Church confessions of late have fallen into disrepute following the fate suffered by a woman in Kerala who made a clean breast of her mental burdens before some priests, who seem to have found it a God-given opportunity to exploit her sexually. However, true confessions help purge oneself of the agonies a person suffers due to their past sins. Hence, I venture to confess two of my wrong acts which I committed due to circumstances. I firmly believe that the Almighty will take a lenient view.
The first time I violated the law of the land was when I wrote the SSLC examination in the sixties. I used to score high marks in all subjects except mathematics in which I usually got zero marks out of 50 and at best five. I could not make head or tail of the complex equations, figures and calculations taught in the class by the maths teacher whom I dreaded, for he was harsh in punishing ignoramuses like me—for all the wrong answers I gave to his questions. But for the annual exam I found a way out. I simply copied the answers from the answer sheet of my bright friend who was sitting in front of me and with whom I had reached a deal earlier. He showed me clearly whatever he was writing.
When the results were declared, I had scored first class in all subjects, including maths, and was one of the handful in the entire school in my village who came out with flying colours. Even my maths teacher was taken aback by my performance.I broke the law another time when I travelled ticketless on a train after I secured a job as an apprentice in a company in a city in the early seventies.
I was being paid `200 as monthly stipend and was leading a miserly existence in a rented room in the outskirts. Of course, that sum was good enough to sustain a bachelor with frugal habits like me in those days as one could rent a bed in a lodge for `20 a month and get vegetarian meal for `1. I travelled to my place of residence by the late-night train with a ticket costing around `2.
But one of my friends said he was travelling ticketless daily as there was no checking. I followed in his footsteps one night, but had to hide myself in the toilet when the TTE came asking for tickets unexpectedly. I still dread to think of the consequences had I been caught red-handed with no money to spare for any possible fine.The minor and major errors I have committed in my life are legion, but I confess them before God and hope that He will forgive me.