The text describes the author’s experiences in high school, where he was married to his three brothers who were also learning at the same school. Marriage resulted in both of them wasting a year, and even worse for his brother, who gave up studies altogether. The author continued his studies, enjoying the affection of his teachers and receiving certificates of progress and character every year. He even won prizes after passing out of the second standard and obtained scholarships of rupees four and ten respectively.
The author had not high regard for his ability and jealously guarded his character, which led to tears when he received corporal punishment. He also had a dislike for gymnastics and cricket, which he never took part in before being made compulsory. His shyness was one reason for this aloofness, which he now realizes should have been corrected.
The author was also not the worse for abstaining from exercise, as he had read about the benefits of long walks in the open air and had formed a habit of taking walks, which has remained with him. The reason for his dislike for gymnastics was his keen desire to serve as nurse to his father. Compulsory exercise came directly in the way of this service, and he requested an exemption from gymnastics to be free to serve his father. However, Mr. Gimi refused to listen to him.
One Saturday, the author had to go to the school for gymnastics at four o’clock in the afternoon, and when he arrived, the boys had left. The next day, Mr. Gimi found him marked absent and ordered him to pay a fine of one or two annas (I cannot now recall how much). He was convicted of lying, which deeply pained him. He cried in deep anguish, realizing that a man of truth must also be a man of care.
The author eventually succeeded in getting the fine remitted, and the exemption from exercise was obtained. However, the author still paid the penalty of another neglect, which was the notion that good handwriting was not a necessary part of education. When he saw the beautiful handwriting of lawyers and young men born and educated in South Africa, he was ashamed of himself and repented of his neglect.
The author now believes that children should first be taught the art of drawing before learning how to write. They should learn their letters by observation as they do different objects, such as flowers and birds, and then learn handwriting only after they have learned to draw objects.
The author recounts his school days, where he lost one year due to his marriage and was forced to skip a class. English became the medium of instruction in most subjects from the fourth standard, making geometry difficult for him. The teacher taught the subject well, but the author struggled with it. He felt that packing two years’ studies into a single year would discredit both himself and the teacher, who recommended his promotion based on his industry.
However, when he reached the thirteenth proposition of Euclid, he discovered the simplicity of the subject and found it easy and interesting. Sanskrit proved harder, as geometry required nothing to memorize, while Sanskrit required a pure and simple use of reasoning powers. The author became disheartened when he entered the sixth standard, and there was a rivalry between the Sanskrit and Persian teachers. The Persian teacher was lenient, and the boys used to talk about the ease of learning Sanskrit while the Persian teacher was kind and considerate.
The author regrets not having acquired sound Sanskrit learning, as he now realizes that every Hindu boy and girl should possess sound Samskrit learning. He believes that in all Indian curricula of higher education, there should be a place for Hindi, Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, and English, along with the vernacular. If education were more systematic and boys were free from learning their subjects through a foreign medium, learning these languages would be a perfect pleasure.
In reality, Hindi, Gujarati, Sanskrit, Persian, and Arabic may be considered one language, with Persian belonging to the Aryan family and Arabic to the Semitic family. Urdu is not considered a distinct language, as it has adopted Hindi grammar and vocabulary mainly Persian and Arabic. To learn good Urdu, one must learn Persian and Arabic, as one must learn good Gujarati, Hindi, Bengali, or Marathi.
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