Of Leaders & Losers 5. Who should be the Scribe?

          Many times, we think we are doing a great job by being helpful to people in need.  This story attempts to see this attitude in new light.

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          Amrita held the hand of an unknown person with disability when he was about to step into a trench dug up on the roadside for underground drainage, and thereby, prevented him from falling.  She was glad she assisted a blind person.

          In the final year of her college, Amrita heard a girl from the first year speak exceptionally well in Telugu on problems faced by women in society.  She moved into the auditorium to notice that the speaker was blind.  Amrita was doubly impressed.  ‘Ah, we have a Helen Keller in India, too!’ she thought, excitedly.

          In due course, Amrita and the speaker of that day, Venkata Lakshmi, became thick friends.  Lakshmi knew that Amrita was not the kind who’d make fun of people with problems, so she would patiently answer any questions or doubts that Amrita had.

          ‘How do you write your examinations?  Do we have examiners who can understand Braille?  But, Braille was not listed as a medium of examination’, said Amrita one day.

          ‘Braille is a script, but I answer in the Telugu medium.  I will be given a scribe’, replied Lakshmi.

          ‘What are the qualifications to be a scribe?’

          ‘One should have a beautiful handwriting’.

          ‘Then make me your scribe, won’t you?’

          ‘The competent authority will have to accept you. Can you write fast in Telugu?  But normally some office staff assisted me and will continue to do so, hopefully'.

          ‘Yes, I have a decent speed in writing Telugu’.

          ‘Amrita, you should take down only what I tell you to write.  You should not write your own essays, mind you’.

          ‘Sure, dear.  Don’t forget to ask for me for the purpose of being your scribe’.

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                   The date of the examination was announced in class and Amrita was mightily disappointed.  Not that there was insufficient time nor that she was unprepared or under prepared. 

          ‘When will the first year examinations start?’ she asked the office clerk who made the announcement.  He gave her a scornful look and said. ‘April 24^th’.

          ‘How can all examinations start on the same day?’

          ‘Your examinations are in the morning, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.  Theirs are from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.  If you still have to appear at some first year exams, be thankful that the timings did not collide.  Otherwise you’d have had to lose a year’.  Amrita understood the reason behind the look he gave her.

          ‘Despite me having exams in the morning, I intend to be your scribe’, Amrita said to Lakshmi.

          ‘No way, you should not strain yourself so much’.

          ‘No strain, yaar!  Please let me do this bit to assist you’.

          ‘No Amrita!  Let someone in the office assist me.  Let me not carry the sin of putting you to this much of strain’.

          Amrita was disappointed but did not drag it beyond that- the college authorities would not have agreed to it, anyway.

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          ‘Welcome to Andhra University’, Amrita, who was doing her M. Phil, welcomed Lakshmi, who joined the University for the M.A. course in History.

          This time Amrita was determined to be her scribe.  By the time of Lakshmi’s exams, Amrita was on the verge of submitting her M.Phil dissertation.

          ‘When do you intend to brush up your references?  Will you visit the local archives office next week?’ asked guide Hanumantha Rao.

          ‘I’ll do it later, Sir.  Next week, I wish to be the scribe of Venkata Lakshmi’.

          ‘Oh, you want to be richer by Rs. 25/- per exam?’

          ‘No, Sir.  I don’t do it for money. For that matter,I was not even aware of an honorarium for being a scribe. I want to assist her.  That’s all’.

          ‘Then why don’t you leave it to others?’

          ‘I didn’t get you, Sir’.

          ‘Are you not aware that there are a lot of research scholars who are pursuing their dream, without affordability or a monthly stipend to fall back on, just for the sheer love of the subject?’

          ‘Yes, Sir’.

          ‘Do you think you’ve done a big cost cutting favour on the University by declining the honorarium of Rs. 25/- per exam?’

          ‘No, Sir’.

          ‘Then, my suggestion is, let someone else assist Venkata Lakshmi.  Let that girl or boy earn their cup of coffee and samosa for that day at least, without being dependent on their parents for everything’.

          ‘I get it, Sir.  Thank you for enlightening me.  I will get the references from the local archives office next week’.

          ‘I am glad you understood it, child’.

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          ‘Amrita, so you’ll be my scribe for my exams!’

          ‘Sorry, Lakshmi.  Surya Prakash will assist you’.

          ‘Why?  What happened?’

          ‘I noticed today that I lost the speed I used to have in writing Telugu.  Moreover, Prakash’s handwriting is better than mine.  In my eagerness to be your scribe, I should not scuttle the quality of the content of your answers, right?’

          ‘No problem, you still be my scribe’.

          ‘Sorry for having given you unnecessary hopes, Lakshmi.  Your marks should never be limited by a poor quality scribe.  Even if I am not assisting you, my wishes are always with you.  May you come out on top’.

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