Half Girlfriend

The difference between seventy kids on their own and seventy kids with a teacher can be immense. In an instant, the class fell s ...

17 Six months later 'You promised, Sarpanch ji,’ I said, using a hand fan to cool myself. I had come to his house a third time. ...

answers for us.’ ‘I am from here. You know that, Sarpanch ji.’ ‘I know, Rajkumar ji. But what do these poor farmer’s kids do wit ...

complaints or demands. Pankaj, the MLA’s secretary, offered to push me ahead in the queue. I declined. I had little interest in ...

treatment,’ I said. ‘Now the villagers will say that I made the prince of Dumraon sit on the floor. Trust me, they care more abo ...

‘You want a personal donation from me? I am a humble government servant,’ he said. ‘No, that is not what I came for. I felt the ...

not declined the ticket.’ ‘What ticket?’ ‘His party had asked me to contest last time. Why do you think Ojha is so insecure abou ...

irritated. ‘So I didn’t mention it. Anyway, you go play. It’ll clear your head.’ ‘My head is fine.’ ‘See how you talk to your mo ...

18 I reached the Raj High School playground at 6 in the evening. I saw a l few teenage students on court. We smiled as we acknow ...

wondered if they had basketball courts in London. I was pretty sure they did. I wondered if she still played. And If she did, di ...

tray from her. Mrs Ojha touched my mother’s feet, ‘Bless you, Kusum,’ my mother said, Kusum scurried back into the kitchen and b ...

‘Hmm... Mr Ojha.You were saying?' my mother said, ‘Well, this Gates is coming to India, To Bihar, in fact.' ‘Has he gone mad? He ...

My mother knew the political game. Ojha wanted a Lok Sabha ticket in the next election. He had to do things to get noticed. 'Wha ...

mother said. ‘For just one function I can’t justify so much. I will whitewash the school, make all the arrangements for the func ...

19 I prepared a proposal for Ojha as per his directions. We proposed Bill Gates make a visit to a self-run, not-for-profit schoo ...

I kept quiet. ‘See.’ He opened the file. ‘There is this school in Patna that really wants him. They will do a skit in English fo ...

I smiled. I did go to the best English college, but my English still, well, sucked. My cell phone rang in the middle of a maths ...

golden hair and white skin. ‘No. I wanted to say quaint.’ ‘Quaint?’ I said. I didn’t understand the word. ‘Different. Different ...

‘We are a poor school. We don’t have the money to do many things. We are doing this to get noticed so some government officials ...

What's a small grant?’ ‘Twenty thousand dollars. Maybe more. But like I said, it may not work.’ I let out a huge breath. Eight l ...