मास्टरजी
Summary
The narrator recalls his tutor, Vidhubhushan Chattopadhyay, who was hired to teach him and four other children. The tutor was a tall, thin, dark man who arrived nervously for his interview. He was paid seven rupees a month to teach for three hours each evening. The narrator, Pintu, was the oldest student and felt proud to be in the fourth class. The tutor was kind and bought the children treats like kulfi and toys, including a key-driven train for Reva's birthday, but asked them to keep these gifts secret. Despite his kindness, the narrator disliked him and tried to find faults in his teaching. He asked the tutor about measuring mountain heights with a barometer, a question the tutor struggled to answer. The narrator reported this to his uncle, who began monitoring the lessons and pointing out errors. The tutor was weak in algebra and English grammar, making mistakes like changing "I live in a boarding" to "I live at a boarding" and altering verb tenses. Eventually, the uncle dismissed the tutor after seeing the narrator's poor progress report, which showed a failure in English. The narrator felt guilty, knowing he had provoked the uncle by complaining. Later, the narrator visited the tutor's home, a small, dirty room in a dilapidated building with a tin roof. The room had only a cot, a dirty pillow, calendars on the wall, and a picture of Vivekananda. The tutor had only one shirt and one dhoti. Seeing his poverty, the narrator felt deep sympathy and regretted his earlier hostility. The tutor bought snacks for him, but the narrator refused, realizing the tutor could not afford such expenses. The narrator resolved to ensure the tutor would not have to spend money on them, but before he could act, the tutor was dismissed.
Conclusion
The narrative reveals the profound impact of a brief, unequal relationship between a privileged child and a poor, struggling tutor. The child’s initial contempt transforms into deep empathy upon witnessing the tutor’s extreme poverty, yet this realization comes too late. The child’s earlier complaints to his uncle, intended to expose the tutor’s academic weaknesses, directly lead to the tutor’s dismissal. This outcome underscores the tragic consequences of thoughtless actions and the irreversible nature of certain mistakes. The story’s implication is that genuine understanding and compassion often emerge only after harm has been done, leaving a lasting burden of guilt. The tutor’s quiet acceptance of his fate highlights the harsh realities of class and economic vulnerability, while the child is left to grapple with the moral weight of having destroyed the livelihood of a kind, impoverished man who had shown them generosity.