In our Village High School where my father was the Head Master in the glorious 1950s there was this Assembly everyday.
One of the routine items in the Agenda that came up before the HM's drone speech inspiring us to become patriotic ideal citizens was the punishment to be meted out to mischief-makers of the day before.
The Class Teachers would submit their lists of habitual offenders beyond their control to the SPL (School Pupil Leader) who would then read out the List, standing beside the HM on the other side of the flag which would almost always refuse to be hoisted duly, the blame duly passed on by the Drill Teacher to one and all and finally to the weather.
Each one of the named rogues would fall out from their positions in the assembled classes and make a beeline before the HM, quietly suppressing their giggles (lest that should be another cause for extra punishment). And they would all be imagining that the assembled ladies are all eyes ogling at them and their bravado.
One by one the students would advance and take the allotted number of hits on their cane-hardened palms. The number would be decided beforehand by the HM in consultation with the AHM whose duty it was to keep a muster roll of the first, second, third..time offenders and calculate...
The offenders would all consult the SPL secretly beforehand and find out the number of canes allotted to them; and pretend they don't know when the number is over and advance their palms cheekily to one more of the same.
This would enrage the HM who would be helpless because he can't break the rules he himself framed with the help of the AHM.
The ladies would giggle and this would further enrage the HM who would prolong his speech as a punishment for all concerned and unconcerned; till the Doctor's son faints in the sun..
So I got the suspicion that Routine Public Punishment is often counter-productive..
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Fast Forward 20 years when I was working under SDM for my Ph D.
In addition to myself and DB who were Faculty Members, SDM had also a couple of Research Scholars once in a while (they often ran away...).
When his Scholar upsets him by not doing his allotted work but sleeping in the BC Roy Hall without turning up to meet him for more than a month, SDM would get terribly annoyed, justifiably...
All the Scholars had to sign their names daily in the Register kept in the Physics Office in order to get their Scholarship money regularly....the less said about this the better...suffice it to say that no Scholar ever forfeited his Scholarship any month on this count...
When he lost his patience, SDM would ask another Scholar of BC Roy Hall to fetch the offender before him at 12 noon sharp tomorrow. And would issue instructions to sundry other Scholars and to me and DB and whoever was in the Corridor to Assemble in front of his Office.
And he would announce to everyone that he would administer a public snub to the offender.
Everyone knew the drill...SDM was the kindest and timidest of all souls and would never report to the HoD or Dean to stop the Scholarship amount for the month...but would scold left and right as he would say...
DB would pretend to be serious...he was past master in that art; but I would be struggling hard to suppress my laughter. And the other assembled Scholars (all of them hand in glove with each other) would giggle...
But SDM wouldn't notice it at all...he would be red in the face and would slam for a good ten minutes and let everyone go except me and DB.
He would then look at us as if he has discharged his duties and won the round...
But if the Scholar happens to come up with even the merest hint of any originality in his calculations, SDM would be all praise for him and would propagate that his public snub worked and gloat...
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I have a suspicion that DB inherited this trait from SDM. He would bang his Scholar in my presence (we shared an office for twenty years).
i would once again be laughing in my sleeves and so would the Scholar inwardly...
I had no Scholars and so had no chance nor need of doing this...
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KK tells me that I laughingly humiliated one of his classmates in M Sc publicly for not only copying his Assignment from his friend but also copying his friend's name...I don't recall...but KK should know...apparently the student cried...
May I please say I am sorry publicly to whoever it was?
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