eFiction India eFiction India Vol.02 Issue.09 | Page 15

STORIES

Prof. Martin seemed to live to answer questions and to fuel more questions. And our
best discussions happened while hiking or
fishing, his students providing Prof. Martin
with the family he never had himself. His
door and his heart were always open for us.
“Questions, guys, don’t tell me that’s
enough.” He could turn each class into a
debate between what was already written
and what needed to be written, between
the old answers in the textbooks and the
new questions that research sought to find.
And have you guessed what he taught? Yes,
oceanography. After experimenting with
Psychology, Sociology and English, I finally
found my calling in the study of oceans.
Despite my hatred for Geography. Despite
the fast receding memories of Mrs. Globe.

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for helping me find my twin pillars – individualism and creativity. After all, those frequent punishments outside class had started
me off on my writing journey. And the
questions she had never answered fuelled
me through my long, gruelling hours of
self-search and research.
Would she recognise me now, after all these
years? No, not likely. I am no longer threefeet-two-inches, no longer thin-as-the-latest-sleek-new phone.

But maybe, she will, when she reaches
home. For instead of signing the book
for her, I drew a cartoon on the map of
England again. Just like old times. Call it
my signature.

I found poetry in the ocean currents and
felt the rage of oceans in poetry. And Prof.
Martin showed me the power of questions
in the field of research.
***
Five years later, I was back in Bangalore for
a month. My full, quirky family packed into
a car, dissecting my sister’s last big medical
case. As usual. We were on our way to a
book launch. Mine.
It would be my second published book –
this one was a travelogue that demystified
oceanography.

Illustration: Namitha Varma Rajesh

And that’s when I met her again. She was in
line to get a signed copy from the author.
Me.
One look at her and I recognised her.
Though Universe might be a better name
for her these days; she has left her Globe
days far behind. But then, I should not be
unkind to her. I am eternally grateful to her

eFiction India | June 2014