Busy with the humdrum of my life.. taking along inside me a heart full of perplexions and reflections, i was walking along the road i take everyday to reach the mainroad from where i take a rickshaw to the metro station. After a lot of days i was feeling light as well as right, my walk reflecting my state of mind- calm, but resolved. I waved to a rickshaw and boarded it. As happens daily, i passed by a school on my way. But unlike everyday, today i couldn't hear the drums and a band being played at its morning assembly nor was there a mêlée of students entering the school premises in their usual fashion. But what i saw brought an instant smile to my face and my mind hurled back to my school days and all the good things it lead to. That's when instantaneously this post took birth in my head.
There were students outside the school some of them dressed up in their school uniforms, accompanied by their mothers and fathers. They were either going in or coming out of the big black iron school gate. Oh yes, i said to me, it was a PTA meeting, aka Parent-and-Teacher Meet (i've never known what the 'A' in PTA stands for.. 'association', is it?)
But this was not what made me smile. It was the report cards and fresh stack of books being carried by the students and their parents that brought back sweet memories of the PTA meetings in my school (Kulachi Hansraj Model School, Ashok Vihar, pbui) and how we looked forward to these meets..(err.. ok till primary school we really did look forward to reportcards, ok?) The smell of new books, all bound in transparent book covers and all kinds of practical files and drawing stuff and art books and what not! Stationery material continues to tempt me till date, but the craze to open newly printed school books was surreal and oh! darn me if i let even a crease befall on the spine of my precious new book..NO SIR! Hehe.. it's fad i am yet to overcome!
Getting the list of books and then ticking all those which were needed for the class i was promoted to..handing it over to the guy across the make-shift bookshop and waiting for my beautiful beautiful stack of books to be placed before me on the table. (later we would count the books and check if all are as per the 'list' ;)) Reluctantly though, but agreeing with Mom's reasoning not to shell money to buy more practical files, colourboxes, notebook covers and other material which wasn't really essential.but was thrown in the list JLT. She would say, "Last year's were still untouched weren't they? Or, sure those could be used again! Or anyway, the neighbourhood shopkeeper sold the same files and stuff at half the price, why not buy from him?.." would go on Mum's explanations. :) It didn't really matter! As long as my books were new and spotlessly clean..who cares about other stuff! Of course the fetish for having uncreased, untouched-looking books always wore out within a few days of study.....
And the Parent Teacher Meet! How nice! To have the teacher say nice things about you to your parents! Nothing like it! I remember i used to beg Mum to visit ALL my subject teachers (english and social sciences one - always. Math? never!) but that never happened cz we were always in a hurry! Wonder why! But we never left without meeting friends and introducing their parents to our parents and getting introduced as well. It was like a mela! Kids of all shapes and sizes (i was in size mouse category, if such exists) leading their parents to respective classrooms to introduce the mata pita to the guru and fir daant shuru! Scenes of some students getting scolded by either the parents or the teacher were usual on these days, their (the student's) imaginary tail between the legs..idher kuan udhar khaai.. PTM par jaan par ban aayi! haha (chuckle!)
Sometimes one would also find teachers being subject to criticism or questioning by a zealous parent, his kid standing horrified..petrified..!! He now knew his "chandrama".. what future lectures of this teacher would do to him.. the teacher would take his/her revenge in times to come...he knew!
Me? I was a good student i guess.. except for in eleventh standard.. i don't think any teacher of mine really hated me. Nice marks, good overall score.. ofcourse my name was always innocuously missing from the list of school toppers but i generally secured some rank in class till 8th std and after that it was usually 80 % and above. Now, that was some contentment, rank was never into our list of coveted things in higher classes!.. we had better things on our mind!
:)
Coming back to the books part.. i remember what a treat the English Interactive Reader used to be! So many new stories! The session wouldn't have begun and i would have read the whole book..such zest! and when in class the teacher would ask.. "Has anyone cared to read this text?".. Up went the hands of those who had! Mine included.."Yes, ma'am, i have".
