The students are all in the room, but the class teacher, Mr Lobo, is yet to come. Some of the students are desperately finishing their pending homework, some are staring at the walls, lost in thought, and some are engaged in an intense pen-fight tournament. Dhruv is fidgeting with his stationery and staring at the wall clock. 7.55 am. Mr Lobo will arrive any moment. This is his chance. But should he, or should he not?

In a burst of determination, Dhruv gets to his feet and walks over to Tara. The class falls quiet. The pen-fighting stops. The kids who were staring at the walls now have something better to stare at.

Dhruv is awkward but he gets the words out, “Hey, I need to tell you something.”

Tara responds, “I need to tell you something too.”

“You first.”

“No, you first.”

Dhruv works up his courage. “Listen.” He drops his voice to a whisper. “It was me. It was my idea. I made the stink bomb and locked you in the bathroom yesterday.”

Tara stares at him. Something tells her Dhruv is lying. “Are you lying?”

Dhruv goes red in the face, which makes Tara even more certain that she is right.

“Absolutely not! I did it! Now go tell Principal Surya you cannot team up with someone like me for the quiz competition! We can still get out of this jam …”

Tara goes back to her book. “I don’t tell lies, and I certainly don’t repeat other people’s lies.”

Dhruv stands around, feeling like an idiot. He wonders why this is how he always feels around Tara.

He remembers something his dad often says but he has never quite understood until now. *If you are the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room … *

Dhruv blurts out, “What did you want to tell me?”

Tara looks up from her book and says, “Later.” She gestures to the front of the class.

Mr Lobo is here.

At the sports session later that day, Dhruv is dribbling a basketball and effortlessly cutting through the opposition’s defences. He gets to the basket, leaps, and slam-dunks for two points. On the scoreboard, his team’s lead rises to 20. His team comes up to high-five him.

Dhruv shouts to the opposition, “Come on guys, at least challenge me a little!”

Mr Surya’s voice booms across the basketball court. “Dhruv! I can do that!”

Dhruv breaks from his team and runs to the principal, muttering sheepishly, “Good afternoon, sir. I didn’t hear you …”

Mr Surya smiles. “Good afternoon, Dhruv. You like challenges, right? I can give you a challenge. In fact, now that I recall, I have already given you one. But Tara tells me you want to quit before you’ve even begun!”

Dhruv shuffles his feet and stares at the ground.

“Are you a quitter, Dhruv?”

Dhruv’s face screws up in anger. “No, sir! Never!”

Mr Surya smiles. “Take a walk with me.” He leads Dhruv away from the basketball court, into a sunny patch of grass. Dhruv shields his eyes and squints in the bright light.

“Dhruv, you know what you are?”

“Sir?”

“You are like a fish …”

Dhruv interrupted the principal. “No, sir. I’m a boy.”

“Keep quiet and listen!”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

“You are a big fish in a small pond. But the real question is: Are you actually big, or do you only look big because your pond is so small?”

The metaphor flies right over Dhruv’s head.

“What pond, sir?”

Mr Surya spreads his arms wide and gestures at the school. “This pond, Dhruv! This school. Your friends, your teachers, your sports. This is your kingdom. Your second home. You love it here because everyone knows you. Everyone admires you. But is that enough?”

Dhruv keeps quiet.

“Why do you come here, Dhruv?”

“To study, sir.”

“Not just to study. You are also here to grow. And sometimes, to grow, the big fish has to leave his small pond behind.”

The metaphor is slowly sinking in. Mr Surya notices a glimmer of understanding.

“You want a challenge, Dhruv? You want to grow? Go compete in the quiz. You will face off against thousands of children from all across India, who are just as smart and just as eager to win. The final rounds will be telecast live on television. There may be millions watching! There won’t be a bigger pond to prove that you are a winner … The question is this, Dhruv: Can you only win when the competition is weak? Or can you also win when your opponents are really challenging you?”

Dhruv’s voice is firm. “I want to take part in the quiz, sir. I really want to. Just please give me a different teammate.”

Mr Surya smiles. “You asked for it, you got it.”

“Thank you, sir!”

“There’s just one condition.”

Dhruv’s shoulders drop.

Mr Surya and his ‘conditions’ were the stuff of school legend. That’s how he always got you.

“What, sir?

“You can pick any teammate you want, as long as that person scored more than you in the history exam.”

Dhruv is confused for a second, and then he gets it. Mr Surya walks away, chuckling at his own cruel joke. Dhruv, of course, doesn’t think it’s funny at all …

Excerpted with permission from Dhruv and Tara: The Great Indian History Quiz, Amish, Red Panda.

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