While feeding me at the grill on
the third floor, mom would often point her hand towards the children playing in
the school sandpit and say ‘Monu that’s your school, look at the kids there,
when you become big you also have to go there’
My little mind started dreaming
of going to school, the sand pit, the jhula and the playing all I would dream
often ‘mom when will I become big?’ I would keep asking while I go to
sleep
Finally the day came for me to go
to the school.. I was excited; I happily wore the uniform, with the new bag and
the colourful water bottle I just waited impatiently for my mom to leave me to
school.
On the way to school, mom had
lots of instruction to give, I kept on wondering why does she have to give me
this many instructions, all I am going to do at school is to play in the sand
pit and when I am tired I can eat the sandwiches that mom kept in the tiffin !
The moment we entered the school
I ran to the sand pit ‘No, you need to meet the teacher first’ mom instructed
I saw many children on the way.. Some
are crying ‘Why are they crying?’ I asked mom
‘They don’t want to become big,
but you are the smartest’ she pated me
‘Be a good boy, when you come
back will give a surprise’ mom told me
‘Can you wait out?’ I looked at
her with an enquiry in my eyes
‘Ya ya I will wait out, this security person won’t
allow me inside the class’ she smiled at me
It started getting scary now..
all the children of my age are crying clinging to their mothers hands, suddenly
I realised I don’t want to go to school ‘mom I don’t want to school’ I
whispered in her ear
‘No.. You have to go to school,
you have to become like ur dad’ she reminded me
In sometime one teacher came out
of the class and collected all of us, it was nothing like I dreamed of ! strict
teacher wouldn’t even allow me to go to sand pit even once ! ‘I don’t like the school’ I said to my mom
on returning
Mom dint answer me, but somehow
next day with force she made me ready for school.. That day I realised if I
like it or not, I have to go to school! Mom wouldn’t allow me to sit at home!
How I hated my teacher for telling me to sit quite!
‘This is an apple’ Lolita teacher draw an elephant on the
black board and insisted us to try drawing one
‘A p p l e’ she spelled out
Seriously, it was a great feeling, I learned new things each
day, I realised I am becoming big boy every day!
‘Share the chocolate with everyone’ Lolita teacher told me
when I brought the chocolates on my birthday
I would go and discuss with my mom about everything that
happened in the school as if she never gone to the school and she would
patiently listen my problems and queries, she had solution for all the problems.
Somehow Lolita teacher was my
inspiration, anything that comes out from her mouth was the final word for me,
at time I have this tiff with mom, she would suggest things in a different way
than Lolita teacher and I would object ‘You don’t know anything, teacher taught
me like this’ I would do exactly the way my teacher showed me.
‘You are monitor for a month’ Lolita teacher selected me as
the monitor of the class
God, how proud I was to wear the
monitor badge on my uniform! I wouldn’t sleep all night thinking of minding my
class the next day as a Prime Minister has to take care of the country!
I cried literally when I got
promoted to the secondary, I knew I would do miss my Lolita teacher, she had
become my role model in this 4 years transforming me from a little boy to a bigger
boy!
‘You are no more a little boy’ Thomas
introduced himself as the class teacher
Few days I would sit and compare
Thomas sir and Lolita teacher but then I knew I like him! he would insist us on improving our life,
improving our hidden talents, everything was special about him, the way he taught,
the way he presented things, the way he made each one of special, he knew each
one of us were special, he never compared with any of us with the other
children. He gave the idea of taking part in all activities like dance, song
and even studies in a competition level.
Thomas sir become an inspiration
in my life soon, he was a middle aged man but still he would control each of us
and would guide us, our little experiments and study tours were wouldn’t have
been successful without him..
Soon it was time to go the high
school. ‘You need to give more interest
to your studies now’ mom would advise
Somehow mom and kid relationship
is gone bit different from here, I started trusting more on my friends and
would question on each and everything that happened new in my life. Suddenly I realised I have become a matured
boy!
I realised my body is growing! I
became more interested in the other gender of the class! I liked all the
subject taught in the class, but still I longed for more fun. Anniamma teacher was
a role model to kids. She would mix
with the children as she is one of them!
‘Physical exercise is very
important to this stage of growing’ Anniamma teacher would often tell
I realised it’s not necessary to
win in all the competitions which I took part,
everything there was new learning, new experiences which made me matured
each day !
I was a good boy but still I got
into argument with a group of boys after the school and ended up fighting
bitterly. I have never seen Anniamma teacher so angry, she was upset and first
time in my life I got beatings with her stick!
I cried so bitterly I was not upset
about the beating but I saw the anger in her eyes, ‘You need to face the world,
there would be good boys and bad boys, you cannot fight all the time’ Teacher
consoled me when she saw me crying. That day I wowed myself no fight with the
other kids whatsoever the matter is!
I enjoyed everything about school
by now, I realised more than home I am spending my time in school, I found few
best friends who would stand up with me in any difficulty even after my school
days, and of-course there were bad friends too, who would ditch me to face the
bad realities of life alone.
‘It’s the best phase of your
life’ Anniamma teacher would often tell in the class
Somehow on a later date I
realised the school days were the best days of my life was the school days
!
