Mrs. Ananthalakshmi Narasimhan

.. was my High school Math teacher known as Lakshmi Ma`am or Narasimhan Ma`am.

I studied in 5 different schools in total and never met another like her. When I was taking the entrance exam in the final school # 5, Mrs. A was the supervisor. I found the paper a little too easy (well, the reason behind that is a private joke and another story). OK, so I got my admit and joined Class 8. Mrs. A taught Math and she was dreaded by one and all. When you take a look at her, you wouldn't imagine the reason. She was short, old and very frail. Spoke very slowly and she had severe coughing fits in classes whilst speaking. Why was she a terror? Reason 1 - 90 % of the class sucked at Math and so naturally hated it. Mrs. A could be a teddy bear and she would still be hated. Reason 2 - She ensured no one got out of her classes alive. The challenges she used to put us through left us in trauma specially when exams were round the corner.

Me. I fell in the 90 % category alright. My favorite subjects in school used to be English and Chemistry. Mrs. A it seemed was quite impressed with my Math score in the entrance exam. So she presumed the new girl was an ace at Math. The first term tests results proved how wrong she was. I still remember my abysmal score. I got a measly 15 on 35 !! When in school, I was a nerd. On a scale of 10, I was a 13 :-P Always studying , making notes and comparing marks (!!) :-) You get the drift -- My world came to an end literally. Mrs. A didn't make my life easier. She rubbed salt on my raw wound by mentioning in class how I failed to live up to her expectations. At home, I witnessed extreme reactions. My dad is very very good at Math and he simply couldn't believe what a dunce I was. My mom didn't bother too much. I decided to pull up my socks on my own. I recall topping the class the very next test. I won't mention the score , you see I don't want to show-off and all that ;-) That was a turning point of sorts. Math became my favorite subject gradually. It was hard-work and I did relapse several times but I knew how to motivate myself to get back on track. Mrs. A of course had a humongous role to play. She knew every student , every parent and also knew how best to instill a sense of discipline in each one. I began to enjoy her classes and wait eagerly for the toughest of the toughest papers ! Oh, I didn't become her favourite or the Math Pundit of the class but I made drastic improvements. She was the only teacher I know to this day who never had a favourite student (at least she never revealed it)

During our 9th & 10th, I developed a fascination for Trigonometry. To this day, it remains the branch of Math I liked the most. During our Board Exam preparations, Mrs. A grilled us till our brains were dripping with formulas and fundas. Early morning special classes, late night assignments, endless pep-talk and scary images of failing even :-D She was very very ill during this time but she wouldn't miss a single day. There was no necessity for her to teach us , I guess it was simply her iron will. I recall she was once thoroughly pissed with our class as we had all submitted a poor assignment. She made us shut our books that day and involved us in a discussion. She asked each one of us what our ambition in life was. People blabbered the usual rubbish and she saw through all our rhetorical answers :-)

The 'life-changing' CBSE Board Exams began. Our exams were held in another school.  For Math, she proved what it took to be a teacher. She made it a point to sit with each one of us post-exam and discuss the paper to gauge how well each one had performed. I hated these sessions as I don't elaborately delve into a written paper. Who wants to be reminded of all the horrible mistakes one had obviously committed! But Mrs. A left us no choice. I came out beaming only to have her point out some grossly silly mistake I made in Taxation. It was the only area where I lost marks. Mrs. A did this exercise with everyone and since she knew each one's capability, she surprisingly even knew where each one would have inevitably screwed up !!

When the results were announced, she was in school even before us waiting to congratulate us. She had obtained the detailed marks list through some sources. Even post-school, for any important advice she was the first one I called. I wasn't the only one. Scores of students looked up to her. The day she passed away was the day before my first day of Engineering college. Such a sad day. Her house was filled with all the students she had taught and mesmerized. But Math never left me. It remained my favourite subject and a cakewalk throughout College & Engineering. Sadly, I have never ever scored a 100 but always swam in the various ends of the 90's (so-near-yet-so-far syndrome). I always jinxed it with a trademark crazy and highly unimaginable mistake.

Of all the teachers I have had, a select few have left an indelible mark on me. Mrs. A was definitely top of the tops!