The God of Small Miracles

March is the month of mangoes and board exams. Bouts of chicken-pox and wide spread power-cuts. Dads planning their LTCs for annual family vacation and the kids waiting for the end of an academic year. So when there is so much going on in March, how could you expect poor Akku to concentrate in the Mathematics class?

Not just any Mathematics class but Mathematics class for merit students. But a Mathematics class during the 3rd period on a March-Wednesday afternoon. But a Mathematics class for the 3rd consecutive time that day .With his partner in crime in disrupting classes: Gopal, being in another class, Akku had nothing much to do except look outside the window at the kids playing basketball in the backfield.Akku yearned for the 3rd period every Wednesday afternoons. It was the dear Games period but with exams barely 2 weeks away, there were no more games period but only revision classes. Akku hated his new class. It was full of people who went to school to study and not to eat’ Tiffin’ and play cricket and football like Akku thought one goes to school for! In his old class Akku and his friends played dumb-charades when the teacher was absent but here, students completed their home work and assignments when there was a free period. Akku reminisced about the good-old days sitting in the Geometry class. Wait a minute, was it Geometry or was it Trigonometry? Either ways Akku had long since left the class.

Akku had fared extremely well in the junior board exams and his head-master had suggested Akku be transferred to the merit class or the achiever’s class.Akku`s parents were thrilled.Akku`s dad was ecstatic that his son was not as hopeless as he had thought .He would not be bank peon. He would be a bank manager like himself or better, he would work in those fancy offices with computers and 30 storied glass windows.Akku`s ma on the other hand was happy that she would be the toast of the evening at the next day kitty-party. But what about Akku?

Now sitting in the 8th grade merit section, Akku wondered why his Parents were happy on sending him to this god forsaken place.”Aargh! 30 more minutes”, Akku mumbled in exasperation. He contemplated on listening to Mr. Raman’s class but then why on Earth would one learn about some odd looking objects.

His constant yawning and lack of interest was driving the Iyer twins off their hooks. Being the teacher’s pet that they were, they gave Akku the: “I am going to tell Sir” look. So Akku decided to play his game of ‘Brain vita’ on his Milton water bottle instead.


“Yes! I did it”, Akku exclaimed. Having finally managed to lose all the marbles ,except one meant that he had scored the highest level. An accomplishment. But then, this was not his playground but a Geometry class, not just Geometry class but Geometry class for merit students. By the time he realized the gravity of the situation .Mr. Raman asked him to stand up .Mr. Raman, an old man with silver hair, elephant-tusk like rope mustaches and moon shaped glasses was the most feared one among all the teachers. He never lost his temper but if you ever got caught in his class that was it. The rumor was that, he came out with the most horrific of the punishments.

Akku was paralyzed with fear; He recalled the words of his elder brother.” No one knows what Mr. Raman’s punishment is. That is because no one has survived to tell the tale.”

“Akku!. Perhaps, you would like to share the reason of your jubilation with the rest of the class” Mr. Raman remarked, with a voice as cool as a cucumber. Cucumber:
Akku’s favorite snack. But now it looked like he would no longer have one since the unthinkable had happened. Akku had got caught in Mr. Raman’s class.
Akku had not even told Bittu that he could have his Tendulkar bat once he was gone.. He was young. Not a viable-die-able age! But then what could he do. He had broken the cardinal rule of discipline and got caught in Mr. Raman’s class.

“Akku, don’t you want the class to be happy as well?”,Mr. Raman repeated.

The Iyer twins were giving Akku: “Hallelujah! the evil wolf is gone” looks.

Not knowing what to say, Akku blurted out:”Sir. I am happy I found the answer for the sum!”

Mr. Raman still calm.. “Oh! You found out the area of the Parallelepiped. Then it is definitely worth celebrating .Why don’t you educate us then?”

There is something on the board.130302.There are four letters next to it. What could they be. It was times like these that Akku remembered why he was called”soda-buddi” or “one with 4 eyes”. He could not believe today of all days, he had forgotten his spectacles.

“So Akku what is the area?”, said Mr. Raman..

“130302 square meters. Sir,”.Akku meekly replied.

There was silence. Even the squirrels in the near-by tree were watching. After all there should be a lull before an apocalypse.

“God of small miracles!” , Mr. Raman said, followed by “ Next time, you complete a sum; you don’t have to disturb the class.”

TrinTrin! the school bell rang . ”The area is 130302 square meters; all of you complete the next two sums”. Mr. Raman left the class.

Growing up in the household of compartmentalized worship, he had understood that there were different gods for different purposes. Goddess of wealth brought in money, god of monsoon brought in rains, and goddess of knowledge helped him pass the exams .But he could not recall who this of god of small miracles was. He was used to seeing his mother and Ajji throng number of temples with deities having multiple heads and hands. But never had he heard of this god.

15 years later:

Professor Akhilesh Rao`s lecture on Power Systems Engineering is in progress. He notices a student in the last but second row not paying any attention. At first he dismisses it assuming the student would rejoin the class but then he is constantly bending down .Prof. realizes that the student was watching the FIFA final on his cell phone.

“So,Mr. Gupta,What is the answer for this problem.? What is the total wattage?”, the professor asks curtly ..

After some confused glances, the student gives the answer as 121227...Surprised that the student could guess, so accurately. Professor Akhilesh Rao clears the class as the final bell for the day rings. As he signs out the class-register, something strikes him.
Mr. Gupta wears spectacles. He was the one who could not get the reading in the machines-lab as he had misplaced his spectacles. He turns to the black board and sees:

Date:12.12.27.

Mr. Gupta was not wearing his spectacles.

“So I finally catch you, God of Small Miracles”, he chuckles.