Days Under the Crescent SunMemoirPune1990s

Punish Meant

Four Crescent experiments in unintended consequences

Crescent's punishments were liberal, creative and occasionally in the newspapers. The only trouble was working out who was actually being punished.

By Vinaay Patil4 min read
A sunny 1990s school corridor in sepia ink and watercolour: a long line of boys in white shirts and yellow shorts waits outside a classroom, two boys chat in an otherwise empty room while a bored teacher props up his chin under the clock, a boy stands on a bench under a ceiling fan, a barber trims hair in a small shop across the way, and in the middle a schoolboy strolls along, hands in pockets, perfectly pleased with himself.
Mischief Along the School Corridor · every punishment, in progress, and nobody suffering
When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.
Oscar Wilde

The Charge Sheet

When it comes to punishing its folks, Crescent comes across as one of the most liberal institutions around. And sometimes the punishments beg a question: who exactly were they meant for?

Crime: Shabbiness

Charge sheet · No. 1

Crescent, 1990s
Crime
Shabbiness
Indications
Dirty clothes (not ironed). Dirty shoes (not polished). Long hair (boys only). Long nails.
Punishment
Spend the first lecture standing in front of the office, and consequently miss the important studies of the first lecture.

MeantNow tell me, how can standing outside class, not attending it, be a punishment!!! Especially when the student has not done the homework that was due in the first lecture.

Surely someone should have noticed the discrepancy when students were no longer being caught by the prefects, but were surrendering themselves and joining the line of shabby students to be punished.

It meant an escape from homework: forty idle minutes in the mild morning sun, discussing the significance of what was on TV the day before. After all, stamping on your own shoes twice is way easier than writing two pages of homework.

A sunlit corridor outside a classroom: a long queue of schoolboys in white shirts and yellow shorts leans against the wall, chatting and grinning, while two boys at the front share a joke. Through the open door, a teacher carries on with an almost empty class.
The Shabby Line · forty idle minutes, no homework, excellent company

Crime: Homework Not Done

Charge sheet · No. 2

Crescent, 1990s
Crime
Homework not done
Indications
Returning with no homework and innocently asking, “What was the homework? I did not know it was due today.”
Punishment
Varied. Stand for a good ten minutes, get a nice dressing-down from the teacher, and then... and then... well, sit down.

However, for a few years (err, correction: months... err, correction: maybe weeks), Crescent experimented with a Detention Class. Basically an extra hour after school, in which the student had to sit and complete the homework, and only then was allowed to go home.

MeantNobody really understood whom the Detention Class was punishing. For the students, who simply carried on their idyllic conversations about TV shows for an extra hour, it did not seem like one.

An empty classroom in golden late-afternoon light: two boys in white shirts and yellow shorts sit at a desk chatting happily, an open notebook ignored, while at the front a moustached teacher in a checked shirt rests his chin on his hand and stares into space under a wall clock.
The Detention Class · spot the person being punished

It really was a punishment for the teacher, who had to sit there monitoring the students and went home an hour late, for no fault of their own. Eventually the folly was realised, and the Detention Class was abandoned.

Crime: Talkative

Charge sheet · No. 3

Crescent, 1990s
Crime
Talkative
Indications
Excessive chattering with neighbours.
Punishment
A good 29 minutes standing on the bench.

MeantI do not know how standing on the bench affected the student's vocal cords. The measure seemed especially worthless when the first sentence the student uttered after getting down was:

“Upar fan ki hawa acchi lagti hai, fresh lag raha hai.”

(The fan's breeze is lovely up there. Feels so fresh.)
A sunny classroom: a boy in a white shirt and yellow shorts stands on a wooden bench right under a whirring ceiling fan, eyes closed and smiling blissfully, while his classmates grin up at him and the moustached teacher at the blackboard looks on, pointer in hand.
Breeze Above the Classroom · 29 minutes of the best seat in the room

Crime: Long Hair

Charge sheet · No. 4

Crescent, 1990s
Crime
Long hair
Indications
Hair covering the ears (boys only).
Punishment
Sometimes (very rarely), a pair of scissors was brought out and the student's hair was cut from the side, ensuring a bald patch was visible.

MeantThis punish-meant proved really controversial. It even featured in the papers, as “Parents complain of mental trauma at hands of teacher”. Apparently some students did not take the punishment in the right spirit, and their sensitive parents destroyed the spirit of the punishment itself.

Anyway, long ago, all it meant was a trip to the barber before going home. The victims could not possibly go home and face the inquest: “What were you doing on SUNDAY? Couldn't you get a haircut!!”

And it really meant good business for the barber, on an otherwise dull weekday.

A small 1990s Pune barber's shop: a schoolboy in a white shirt and yellow shorts sits in a red barber's chair with a short patch on the side of his head, looking sideways a little nervously, while the moustached barber concentrates on evening it out with scissors and comb. A folded newspaper lies on the bench in front.
The Nervous Barber Shop Trim · evening it out before anyone at home asks about Sunday

Who was actually punished?

Final report
4 experiments
CrimePunishmentReally meant for
ShabbinessStand outside the office, 1st lectureNobody. Students queued up.
Homework not doneDetention Class, +1 hourThe teacher
Talkative29 minutes on the benchNobody. Better breeze.
Long hairSide-cut with scissorsThe parents, then the barber's till
Experiments: 4. Intended results: 0.
Verdict

The gods, as Oscar Wilde said, punish us by answering our prayers. Crescent did the same.

It just answered the wrong person's prayers every time.

— Vinaay Patil

Prayers Answered

Minutes of the unintended consequences committee

  • Students: no homework✓
  • Students: fresh air✓
  • Barber: weekday business✓
  • Teacher: home on time✗
Case closed · nobody learnt anything

Days Under the Crescent Sun

Stories from school days and a 1990s Pune childhood: plans that were too clever, teachers who were never questioned, and the people who made it all bearable.

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