Donkeys, Maths and Me!

Dearest God,

Hello! Hope You are doing very well! You must be very busy, but I know you will read my letter.

Guess what? All these days, I was breaking my small head thinking I would write my life-story, but, God, who’ll be interested in reading the story of a nobody like me? Maybe You don’t read newspapers these days, and so, I’m informing You that they are full of stories about scams, celebrities, recipes, lifestyle, books by famous people and so on, and so, who will want to read my life-story? I thought, anyway You know my life story; why should the full world know it?

I’m writing to You to share with You about just one small slice of my life, back when I was little. I’ve loved animals a lot since childhood. Thanks to You for putting that love for them in my little heart.  So, when I was little, in my childhood home, I insisted I wanted a chick, and my mother got one through the housemaid. I had not yet started going to school, and I had no other work, and so, I would hold the chick in my hands, thinking it was safe and happy. After that, what happened to the chick, I don’t remember. Then came Billa, a beautiful wildish sort of cat. He was loved by everybody in the house. When I started going to school, I wanted to come home early to play with him. When I had to sit in class, especially Maths class, I missed Billa very much.

I feared the Maths teacher from day one. Maths Miss was very strict.  Actually, the sums, the geometry, the calculation and all did not enter my brain at all. One day, Maths Miss asked the students to work out sums, and we had to show our work to her.  Now, I did it all wrong, and when I went to Maths Miss’s desk and showed her my book, she got angry. She pulled my ear and said I had no brains and that I was a donkey. My ears burnt with her big hands pulling my small ear. I didn’t feel bad because she called me a ‘donkey’ because anyway I loved animals, but, yes, I did feel bad that she said I had no brains. What a big discovery she apparently made, God! Then, she wrote “Rubbish” on the page where I had done the sums wrong and told me to get it signed by my mother or father. That was oh really so frightening!

I was small, full of fear, and may be what I did was wrong, but I rubbed the word “Rubbish” that Maths Miss wrote in my book and did not show it to my mother or father. Forgive me God for this! After that, I do not remember what happened. I did not want to go to school because of Maths Miss. I wanted to become like Billa, a cat, who did not need to go to school. But then my mother sent me to this same teacher for private tuitions to her house, where she would give me sums to work out. I don’t know how I managed it, but I know You were with me, although at that time, I never thought about You or sought Your help. I somehow passed the final exam. In high school again I could not escape Maths, but the Maths teacher then there was a little better. After high school, I gained my final escape from Maths!

But, God, that Maths trauma stayed with me as I still struggled with numbers when I was grown up. Once, when I had to make an estimate for a client and needed to write ‘one lakh’ in figures, I fumbled. In those days, God, Google wasn’t there to ask how many zeroes there are in a lakh. But a senior helped me.  Thankfully, I did not need much very complicated Maths later in my life. However, when I was working and would shift jobs, it was a trend those days to ask a candidate how much of a hike in salary they expected in percentage terms. Now, that was really tricky for me! I would go blank and tell my prospective employer something to this effect: ‘No problem, I am okay with anything’!

God, I know You were with me that time, and that You are with me now and shall always be so. I trust You and  have faith that You will handle numbers, accounts, bank balances and such things for me—that You will be my best  Maths teacher forever!  Thank You!

And You know what, God, just the other day, I saw four donkeys running like crazy on a road here in this busy city. They were so cute, so beautiful and innocent! I was so happy to see them and felt one with them! Ha Ha Ha!

Thank You, God, for reading my letter. Maybe I’ll write another one to you, and another one after that…!

Lots of love,

Your friend & child,

Niggy Binkles