The Anti-Hindi Agitation
The surroundings were alien. The pretentious exterior of the school building seemed more intellectual than the unimaginative white-washed buildings of St. Mark’s where Ravi had been his previous academic year. Scores of aspirants pored in through the two gates of the school and seemed suave and from the well-bred nobility of northern Bangalore. Ravi felt an overpowering sense of nervousness as he tagged on to his elder sister, waiting for their appointment with the Principal. The Principal’s office was right next to the entrance and Mr. Radhakrishnan was conversing with a deferential parent inside his cabin. A score of desperate parents unabashedly starred through the window trying to catch a glimpse of the celebrity principal. “I heard he is very strict even with the parents!” a parent told her spouse in Tamil. Ravi’s sister, Kala, glanced at him and parted with a nervous smile. Ravi reciprocated. The security guard, in a ragamuffin uniform and a Hawaii slipper, rushed towards the cro...