The bent old body was not able to move even a few steps with the help of those legs which had kept him standing for almost six decades in front of his students. Life had moved so fast that he did not even get a little time to think about himself. The black coat over the white shirt and blue trousers had been his recognition in the college compound. A figure that pulled reverence and obedience, not because of the authority as a professor that he possessed, but because of the humility of his nature, was hardly ever the representation of the academic degrees which he had earned in his career. To a layman he would appear to be a common clerk from any of the government offices in the area. He had seen thousands of students pass from M. B. Degree College to find the fulfillment of their dreams, but he had never aspired to take the wings of flight which would carry him to the world where awards and recognition wait for the aspirants. Teaching, as if, was his religion, and one could see him standing in his classroom, with his trademark smile and powerful voice, which was powerful not because of the high pitch but because of the knowledge it carried.

Today he is going to bid adieu to all this, for he has found that the soul is willing to continue but the physic is not helping. Where had he reached? What had he gained? What had he given to his students? Why was all this happening? Why couldn’t he continue to teach? Thousands of questions were taking shape in his mind. He had always told his students to study devotedly for their better future but where he himself had reached. He had studied under the best of the teachers, at the best of the colleges, and acquired desired degrees, but what he had missed was also not known to him. His family, his wife and children, were presumably happy and well off, and there was almost everything in the house to maintain the so called modern standard.

Many ideals had inspired him to move ahead and he had done so. The philosophical thoughts of Socrates had kindled the fire. Science was the charm of his life, and to pursue the career of a scientist was almost imminent but one day the introduction to the philosophy of Buddha created an impediment. One who was a prince, who had everything at his disposal, had so willingly renounced everything in search of wisdom made him uncertain whether he should continue with the ambition that he had nurtured for a few years. Gradually, the deep study of the works of Bertrand Russell, J. S. Mill, and some of the ancient Greeks brought a visible change. He surrendered and decided that life was meaningless, but it was difficult to remain alive without doing anything because one has to earn one’s livelihood in this world.