Heroes - The Binu Blueman Story

It is said that heroes are ordinary people who do extraordinary things. We were a batch of "promising" future engineers. Our class consisted of 26 boys and 1 girl and yet, we had a hero amidst our ranks. He was a man of very few words. He never liked attention and was often considered an introvert. But then there comes a time when every hero takes his stand. That fleeting moment that marks the character of a higher mortal. I am about to tell you the story of that fateful day when Mr. Binu Blueman chose the path of a hero.

It was late in the morning. The monsoon season had already kicked in and the humidity was at an all time high. The heat was getting to each and everyone of us. To make matters worse we were stuck in a back to back session of Computer Programming class which was taught by a staff whom we all affectionately referred to as Pollachi. There were many reasons why we decided to name her that. But all that is unimportant. She had a high pitched voice which she never had a good command over and we were always at the receiving end of the agonizingly distorted noise that she referred to as "The Basics of C++". But today would be different than all the other days that we ever sat in her class. Today a student would stand up against the ignorant and unjust educational system and ask for rights that were never before considered possible.

As we came to the end of the first session, Pollachi's extraordinary hearing power intercepted a few giggles and chit-chat that had so far gone unnoticed. Although to this day, none of us know who the actual culprits were, Pollachi was certain that it was Mr. Sharif and Mr. Linay. She asked the two innocent victims to stand up and without warning let out an array of high pitched verbal assaults which ended with the line "Now both of you get out of the class!!!". Being responsible members of society, the students argued and tried to prove their innocence but it was worthless. As the argument picked up, Mr. Binu Blueman arose from his chair and presented a question: "Ma'am, can I go out of the class?". Everybody was shocked. It took a while for us to take in what had just happened. Pollachi was taken aback. She raised her voice which was now peaking at an incredibly high frequency and asked "Why are you standing up? Why do you want to get out of the class?". But the only reply she got was "Please ma'am. Please".

Unlike other stories, our hero never got what he wanted but his little act was enough to distract Pollachi from wrecking further damage to innocent victims. The class continued for another 40 minutes. At the end of the class, I ran over to Binu's seat and asked him what prompted him to ask such a thing. Being a man of originality and wisdom, he looked at me and said "With great power comes great responsibility". Those simple words summarized the way of the Heroes.

Whenever I feel there is a need to stand up and fight against the unjust, I always look back at those words and think of the man who made us all realize that heroes are ordinary people who do extraordinary things.