2017 rolls in, I remember exactly 30 years back first time I went for an interview for a full time teaching job with the esteemed Delhi SPA for a post of lecturer in Master of Urban Design, in the late mid eighties, I had tough and good quality competition from very close and dear friends. I knew some of them were better than me. But I crossed my fingers. It was a short interview. Prof. Edgar Rebeiro was chair of the committee and HoD was Prof.Ravindran. I was not selected. I was sad, but Champion was selected for good reasons. Days later we went for the party and things were ok. There was a future to look forward to. My love for SPA persisted.

Second time, I had applied for lecturer in Architecture, and there was a larger competition from all kinds of people; from close friends to unknown incumbents. We lined up outside the room with nervous faces. Prof. Prem Chowdhri chaired the committee. One of the many right hands of Joseph Allen Stein and J.R. Bhalla, Prof. Chowdhri needs no introduction. An indispensable figure in that office, and out side in various construction sites of SDB, Prof.Chowdhri has also been a highly respected teacher of building construction in SPA. Many of his clone students remember his expertise in various manners particularly his timeless knowledge of detailing.

I entered the interview room on my turn and sat down with some papers in hand. Knowing this, I was trying to remember building bye laws etc. and what is soil bearing capacity and things like,chemistry of curing or amount of steel required per cubic meter of casting for pre cast slabs etc. and proportion of cement sand and chips in M60 mortar etc. But, he turned out to be more philosophical; he asked the first and most important question that any interviewer could have asked under such circumstances. “So tell us – Why do you want to teach??? “ Now I had a choice of taking it as any one of the following.

WHY do you want to teach?
Why do YOU want to teach?
Why do you want to TEACH?  
Answers to these different questions could be different. However Prof.Chowdhuri is known for no nonsense and I realized he was by then repeating in his firm voice...  so WHY do YOU want to TEACH !!

I, considering myself to be an intellectual, declared ‘I want to teach because if one teaches, one gets to know more things’ and felt highly impressed with myself by my smart answer. Well, he was not quite satisfied, now he asked “come on, how is that ever possible could you explain how that happens?” Now I was in a tighter corner and groped for a more intelligent answer to this completely unexpected inquiry, what I had said was not obvious to him.  I thought hard and blabbered “Sir if you teach then students will ask you questions and you have to be prepared to answer and that means you need to know and know more than the students so you get to know more... ...

He waived his hands and stopped my lecture abruptly and said oh my god! You do not even know the fundamentals of teaching and come to give an interview at SPA ? ….. At this point of time Ar. Uttam Jain, a member of the selection committee, sat up straight from his leaning posture and gave a rather confusing and worried look at both of us. Now I desperately broke in Hindi ‘ par woh kaise hota Sir ?  - - how does that happen ?  Prof. Prem ( no disgrace to his beautiful name) lovingly replied, “ It is teachers who ask question and make question papers and students come prepared and answer, not other way round, every child knows this.. Okay ? "

Uttam Jain collapsed back in recline, the interview was over, I got up with my papers and while turning back to go out saw another member of the committee, smiling unto himself while bidding me a silent goodbye. That is how I became one of Raje’s little friends. I was not selected, and this time not so sad but more disgusted.