India, March 11 -- Though one keeps learning from mistakes, sometimes a situation presents itself in such a manner that one ends up committing the mistake again.

The year was 1980. I was studying in a boarding school. Six o'clock was wake-up time. Within minutes, we would fall in line and rush to the playground for physical drill. Getting out of bed in the dead of winter and running for our lives was a scary proposition. But once our bodies were warmed up, we were our chirpy best. Our South Indian physical training instructor would shout at the top of his voice, while we did our best to misinterpret his instructions to suit our whims. The instructor would fume and fret as our camaraderie blossomed with the generous exchange of giggles wh...