The Taming of Mr. Suraweera

Denzil Jayasinghe

3 min read

This story set in 1965 recounts the author’s experience with a strict and physically abusive teacher, Mr. Suraweera, during his time at St. Anthony’s Primary School. Mr. Suraweera’s reign of terror ended after an incident where he injured a student, leading to a confrontation with the student’s father.

Monday mornings at St. Anthony’s Primary were once a battleground, with young Denzil and his classmates caught in the crossfire of Mr. Suraweera’s temper. The burly grade 5 teacher, infamous for his harsh discipline, ruled their world with an iron fist and a sharp tongue.

The boys’ sanctuary — a fragile classroom with a thatched roof — offered little protection from Mr. Suraweera’s wrath. They endured punishments that seemed to stretch time itself: standing for eternity, sharp blows that rang in their ears, and the constant threat of flying objects propelled by their teacher’s rage.

In their desperation, the boys concocted plans worthy of young masterminds. They attempted to engineer their escape by weakening the roof, hoping for a torrential downpour to force the school’s closure. Yet, the skies remained traitorously clear, and their schemes washed away like chalk on a rainy day.

The turning point arrived unexpectedly, like a bolt of lightning from a cloudless sky. In a moment of unbridled fury, Mr. Suraweera’s keys became a projectile, missing their intended target but finding an unintended one — Rohan Vincent’s face. As blood trickled down Rohan’s cheek, it marked the beginning of the end of Mr. Suraweera’s reign of terror.

The incident sent shockwaves through the school, rippling out to reach Rohan’s father. Dressed in a suit that seemed to radiate authority, he delivered a warning to Mr. Suraweera in crisp English. His words, though calm, carried the weight of a storm about to break.

Miraculously, Rohan’s injury healed without lasting damage, but the true transformation occurred within Mr. Suraweera. Like a lion suddenly aware of its claws, he withdrew his physical punishments. The classroom atmosphere shifted, tension dissipating like morning mist under the sun.

For Denzil, who had once dreaded each Monday like an impending doom, school days now held a glimmer of hope. The thatched roof above them, once a symbol of their fragile existence under Mr. Suraweera’s rule, now sheltered a classroom learning to breathe again.

As Denzil lay in bed on subsequent Monday mornings, the weight on his chest had lifted. He no longer wished for disasters or dreamed of escape. Instead, he found himself curious about what each new day at St. Anthony’s might bring. The remaining months of grade 5 stretched before him not as a sentence to be endured, but as a journey to be experienced.

In the end, it wasn’t the boys’ mischievous plans that brought about change, but an unfortunate accident that catalysed transformation. Mr. Suraweera, once the source of their fears, had become a reminder that even the stormiest of weathers eventually gives way to calmer skies.