A basketful of mangoes as guru dakshina             

I came to Navsari, Gujarat, in the late 1960s to join the newly established agriculture college there as a lecturer in English. The college was under the agriculture department of Gujarat, and most of the teachers were deputed from different places.

The college functioned from a rented bungalow a few kilometres away from the site where a new campus was being built. There were several old mango trees in the compound around the bungalow. Lectures and practical classes took place in temporary sheds, and anyone could enter or exit these when the teacher turned toward the blackboard.

The command of English of most students was limited, as the village schools primarily taught it in Gujarati. The students grew concerned when they learned that I would use only English in the class and that I did not know Gujarati.

One day, the father of one of the new students entered my class, unknown to me, and remained till the end. Later, he came to my residence near the college and admitted that his son, who had studied in a village school, would fail in the subject. Although I assured him that I would take special care of the student and there was nothing to worry about, he was not convinced.

It was the mango season, and he had an orchard of mango trees. The next day, he brought a basketful of ripe mangoes of different varieties as a present.

The ritual stopped when his son graduated.

KSS Pillai, Navsari