteous effort – that is my instant thought. Much water has passed since that day and the lady and the teacher respectively have called each of us, selling their side of the story. But the positive thought remains with me.