misses neelam pandey

its year 1998, i am among the brighter of the kids in the class although a dark horse for quite some time in the new school tulsi vidya niketan.
the second period and first day of our 7th class, the time table reads english period and a skinny, thin and short lady enters the classroom with books and attendance register held firmly in her hands. she introduces herself as NEELAM PANDEY. our new english teacher..and wow! she has such a nice accent of talking.
the first thing she asks the class is which is the only pronoun thats always capital and my hand shoots up in air but there were no challenges at all. 'I' is the answer and she is impressed.

days are passing and i am beginning to get better of others in the class. first test copies distributed, i secure 30, second highest manuj,26. and soon it was a regular scenario, me getting the highest marks and the second highest far behind. BUT DO I DESERVE THE MARKS???
i dunno but i love this teacher more than others. there is a pain in her heart but that never shows on her face. her hands are dry, hard and yellow due to excessive household and kitchen works and yet she speaks flawlessly, so impressively and looks towards me for every answer, some of which never came out.
now its the essay competetion, year 2001, class 10th. i secure third position in the city and who would know better than me that what had i done in that but she won't listen. she would rather call me modest and too humble and i can't convince her that i am not at all, she earns even more respect.

its pre board time now and i secure 83 marks while the second highest is 69, such a margin? highly unexpected but she keeps smiling.
"manuj has written the best letter, but pushpendra was also good."
"pradeep wrote this report very nicely, pushpendra was also nice"
these statements became a regularity. a daily routine..
"this one's good but pushpendra has outscored...."WHY??

who would believe that being unbeaten in english for five years, i was to be beaten at the biggest stage, the 10th board exams. i got 90 he got 92..HOW??
was neelam pandey mam partial towards me? i won't believe it..

she said what did i do in my exams...i should have scored more..and then i felt i could not have given the paper in a better way and i had no clue where i missed out.

so i leave the school with a lot of respect for her making her my favourite teacher for life..

and then after 4 years i see her at a temple. i greet her regards but she refuses to recognise me. i have to remind her that i am the same guy who scored highest on every occasion except for the most important level, and she's still skeptic. what effects could those 4 years have had on her?? i wonder, but her hands are still dry, hard and yellow. may be thats why she's at god's abode.
she is misses neelam pandey.