Prof T.Prasad made it surreal for us after he walked in , took a few seconds to offload his bag, removed his slippers and sat cross-legged merrily looking around near the teachers bay-platform. There was an awkward silence when he did the unexpected. He asked us to sit around him and we all did the ‘sage and disciple act’.  

He added, the chair and blackboard/ note writing weren’t his piece of cake that day, and we all agreed happily. He wanted us to ask questions about anything we wanted to know. Most of them were shot regarding “Mandi” whose procreator (prof.Mandi) took us through this journey of gaining some ‘intoxicated knowledge’.  He gave us a timeline account of his experience in Nitie, the memorable batches, key milestones and how he relished teaching everyday until it all came back to Mandi. Some more questions regarding the (already clichéd word -) ‘Mandi’ when he got some things out from his bag like Santa distributing gifts. In his possession were a butterfly-turned-centre-of-gravity thing!

A squeeze ball with a world map on it. Apparently , we agreed on children, who could infuse learning into fun,  being a fantastic market segment for the globe balls . Then he took  out ‘the thing’, a sort of a collectibles item – The Newton’s Cradle. ..[Newton … whose epitaph read – “Here lies that which was mortal of Issac Newton”]. And Prof.T.Prasad pulled a ball with a slight pluck and released it to fill the room with its trance (The sound of balls striking each other). Every soul had his or her eyes affixed on it. The beauty of momentum transfer I guess!!! He asked “what is this”. And he did it again. He asked “ what is this”. And he did it again. 
He was freeing out minds.

Another anecdote about how a group of engineering students sold the cradle and made money. After all, the purpose of a business is to make money by selling something. And every business is not unethical but pretty legal to say the least. He told us what Nitie offered us in terms of education and monetary investments. About how little a sum it is compared to what we would be getting in return. He emphasized on getting practical knowledge , out there in the streets, being street smart. Meeting people there, in the streets, understanding what they want. It came back to “Mandi” again. Some more questions regarding Mandi about how it could be organized this year. The unique proposition of becoming a street vendor for a day was quite fascinating. Selling something tangible, small, inexpensive, having basic functionalities would be the essence of mandi.

That is how he taught – unconventional , ‘sage & disciple way’, throwing things like santa on the way..

Atleast, he was freeing us. Freeing us from all the complexities and rigidities of biblical management.

Then, the chain of events – Photographs àAttendanceàDisperse.

Thank You for reading.