Bully

Bully - '(noun) a person who uses strength or influence to harm or intimidate those who are weaker' - that is the dictionary meaning of the word bully we were taught in school. So when Deepika mam asked me the meaning of the word in class, she was pretty sure that I would answer it correctly. Apparently 'Joginder' was not the right answer!

"Nandu," she asked in a perplexed voice, "don't you remember the meaning of the word bully?" "Yes Ma'am, I do. And that's why I said Joginder because I couldn't think of a better way to substantiate my answer with an example as you always ask for." I replied even as I tried catching Joginder's reaction from the corner of my eyes. I could feel him fuming away in anger, ready to break my bones at the first chance he got. Describing Joginder is a little difficult. He belonged to that extra special breed of homo sapiens for whom brawn and brain had the same meaning! All of 12, he towered above the rest of the class by a clear 6 inches and his bulging biceps would have put the action hero Dharmendra to shame! He had already made two valiant attempts to clear the examinations and get promoted to the next class but failed miserably each time. So, as his juniors from lower classes kept joining him as fellow classmates, his natural but hidden traits of a bully kept surfacing to the forefront and now he was the undisputed leader of the bullies in our class! And fortunately or unfortunately I was the class topper in studies so I was always his number one adversary.

It would be foolish to say that I was not intimidated of Joginder; but I always projected that I was not afraid of him. My grandpa always told me, "Don't be afraid of bullies ever Nandu and even if you are, don't show it, because bullies thrive on our fear and the best way to weaken them is to act fearless in front of them." My continued acts of defiance had further aggravated the situation and he was now seething in anger and waiting for an opportunity to wreak havoc on me! So, when I openly took his name as the class bully, it acted as the last straw on the camel's back and he was more than ready to strike at me.

As expected, after school was over for the day, Joginder was waiting for me outside the school premises with his bunch of followers and accosted me as soon as I stepped out. "So you think you are very smart, huh?" he shouted at me. "You think that you can simply insult me in front of the whole class and walk away just like that?" his voice was now shaking with anger. "Look Joginder, let's not make a scene here." I tried to reason with him, "You are one of the best athlete in our class. Why don't you utilise your time in some sports activities rather than loitering around and bullying your fellow students?" This piece of unasked for advice seemed to irk him further. "Don't give me your useless advice." he shouted even as he stepped towards me menacingly, his hands ready to shower blows on me. Just as he held my collar, there was a loud blaring sound of a jeep horn and he backed off immediately.

I looked up towards where the jeep was and smiled as I saw Subroto uncle walking towards us. I could see the surprise and fear in Joginder's eyes when he saw Subroto uncle approaching us. He had never expected a police officer to appear on the scene all of a sudden. Approaching us, Subroto uncle enquired "Nandu, is this your athlete friend you were telling me about? He looks quite a tough guy! I am sure he must be a great sportsperson. "Young man," Subroto uncle addressed Joginder "Nandu, my nephew praises you a lot. I hope you are working hard in whichever sports discipline you have taken up. Remember, there is no substitute for hard work, whether it be sport, studies or any other field. So work hard and do well. If you need any help or support from me, just tell Nandu know who can then inform me and I will try my best to extend complete support to you. All the best." he finished even as he extended his hands and gave Joginder a firm handshake. I was watching Joginder all this while. He was perplexed, puzzled and speechless. He couldn't fathom the fact that I had a police officer as an uncle. What was all the more surprising for him was that I had only spoken good about him to Subroto uncle though he had always been looking for opportunities to bully me. What he would have expected was a sound thrashing from Subroto uncle for his bullying ways but what he got was words of support and encouragement. I could see the fear in his eyes give way to remorse. And even as I hopped on to Subroto uncle's jeep to leave for home and waved him goodbye for the day, I knew I had won him over and was sure his days as a class bully were over.

Bully - '(noun) a person who uses strength or influence to harm or intimidate those who are weaker' - that was the dictionary meaning of the word 'bully' that we were taught in school. Joginder had heard, understood and learnt only the part related to strength. If only he had read and understood the complete meaning. 'Influence' is what he had missed out but I hadn't. I knew I couldn't win him over with strength but I could definitely use the power of influence! So, the previous evening I had very cleverly requested Subroto uncle to pick me up from school for the next couple of days, which he readily agreed to as I was his favourite nephew and he seldom said no to my requests. I had also been feeding his ears with good things about Joginder so that he had a good impression about him. I knew that few words of praise, encouragement and support would have more influence on Joginder than any amount of threat or intimidation. The last part of my meticulous plan was brought to conclusion by my declaring him as a bully in front of the whole class! Needless to say I knew that our English teacher would definitely ask us the meaning of bully as that was amongst the list of words we had to learn as part of our weekly homework assignment. Clever me!

So, this is how Natkhat Nandu was able to win over a bully without raising his hands. And that my friends is no mean achievement! I need to leave you guys now as I need to rush over to help Nobita save himself from Jian, the eternal bully and that is one hell of a task! 

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