Turning into an absent minded professor

Well, teaching is quite a strain on one's nerves and grey cells, not to forget those strained vocal chords......
look at me, three months into college teaching and am already turning into the conventional absent minded professor.Wake up one fine sunday and you think of calling a university senior and congratulating her on her wedding......five minutes after talking to her, realisation dawns that it isnt your senior but another accquaintance of the same name who was the one who tied the knot.
Thank God, I didnt embarass my senior and managed to hold my ground with the other pal. Though she was confused why i repeatedly asked her about days at Madras University, while she is from MCC. Much confusion arising from the fact that both of them have names like Rachel and both were working with the Indian Express. but, how did I not notice the difference in the mobile numbers??
A few hours later, another misnomer......I mistake an old pal from a common writer's workshop to be my junior from college and rave about old profs....the poor fellow is totally confused, smiles politely and walks away......realisation dawns later and I look around to apologise to the fellow, but he is nowhere to be seen. Feel really sorry for him.When one is teaching, one generally tries to remember the names of all the students with disastrous effects.......often confusing them. But what is the poor teacher's fault.....how does one remember a name like Prateeksha, say when there are two girls in different classes of the same name but of totally different characteristics.
Worse still, a battallion of Priya's, Priyanka's and Archana's in every class are just beyond comprehension. Why can't parents think of anything unique and different......how can one blame the poor professor for turning absent minded.And to top it all when you think you have almost memorised their names and identify them with their places, they have a trifling argument or quarell amidst themselves and change places.....lo, it starts all over again!!And then the guilt tripping, call a certain Vidyasri as Anuvidya.....and the crest-fallen, 'Maam, you dont know my name??!!' looks are sure to haunt you for the entire day!!Whoever says teaching is a safe vocation....the mutitude of students, the galaxy of youthful high-strung emotions, raging hormones and complex psychologies......whoever can blame the poor, blundering, confused, absent minded college professor for mixing up socks or leaving one's spectacles in the freezer??!! As for me laughing over my Professor dad's idiosyncrasies (wearing a mixed pair of black and brown shoes) and forgetfullness (of whether he locked his car or not) are halycon days that can never come back, all I can do is hope to remember that I locked my bike!!
Sigh, sigh....!!
Romila.