Moving Memories, Melt-your-heart-moments!

February 22, 2012 by Usha Pisharody 46 Comments

I’ve been ranting a lot of late, and finding negativity in most things around me. Luckily I have things which keep me sane, and friends who understand that this crazy woman is just moulting, and will soon be back to her normal self :P! Blessed to have kids too, who just want to know who to bash up or send an obscene mail to 😀 :D. Yes!! *fist pumping, elbow bent, pushing down* You know, the kind that kids do, all the time, especially when you tell them, Listen, we’ll have the dictation tomorrow :D!

The day dawned gloomy as usual, literally and figuratively. This, after a cool night, that followed a sweltering sultry day. Talk of moods, even the weather is like that. And then something wonderful happened. I tell you, it always takes a child to do that… time and time again, I have been uplifted because of a child, because of children 🙂 🙂

The Class XII came around to collect their hall tickets, some last minute wisdom, and the blessings of their teachers at school 🙂 It was fun, hectic, and sentimental… the kind of knowing that suddenly comes, that you’re not going to wander about the campus in such a carefree manner again! So the kids came, some touching our feet, others shyly smiling, some awkward, some as usual bindaas, (when they come grabbing our feet, it’s sometimes amusing 😀 One person starts it, and the others just make a dive 😛  – in Malayalam we call it “Kaalu vaaral”,pulling one’s legs,literally :D)

So it became afternoon, the day refused to end, and it was beginning to get a bit much. The heat turned up, no power, and then one of the Class XII students comes to class. She has an autograph book she wants me to write in. She too has been a favourite, down the years, having known her from Class II “C” 🙂 Bhavana Viswanath 🙂 A quiet girl, sweet natured, not one to talk or tell you much. And someone, who as a little girl, would smile only sparingly 😀 After II, I met her in class after the Primary, in Class VII/ Class VIII. Still quiet, earnest, sincere, but would smile a bit more 🙂 I tell her I might take a bit of time, and she says she will wait. So I write, and write… a whole page ( the poor things, they are not even spared, in an autograph book; but then I have written on fun things, and nice things, please note 🙂 )

She comes a while later to collect it. And I tell her I was sorely tempted to read the others’ entries, her classmates’, but I did not. Grinning widely at each other, we just look at each other for a moment. Then she says, Teacher, I have something to tell you, and she gets a bit nervous, her voice quivers, and I suddenly know, this is a “moment”. I ask her if we can step out into the corridor, and she just bursts out, so sweetly. So wonderfully. So earnestly. I can still see her in front of me, both of us leaning against the railing…

She says, Teacher I just wanted to tell you that you’ve been my inspiration, my role model, and I love you so much! Her eyes fill up, slowly and begin to create tiny parallel rivulets down her cheeks. She still speaks, I dont know how to tell you, but I’ve always looked up to you. I began to read books because of you, see English movies (Oh dear! I wonder what other parents would think 😀 I still keep saying this in class 🙂 🙂 ); and each year, I would pray so hard to God, at the beginning of the year, that you should be our English Teacher. But we did not get you in Class IX and X. Still….

I was stunned, and so amazingly surprised… so pleasantly that here was a child, who I was so fond of, (I would say this to her mother 🙂 ) and she too liked me! (Allow me to explain. I am a Leo. And quite the Tiger in class. I’m demanding, I can use my whiplash tone to great effect, and generally can silence a class with a look 😀 I’m an ogre. And nothing as cute as Shrek either. So, to have kids say they like me, well, it’s always confused me, but made me think there is hope for me after all 😀 It of course, is quite another matter, that I love them too 🙂 🙂 ) I gave her a quick hug. (Well, by now you know me, I’m not given to being demonstrative, not in school 😛 ) gently wiped her tears, and told her how honoured and humbled I felt. This, I said, this, is enough. And I repeated myself, how much I loved her too 🙂 The day grew brighter. I promised to keep in touch, and she had to go 🙂

Then came Oormila, another teacher’s daughter, who came to my class, first in Class V “C” – she told me- I thought it was Class VII, somehow :D. My grey cells 😦 She too (not ever so loquacious) came forward with lovely things to say, about how much she gained in confidence, and how she missed being in my class, especially with the digital classrooms we have now. (Her younger sister is in my class, in Class X, and shares all of our Classroom exploits with her 😀 ).

Doubly gratified. Not doubly, but infinitely so.

Because a while earlier, a lot of the firm favourites, formerly from X “D” , Saraswathy, Varsha, Meera, Shilpa,  Saishree, Sreedevi, Aishwarya, and others (do please excuse me for not remembering the names 😦 ) had come around, Kripa too, and Revathy, Soumya also; it made me realize all the more how much I thought of them. Yes this batch is special, as special as only some batches can get. 🙂 🙂 Couldn’t stop smiling with all of wishing, and the talk of missing went along… and all those references to X-D (say that together in Malayalam, and you get a word that you should not be using – not nice people 😀 😀 ) My kids, my own two ie, are proud to be ex X – D s too 😛 😛 ( I know some of their friends, and foes still call them, by this Class name 😛 😛 )

I must also mention a certain Raj ( does it not remind you of SRK? Well this young man is way more handsome, articulate, and well mannered 😀 – Raj, if you are reading this, you’ve got to give me a treat the next time you come down to school 😛 ), a dashing young man with huge potential, and amazing articulation and creativity. And Army brat (who was part of our school only these last two years), as he calls himself, very very sweet too. He offered his uniform shirt, a spare one, for us to write in our “messages” and blessings and wishes 🙂 And he wanted me to someday tell him how it was that I could get words out of thin air 😀 😀 ! All I had to do was tell him they’re there for the taking should you look… 🙂 🙂

And while I was thinking that I should write this for myself, to capture the infinitely lovely moments spent today with them and how my mood perked up, along comes Tito Varghese, with this awesome verse, urging bloggers  to write 🙂 I had to. No matter that 54 papers of Class X await my attention with a red ink pen, no matter that I had set a deadline for tomorrow… Sigh. There goes a good intention! All for a good cause! Tito, me happy now :D! thank you!

And so, with all these lovely moments that today has gifted me, I’m way more positive about life. Life 🙂 That reminds me, a tag I have to do, but wait, I shall save it for a rainy day, Kamikaze :),  I know I shall need for that blogger’s block rainy day post 🙂

Today belongs to these bright stars, of Class XII 🙂 🙂 All of them, who had come around, and those who did not too… and most especially to some favourites. Even if you name is not here, dear dear ones, know for sure, it’s there in my heart 🙂 🙂

God Bless! And thank you, for being you 🙂

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Edited to add: Forgot to add this bit, till Hrishikesh, through one of his comments (the First One!) reminded me of it :
On my FB wall, posted by a former student:
“Anjali Vishwanathan:
A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop.
Class 5, English Period.
I still say this before I go to sleep. Just got reminded of it all of a sudden in the middle of editing documents at work and as always, you’re awesome teacher! :)”

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The note with it will follow in the comments section 😛 (That is why I have included it here :D)

22 February, 2012