Some hard memories of my school life!!!………

I went to a Matric High Sec School till 4th Class…Going to school by walking 1-2 kms by myself with backpack and tiffin box…enjoying the flowers, blossoms, butterfly moving from flower to another…with the “akashvani” New or “Vivithbarathi inyin bharathaka ollivarisai”…blasts from the radio from every other house…”Andhamanai parungal azhagu….”….humming some lines within me…as I walk under the basking sun…sweating through the skin by the time I reach school..I dread going to school till my 4th class, I vaguely remember those tensed up, shivering with fear before my maths teacher…Nirmala Miss....But I love her for her teaching skill and equally scared too as she is one freaking ma’am who slaps right on the cheek if I turn my head away from the blackboard…..very scared…even though I top the class….I remember her young sister (Raji Miss), also a teacher in the same school…but teaches other subject… english, science…I’m a rounder then…a good dancer….I join every other dance programme in school..be it parent’s day, children’s day…name it any..to drive my parents crazy to come up with a good outfit for the dance…..I’ll be up in the stage dancing with my male partner…some hip shakes…one fingers pointing upwards towards the sky and the other down…some turns..clockwise..anti-clockwise…stepping on the partner’s leg…holding his hand…..to some English musical disc which runs on the old gramophone..really the 80’s….

Ma’am Raji also takes care of the extra-curricular activities… dance, poem recitation, essay competition, speech etc etc….Dance! My favourite pie…She shows us some steps…and we go through these steps …just 10 steps…for 5 rounds repetition…..she goes 1-2-3 1-2-3….I remember, for a parent’s day, being enthusiastic in participating that year… unfortunately or fortunately, they have outsourced some one from outside to teach us some good reasonable decent dance drama..the “Kuravan and Kurathi dance”…I was playing the male part and my junior, Sathya the female partner….This professional dancer taught us the whole 5 minutes dance step in one go and she left for good….How are we, hardly 8yrs me and 6yr old Sathya remember the endless steps within 1 day…Even Raji Ma’am would not have got the flow…..She didn’t turn up for quite some day…The Parent’s day is coming closure…The dance teacher came and she wanted us to dance from start to end….We hardly remember any…Ma’am Raji showed her anger on us by beating me profusely on my thighs and face…real bashing..I was crying loudly that students who were passing by stood there to watch me as if some morning show was going there…My classteacher, Miss. Poorinima, I remember, a round clean faced, calm, ever-smiling lady, must be in her early 20’s..fresh from college with B.Ed , I believe… is a soft-cornered and I’m kind of apple-of-her-eye as I’m “reserved..calm…studious…1st ranker….”…She smiles always at me..I’ve the picture of her photograph on my mind …..Poorinima ma’am having heard my cries from the classroom…stood there helpless…..When I got back to the class, she called me beside and asked me the reasons why Raji Ma’am bet me?...She was more concerned and consoled me…..She could not do beyond that……

Then after endless rehearsal, we remembered each step…..As the Parent’s day are coming close, Raji ma’am told us all to bring our costume before hand….My parents ,as usual, over protective or did n’t take my note seriously…they didn’t heed to my words..Each day I’ll get scolding from Raji ma’am…..I came back home to persuade my amma to send the costume packed the next day….My parents as usual , no response..This was going on for some days…One morning, as I was going to my school on the way….Raji ma’am too was walking along with other teachers from the bus stop ….far behind me...I tried to escape….started walking faster…..but she understood…..called my name so loudly…so cannot override you know…me obedient student…She started “Have you brought your costumes today?...”..Me..”No”…She turned like devil before me once again…She bashed me in the middle of the road…all the passerby looking at me….and she forced me to go back home to bring the costume….and never return to school if you don’t bring the costume… ..I walked back home..sweating…crying, sobbing…..trying to wipe away my tears with my hand..so that the people on the road will not find it…..I reached home…Amma came running from the kitchen to open the front gate..I narrated the whole episode whimpering….She couldn’t believe what happened to me…She consoled me and told that when acchan comes home for lunch…he will come and speak to the headmistress…The aunties in the neighbourhood got a nice topic to rant about for the whole day for the rest of the week …”u know what….she is beaten up….in middle of road…”….My Acchan got furious on hearing the entire episode…He hurriedly finished his lunch and making me sit behind the bi-cycle…we were on the way to the school….We went first to the Headmistress room …and my father shouted and voiced out his opinion…Raji ma’am was summoned to the office room…I was frightened at her presence and I hardly turned towards her direction….”Is this how you treat a small kid?..beating up.. in the middle of the road..asking her to go back home….what happens if something else happens..we parents, sent our children thinking that teachers act as parents and take the responsibility of the children…costumes can be given on the parent’s day…what happens that if it get lost..or misplaced some where in the school and is not there on the performance…”…He gave a mouthful…I was proud that my Acchan gave his piece of brain to the whole situation…I was happy that Raji ma’am was standing face down in front of the Headmistress….I was asked to go to my class…I don’t know what happened after that…I was treated in kind manner by Raji ma’am afterthat…She used to say later “Evannalla Nalla thettuvanghikitten..” (Because of her I got nice scolding)

On the D-day, I remember my amma came with a flask filled with hot simmering Tea and biscuits…Still saved in my file called “memories”….We were the best dance performer of the “Parent’s day”…In fact, the headmistress informed Raji ma’am that we will be given special gifts for our performance….I don’t remember having received any gifts for our performance…...My brother was very proud of me…He was sitting in the audience along with my parents..Someone in the front row exclaimed “Andha kuravan supera aadran illey…..”…(That male performer is dancing superbly, is it not?..)..

Then I was moved to a new CBSE school….the syllabus is different and tough….It took some months for me to catch up with studies…the running alphabets, which I hardly know…During dictation I’m the last to finish…I was asked to sit in the first bench……Being new to school, I was not in the “On demand” list …be it dance, any competition for that matter as I used to be in my previous school…I got back into the lonely world…my circle of thoughts….my books…..Sports is not my piece of cake…I come last in the running race..and my PT master scolds me if I don’t do my high jump…I was tumble against the bar….I feel really low in my new school….Then 6th class we all moved to the new building “Primary school”…in a new area……There we are all new….So it kind of starting all over again from the scratch for everyone…Then I picked it up very fast…turned out to be a good studious person….But still ..the term “junior”…”Senior”..categorization……still the partiality concept…the star performers are always on the call for any competition…the toddler’s like me are hardly given or rather encouraged for the opportunity….it was a tough competition….to cut across the iron bar…..left the rat race…and succumbed to my inferiority complex….focussed more on “Studies”…that is what parents also love it in our days…”High marks…professional college…”…B.E…/MBBS….oiling our already dreaming career…..Ah..the school days….lost in the world of biology, chemistry, physics, maths….love to hear my class mates tease me…”hey, don’t disturb her..she is tete-a-tete with her notes”….and very much felt elated when my biography from my 12 standard classmates titled me “Centum-sumy”…My father’s sweetheart….

Then, being unfortunate or luck didn’t kissed me at the right time, I didn’t get into any professional college…oops!! Yeah, got in Palghat..but being a over-protected Acchan or already-had-made-up-my-mind-that-my-daughter-cannot-lead-her-life-all-by-herself attitude of Acchan, he earnestly rejected the offer letter right in front of me for B.Tech (Civil Engineering) seat…My heart sank…..Total dejection in my life…How can you do that? Girls cannot have a career in Civil Engineering…how can they go to the site and work along with guys?....Accha…..!!! Later he regretted for his folly….But it was too late….