2 States - The Story Of My Marriage | Page 5

my question. What is the mathematical formula?’ ‘I don’t know that. In any case, this is only a concept.’ ‘But do you know it?’ ‘No. but I can’t think of any real life situation where a mathematical formula like this would work,’ Ananya said. Prof raised his hand to interrupt her. ‘Shsh….’ He gave a sinister smile. ‘Notice, class, notice. This is the state of economics education in our country. Top graduates don’t know the basics. And then they ask – why is India economically backward?’ Prof emphatically dropped the chalk on his table to conclude his point. He had solved what had dumbfounded policymakers for decades. Ananya Swaminathan was the reason for India’s backwardness. Ananya hung her head in shame. A few IITians brightened up. Microeconomics was an elective course in IIT and those who had done it knew the formula. They were itching to show off. ‘Anyone knows?’ Prof asked and Ankur raised his hand. ‘Yes, tell us. Ms Swaminathan, you should talk to your neighbours more. And next time, don’t raise your hand if I ask for microeconomics graduates.’ Prof said. He went to the board to write lots of Greek symbols and calculus equations. The course started with cute little things like how many people choose between tea and biscuits. It had moved on to scary equations that would dominate exams. The class took mad notes. Kanyashree wrote so hard I could feel the seismic vibrations from her pen’s nib. I stole a glance at Ananya. As a smug Ankur saw his words inscribed on the board, Ananya’s left hand’s fingers scrunched up her yellow dupatta. She moved her left hand to her face even as she continued to write with her right. In subtle movements, she dabbed at her tears. Maybe Ms Best Girl had a heart, I thought. And maybe I should cut out my studied ignorance strategy and talk to her after class. ‘You OK?’ I said again. She nodded while continuing to wipe her tears. She fixed her gaze down. ‘I miss Topaz,’ I said to change the topic. ‘I’ve never been so humiliated,’ she said. ‘Nobody cares. All professors are assholes. That’s the universal truth,’ I

offered. ‘At least where I come from.’ ‘You want to see my economics degree? I’ll show you my grades.’ ‘No,’ I said. ‘I came third in the entire Delhi University. These wannabe engineer profs have turned economics from perfectly fine liberal arts subject to this Greek symbol junkyard,’ she said as she pointed to the formulae on the board. I kept silent. ‘You are from IIT. You probably love these equations,’ she said and looked up at me. Despite her tears, she still looked pretty. I looked at the blackboard. Yes, I did have a fondness for algebra. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Yet, this wasn’t the time. ‘No, I am not a big fan. Greek symbols do take the fun out of any subject.’ ‘Exactly, but these profs don’t think so. They will have these equations in the test next week. I am going to flunk. And he is going to turn me into this specimen of the educated but clueless Indian student. I bet I am the staff-room discussion right now.’ ‘They are all frustrated,’ I said. ‘we are half their age but will earn twice as them in two years. Wouldn’t you hate an eleven-year-old if he earned double?’ She smiled. ‘You need to hang that dupatta out to dry,’ I said. She smiled some more. We walked out of the class. We decided to skip lunch and have tea and omelette at the roadside Rambhai outside campus.

‘He is going to screw me in microeconomics. He’s probably circled my name and put a D in front of it already,’ she said, nestling the hot glass of tea in her dupatta folds for insulation. ‘Don’t freak out. Listen, you can study with me. I don’t like these equations, but I am good at them. That’s all we did at IIT for four years.’ She looked at me for a few seconds. ‘Hey, I have no interest in being number eleven. This is purely for study reasons.’

She laughed. ‘Actually, the score is thirteen now.’ ‘IITians?’ ‘No, this time form NIT. They are catching up.’ ‘I know, we are losing our edge. Whatever, I don’t want to be number fourteen. I thought I could teach you….. She interrupted me, ‘I can’t learn economics from you. I am a university topper in economics. You are an engineer.’ ‘Then good luck,’ I said and stood up to pay. ‘I didn’t say that. I said you can’t teach me. But we can study together.’ I looked at her. She looked nice, and I couldn’t blame the thirteen guys for trying. ‘My room at eight? Ever been to the