Ananth Baliga - Man for All Seasons

Ananth Baliga, a caricature by me

Prologue:
Today being Teachers Day in India, I deem it my duty to pay homage to the most respected and remembered teacher of my times. He was a 'Man for All Seasons'. A legend, a true hero in my life from whom I learned good manners, good sense of humour and social etiquette. He was also responsible for my love for English language, that I developed over the years after leaving school.
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'Goodbye Mr. Chips'.

Yes that was our non-detailed text book in 10th standard back in the year 1971-72 when I was in Canara High School Urva. Our Class Teacher cum English teacher was B Ananth Baliga, a tall lean chap with receding hairline well groomed with hair oil, small thin moustache, wearing white cotton mundu(dhoti), off-white jubba(Kurta) and a shawl. His jubba had buttons on the shoulders like we see in Bengali style kurtas. He taught us English from 8th to 10th standard. He also was popularly nicknamed as Mr. Chips by some of us, for his personality resembled that of Mr. Chips!

Ananth Baliga otherwise a shy and quiet person, used to enact and narrate the stories in his own unique style. When he wanted to explain how a story character arrived on a horse, he would walk over to the entrance of the class, enter the class, doing action as if he's riding a horse, and then deliver the dialogues! He also had the habit of carrying a pocket dictionary with him and whenever he had a doubt or if any student asked the meaning of not so usual word, he would simply stub his hand into his jubba pocket, fish out the dictionary, find the meaning and explain it.

For example, when he read "It cost me Fourscore Ducats in France", we would ask what's Fourscore and he used to refer to the dictionary and say "Aah here it is! One score means Twenty, so Fourscore is Eighty!".

Marvelous guy!

His unique way of scolding any student when that student erred or neglected studies still projects before me, as I close my eyes and reminisce over those school times! He used to point his index finger to the student(mostly my close friend Naresh Baliga who often used to play mischief in class mimicking Mr. Baliga, who is no more), swing it and ask him to come out of the class. He would take him out with him, take cover behind the wall and scold him in low voice, most of the times giving him sermons on how important it is to hold family name high in the society and how to behave in the class and be a better refined human being! He never used to raise his voice or use abusive language like some of the terrors known as teachers those days. He also respected privacy of his students and never gave scope for others to watch him scolding the erring students!

I was Mr. Baliga's neighbour in Ballal Bagh. He being an eternal bachelor, lived with his spinster sister in a small outhouse in Lalbagh Narayana Shetty's compound as tenant. Often he would ask me to meet him at his home when I was free, when he had to say or convey something to the Headmaster in his absence. At his home, he would be sitting on a very old easy chair almost hidden behind a stack of newspapers and magazines wearing round rimmed spectacles, reading a book or paper, peek through the glasses as we opened the wicket gate and entered the compound.

He would stare at me and say "Aah! There you are Mr. Shenoy! Come in, have a seat. I shall be with you in a moment."

He would then complete reading the chapter he had half read, keep a book mark and close the book, then get back to me and explain what he wanted to say, but never before asking me about how I have been, about my father and my brothers. At home he mostly conversed in Konkani and I of all the people used to feel relaxed, since my spoken English was pretty bad those days, and Mr. Baliga was very particular about proper usage of vocabulary!

While we friends Mahaveer, myself and Vishnudas were on the way to or from school walking down the Nehru Avenue Road and by chance if we saw Ananth Baliga approaching us from a distance, we used to panic and hide behind a tree on the way and wait till he passed by!

One day, I was a bit late in hiding behind a tree, he spotted me and suddenly stopped, smiled at me and asked what we boys were up to!

I shyly said "Nothing Sir, just felt like stopping over here and sit under this tree for a while."

He understood, smiled, said nothing else, and moved on!

Being a low paid school teacher those days, he was also very conservative. He would buy groceries and things from Lalbagh Stores, just sufficient for a day or two for him and his sister. he also used to save on city bus fare by catching the bus at Maidan Road or at Hampankatta Old Bus Stand, get down near Besant School and walk all the way, the Three Furlongs from Besant to Ballal Bagh to save 5 Paise. Those days city bus fare from Hampankatta to Besant was 7 Paise and to Ballal Bagh and beyond till Lady Hill or Bejai was 12 Paise.

Ananth Baliga was also a good singer. Though he hailed from Kanhangad in Kerala, he mostly sang Rabindra Sangeet or similar patriotic Bengali songs. During any social functions in the School such as valedictory function for outgoing SSLC students, he would stand tall on stage, look at the ceiling and sing a Bengali song!

The best service apart from teaching English Mr. Baliga did in Canara High School Urva was, keeping track of past students by maintaining a comprehensive list with addresses and send School Day invites. He would stop any one of us and ask the addresses of our elder brothers who were past students, note down their addresses and send them card promptly, at least a month before School Day every year and that worked wonders! Most of those who settled with good placements felt good that they were remembered by Mr. Baliga and sent voluntary contributions to the School! As long as he was in service, he maintained that order, later taken over by Laxman Anchan, who was not as slick as Mr. Baliga in following up.

I still have my SSLC Cumulative Record in which he has filled up my details with such a good handwriting, which I have displayed here.

He retired from service somewhere in the late Seventies or Early Eighties I guess. We had left our Ballal Bagh home and moved to Mannagudda in 1974 but I could see him walking around the town, stopping me and talking to me at length about my family. I got the Bank job and moved out of town, and later in the Eighties, I heard that he was in Dr. Giridhar Rao Sanjivi Bai Home for The Aged near Navabharat Circle with his sister.

Last I met him was in the early Nineties when he stopped me near Hotel Ayodhya, gave me a small book with a yellow cover with his own cartoon holding a basket full of fruits(Gems?), containing his short stories collection, which was priced at Rs.4/- I think. He said there was no compulsion that I should buy that book from him, but he would be very happy if his old students read the book! The title was something like, 'Toothless Uncle with Countless Fruits(Gems)'.  Yes, He did look toothless then alright! He also told me that then he was alone and that his sister passed away. Yet, he looked like a jolly good fellow, not showing any signs of sadness, but he expressed his disappointment over my not completing Degree.

Sadly, I misplaced his book, when we moved from our old home to the present one in 1998. Ananth Baliga passed away few years after he gave me that book.

His autograph with the common message for all his students, 'Handsome is that handsome does' still guides me to lead my life meaningfully.

May his soul rest in peace. May his tribe increase.