These are
formulated by the faculty of Calcutta University, which numbers
Serampore College among its affiliated branches. A student in Indian
universities who is unsuccessful in one subject in the A.B. finals
must be examined anew in ALL his subjects the following year.
My instructors at Serampore College usually treated me with kindness,
not untinged by an amused tolerance. "Mukunda is a bit over-drunk
with religion." Thus summing me up, they tactfully spared me the
embarrassment of answering classroom questions; they trusted the
final written tests to eliminate me from the list of A.B. candidates.
The judgment passed by my fellow students was expressed in their
nickname for me-"Mad Monk."
I took an ingenious step to nullify Professor Ghoshal's threat to
me of failure in philosophy. When the results of the final tests
were about to be publicly announced, I asked a classmate to accompany
me to the professor's study.
"Come along; I want a witness," I told my companion. "I shall be
very much disappointed if I have not succeeded in outwitting the
instructor."
Professor Ghoshal shook his head after I had inquired what rating
he had given my paper.
"You are not among those who have passed," he said in triumph. He
hunted through a large pile on his desk. "Your paper isn't here at
all; you have failed, in any case, through non-appearance at the
examination."
I chuckled. "Sir, I was there.
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