Mamoni baideo was the real embodiment of cool in the way she lived her life. The manner in which she confronted the trials and the tribulations that came along her way and the ups and the massive downs in her life is a testimony to her enormous ability to show 'grace under pressure.' She was a real mother figure to most students who went out to Delhi for their education. Your wonderful piece has actually sparked memories of my own run-ins with Baideo during my Delhi University days too. Every year as the annual exams came knocking, we would ritualistically pay a visit to her quarters at the DU campus to fish for probable questions for the Assamese MIL paper. She would initially refuse to divulge what might come in the exams. “How do I know what will come in the exam? I am not the paper setter.” she used to say, in a chiding tone. But after a little prodding and a round of tea and biscuits, she would finally give in and provide us with clear hints of what we might expect in the exam. How were we to know that beneath that ever-smiling face of hers hid a thousand blows she had endured in her lifetime?
Mamoni baideo was the real embodiment of cool in the way she lived her life. The manner in which she confronted the trials and the tribulations that came along her way and the ups and the massive downs in her life is a testimony to her enormous ability to show 'grace under pressure.' She was a real mother figure to most students who went out to Delhi for their education. Your wonderful piece has actually sparked memories of my own run-ins with Baideo during my Delhi University days too. Every year as the annual exams came knocking, we would ritualistically pay a visit to her quarters at the DU campus to fish for probable questions for the Assamese MIL paper. She would initially refuse to divulge what might come in the exams. “How do I know what will come in the exam? I am not the paper setter.” she used to say, in a chiding tone. But after a little prodding and a round of tea and biscuits, she would finally give in and provide us with clear hints of what we might expect in the exam. How were we to know that beneath that ever-smiling face of hers hid a thousand blows she had endured in her lifetime?
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