वायवा

Summary

The narrator, a university professor, is traveling to conduct a viva voce examination for a Ph.D. candidate named Nirmala. He recalls that the thesis, supervised by Professor Vinayashankar, was on an attractive and novel topic, which surprised him as Vinayashankar typically oversees conventional research. The narrator had initially skimmed the thesis and set it aside, later writing a favorable report at the request of a colleague. However, he lost the thesis before his journey. Upon arriving at the station, he is greeted by Rajendra Sharma, a physics lecturer, who takes him to a hotel. Vinayashankar arrives and reveals that Rajendra is Nirmala’s husband. Vinayashankar then complains bitterly about female researchers, stating that Nirmala’s thesis was written entirely by her husband, who forced him to sign the approval forms. The narrator is astonished by this confession. Vinayashankar expresses his frustration with the situation, and the narrator considers telling him a humorous anecdote about a similar viva where a professor asked a female candidate simple questions about making tea and dal after she failed to answer academic ones. The story highlights the narrator’s journey and the troubling circumstances surrounding the thesis and the viva.