The next morning, the classroom buzzed with the usual chatter as students shuffled to their seats. It was the first period—Economics. The teacher strode in, pushing her glasses up her nose before launching into the topic.
"Alright, class. Today, we will be discussing Inflation."
The moment she wrote the word on the board, a collective groan echoed through the room.
"Can anyone tell me what inflation is?"
A few hands hesitantly went up. Someone muttered, "It's when prices go up, right?"
The teacher nodded. "Correct, but that's a simplified version. Inflation is the general increase in the price of goods and services over time, reducing the purchasing power of money. Imagine you had ₹100 and could buy ten chocolates with it last year, but now you can only buy eight. That's inflation at work."
Kiya, who had been busy doodling on her notebook, suddenly perked up. "Ma'am, isn't this like when our pocket money runs out faster than expected?"
The class chuckled.
"Yes, Kiya. It's exactly like that," the teacher sighed, "except instead of blaming your spending habits, you blame the economy."
The class continued with occasional interruptions from Kiya, who seemed to have an endless supply of irrelevant but oddly entertaining analogies.
The History Mayhem
The second period arrived—History. The teacher, a strict woman with a no-nonsense attitude, entered the class, scanned the room, and wrote "Johar" on the blackboard in bold letters.
"Who can tell me what Johar is?" she asked, arms crossed.
A few students hesitated before someone confidently answered, "It's about Rajasthan."
Another chimed in, "It's related to Rani Padmini of Chittor!"
At the mention of Rani Padmini, Kiya stopped poking Jay's arm and finally paid attention. But her newfound focus didn't last long—she leaned toward Jay again, whispering nonsense about how he should start using face masks. Jay, who had been ignoring her so far, sighed in defeat.
"Kiya!" the teacher suddenly called out.
Kiya froze mid-whisper. "Y-Yes, ma'am?"
"Tell us about Rani Padmini."
Kiya gulped. She had only overheard one thing—the part about Padmini's beauty. Mustering all her confidence, she stood up and began,
"Rani Padmini of Chittor was... um... a woman. A very beautiful woman. In fact, her beauty was so famous that people talked about it everywhere. She used to maintain it by using rose water and moisturizer face masks. If we should learn something from her, it's how to take care of our beauty!"
A stunned silence filled the classroom. The teacher's eye twitched. "Are you sure you're talking about Rani Padmini and not your own skincare routine?"
A tiny giggle was heard from the back of the classroom. It came from none other than Bella.
The teacher turned to her. "Bella, don't laugh. You're not much better. Now, tell me—what was Johar?"
Bella blinked and, after a dramatic pause, started confidently, "Padmini was the second wife of the king. His first wife didn't like her at all. The two wives kept fighting and bullying each other until one day, the first wife tortured Padmini, and she had no choice but to commit Johar."
The class erupted into laughter.
"Bella," the teacher said, rubbing her temples, "this is not a soap opera. You're not writing a script for a drama serial. Johar was a historical act of mass self-immolation performed by Rajput women to protect their honor when faced with inevitable defeat by enemies, not a domestic feud between two wives!"
"But ma'am," Bella protested, "it's true that the king had two wives!"
The teacher let out a long, exhausted sigh. "That may be true, but that is not why Johar happened!"