Maha's musings

We deliberated for Nayum bro and his family to join us. We made calls but nothing was answered. "He might be trapped in traffic!", told Raksha's mom. We stopped calling him and waited for a couple of minutes. To our relief, he came with his two daughters dressed in a pretty way alike. "Happy birthday Shyniii.....", Screamed Raksha seeing her friend. Everybody wished her as well; not so excitedly as Raksha though. She responded with her signature muted smile. It added beauty to her angelic aqua marine long frock.  "Where is your mom?", we probed. Her dad went on before shyni would even open her lipstick tainted mouth, "She isn't keeping well and it was too late...."   "So....?", I interrupted impatiently, thinking that the entire plan would come to a standstill.  "So nothing. She will join us for Mukkombu", He completed tracing my suspicion. I grinned with apparent satisfaction. "Flake out!!!", people mocked a...

Marriage is an auspicious occasion where we can encounter diverse people all in the same vibes. The smoky air was filled with wafting aroma of the freshly knit garlands, incense sticks and ripe bananas. The cheerful children were running helter skelter in sheer fun. The chairs in the hall were overturned slacklessly, sporting the carefree mood of the people there. They were waiting for the photoshoot while chattering blaringly. Amidst those chilling people, I spotted our colleagues occupying the penultimate row in the most disciplined way possible. Raksha's mom was surrounded by three of our junior colleagues and her daughter.  Raksha was in stunning maroon frock with her blonde hair pulled right into a tight ponytail. The necklace was dazzling amidst the colourfully dressed pretty women and a couple of murkily dressed men😉. Despite the stunning look, something was missing. We walked past the scantily populated rows to reach them. My mama accompanied us all the way, introducing me...

I saw some of my relatives loitering outside the wedding hall. Most of them couldn't recognise the "grown me". I didn't try to talk to them either, as I was puzzled as to how to address them. When I was standing there tapping my foot, I saw those twin sisters passing by in tandem. It was so nostalgic to spot them there. They were those childhood frenemies with whom I had bittersweet companionship. The brawls we had while playing snake and ladder, hide and seek and the beatings I got because of the sleepovers at their house flashed through my mind. Puzzlingly enough it didn't dawn on me to stop them and talk.  "Come...come... We shall go!!!", rushed Kani bro, as he entered. Surprisingly enough, the exit was crowded with our junior colleagues, chitchattering, posing for selfies and groupies. It seemed they had been waiting for some more friends to join, before entering the hall. As we both went, they too joined. My eyes were in search of Raksha's mom a...

When I noticed it was already 8:45pm. I was reminded that I had some preparation works and a score of papers to be evaluated. Though it was a Saturday eve, I couldn't put the work off as the next day would be a gala day. So,  leaving everything behind, I dived deep into the heap and that in turn kept me engaged for another hour.   When I was halfway through the preparation, my mobile buzzed. As a good stroke of luck, it was kani bro. Before I could ask anything, he went on instructing me to wait near hotel Mayas and assured that he would pick me from there. I felt awe. With a satisfied, "Okay, brovvv!!!!" I hung up. However I was thankful that he didn't mock me (as usual) for having rejected his offer and being strayed.  With a great anticipation for the next day, I went to bed, after texting Raksha's mom about the timing and other stuff. It was a long night. I couldn't get a wink of sleep, tossing and turning.  The next day dawned to the tone of my alarm. Wit...

Finally after the long day, I reached home late as it was Saturday. When I went to hit the bell, I saw the door locked. When phoned, my mom let me know that she had gone to the reception as she couldn't attend the wedding the next day.  "But why?", I asked her to which she replied that she would let me know later in a jiffy and hung up. That's my mother. Telephonic conversations with her have always been annoyingly incomplete. What else to be done, I fished out the key, opened the door to find my sister juggling with her laptop and phone as usual. When asked she revealed that my mom had to go to temple the next day hence the schedule had to be revamped.  It was a mild dent to my plan as I had wanted to introduce my colleague-friends to my mom and vice versa. Besides I had also rejected the offer to be dropped from Chathram to the wedding hall.  My ever-alert brain started suggesting me numerous ways to reach the wedding hall. Either to go on my own, or to hitch hike. ...

"Hey.. We are going to Mukkombu after attending the wedding and there we shall cut cake for Shyni." revealed her mother and that made her redden with anger. Of course we dodged that without paying attention. It's best to leave kids unattended when they sulk else they will turn unstoppable.  "Oh that's a decent plan "IN MY ABSENCE", RakZzz.", I grinned at Raksha which tickled her to smile back. It indeed sounded a solid plan to me. I gave a satisfied thumbs up to Kani bro who smiled from his table. He asked me in turn if he had to pick me from Chathram. I said that I would reach the hall with my mom as it happened also to be our relative's wedding.  Then the troop gathered again as it was a free hour for all of us coincidentally. I asked Christina ma'am if she would join us too. She told me that she would attend the wedding but couldn't participate in other activities. "Okay.... but I expected...", I let out rather disappointed...

Though the movie plan was halfway through, nobody seemed to bother about that. Days were elapsing and grew busier and busier. Revision exams, evening study duties, question paper settings, deputations, bla..bla..bla.. went our days, equally hectic. Of course except for those "sought after we-time" where we share topics in plenty, range from funny slips of the tongue to heartwarming classroom incidents.  Despite all these, I kept reminding people of "THE DAY" in one way or another. The discussions were multifarious— when to start, where to meet, what dress to be worn, what to bring,... But none of them could lead us to conclusion until Saturday evening.  Luckily on Saturday, Raksha—my senior colleague's daughter joined us in devising the plan. Despite being a little girl of grade-4, she was so determined in persuading us to sketch our plans and finalize. When a little girl came to us cajoling, we couldn't help but budged. Mr.Nayum was totally against the mo...

The day was amazing. With that I can sumup the whole day. But it is not what the day deserves. The fun I had, the lessons I learned, the smiling faces I encountered, the care and concerned I felt deserve to be written at least as a novella.  It's Dec 4,2022 to increase its charm it was a Sunday. Not those ordinary sort of Sundays,spent in loathsome, monotonous routine, distinguished only by a biryani and a casual evening tea-talk with dad. It's one of our colleagues' wedding. It was at least a fortnight ago, I received the invitation. Since then I had been awaiting this big day even more than the bride and groom themselves, as the knot had to be tied between my colleague and our distant relative. That was a good opportunity to catch up both with my family and friends. Having all that in mind, we started hatching plans well ahead of the day. The usually enthusiastic me turned more and more hyped as the number of people began to snowball.  The enthu doubled up when one of my ...

I kept watching him. He snipped the paper and took up the piece of paper which sported my article. I guessed that he would keep it with him (may be as a good reminder of his teacher) but weirdly enough he grabbed a stapler along with the snippet and headed to the exit. In a wink of my eyes, he placed that duly on class' bulletin board and turned back to grin proudly at his companions.  I couldn't help blushing, seeing my write-up along with my pic, placed right in the middle of the big bulletin board just as to invite people into the classroom. I gestured him to come.  Come he did, with a conviction that was stunning. I asked him to remove the clipping from the bulletin board (of course I didn't want it to be removed) but being a teacher, I thought I had to let them realize the simple truth which I had chanced upon on social media (as usual) "when you are busy celebrating your little accomplishments, you won't find time to accomplish bigger ones!!!"  So, I tol...

 After what seemed to be 10 minutes there came out a shriek, "Ma'ammmmm...." I entered the class, keeping a poker face, battling with excitement.  "What?" I asked as if I didn't know why he shouted. "Hey, see here! Ma'am has come in the newspaper!!", announced the boy whom I had scolded just then. The happiness in his voice was priceless. Within seconds, almost half of the class gathered around the paper, as if that was the one and only paper available in the whole classroom.  I banged on the bench once, twice and stopped realising that it was ineffective. But their screaming was so unbearable that I went straight to the epicenter— the last bench where the boys had surged into a mob. When I reached there, they showed the paper to me and started asking numerous questions, half of which I hardly remember now. It took some minutes together for me to calm them. I expected them to read the article and appreciate the content. But they seemed too exci...

Finally it was the time... I headed to the class fingers crossed, anticipating sheer fun. When I entered the class, all my expectations turned poofff.... Not even a single person was having newspaper at hand. The entire classroom was in a spree, juggling with their projects. Some were drawing lines and tables, some were pouring over their study materials, some were wrapping the project notebooks and some were battling with the spirals. Though I was feeling up, the very ambiance sickened me. The specks of rice and crumps of edibles were found scattered throughout the first desk.  And not even a single soul gave damn to clean up the mess.  And I also spotted the news papers left unissued on the ledge. It worsened my anger. "Can't you people even issue the newspaper during reading hour? Do I have to give you reminder everyday?....bla...bla...bla... " I went on and on, forgetting everything else.  The students, as always cooled me down within the wink of an eye. From nowhere ...

It was an ordinary day. With usual anticipation for a good day, I entered the staffroom. It was buzzing with activity. Some were correcting the papers, some were having their breakfast, some were doing something that couldn't be recognised. Teachers entered and exited with wrapped record notebooks tailed by random grade-12 students. All looked equally serious and solemn.  As I kept the bag on my table, I heard the bell. Since it was a revision day, I had to be in the classroom on time. Being late by five minutes, I had to rush, grabbing the books and needed stuff. As I left the staffroom for my classroom, I saw some grade-11 students loitering in the corridor uncannily. I gestured them to enter the class as I passed by.  One of the boys came from the crowd sticking his hand out as if to give me a handshake. Despite being unaware of the reason, I gave a mild handshake with a doubtful smile, asking for the reason.  "I read your article in the newspaper in the hostel this mo...

No more alarm to be set earlier; no more rush to board that "7:50am" bus; no more flower vendor to inquire, "why are you late to the stop today?; no more 15-20mins of free roller-coaster ride with a bag hanging over the shoulder; right hand, clutching the railing and the left hand, carrying a water bottle and my mobile. No more cardial smiles and unexpected assistance, offered by the strangers; no more bumping into the long lost people out of serendipity; no more leisurely walk basking in the soothing sun and sniffing the inducing aroma wafting around the hotels on the way; no more kiddish satisfaction—"I'm the first to reach today!" No more random thoughts that keep me engaged for another 10-15mins along with the breakfast I prepared; no more random smiling faces which enquire my whereabouts and kickstart a lovely day;  No more chance to witness the teachers, juggling with so many forms and answer booklets to be evaluated— red pen at one hand a...

Every single person was deeply engrossed in something or other. Some were seated in pairs and were chattering as if they were a part of a fiesta. It didn't seem that they were teachers from different schools rather a part of a huge extended family. Some were dressed in sarees and a few were in salwars. Some were modest in their cosmetics and others were entirely showy; some sported gaudy jewelry whereas others, formal in their outfits. Needless to be mentioned— there were merely three gents whowere left to be seated in the last row.  There wasn't much diversity in their attires too.   Despite the amiable atmosphere, I felt like a kid stranded in a huge mob. My eyes searched for Ms.Vedha who had also been designated as an evaluator from our school. She even spoke with me over phone and told me that she had reached the spot five minutes before. But to my annoyance she wasn't to be found anywhere there. Plus some pairs of eyes were even glued to me as I advanced. What else c...

Being a teacher demands us to take numerous incarnations and gives unpredictably diverse tasks to be done. One has to run helter skelter fulfilling the duties endorsed on him/her.  They don't just have to teach;  They have to teach, they have to set question papers, they have to conduct tests, finally they have to correct the papers too. Do you think with that their duties end? A big NO! who will tackle the parents? For the children's dipping marks? Undoubtedly THE TEACHERS!!! And these are just the concrete, materialistic side of the profession.  There are so many self imposed abstract things like motivating, inducing, igniting, inspiring, habituating, etc., too, which almost nobody outside cares about. Being a part of this noble profession, I'm in no way exceptional or exempted from such predicaments. Here I'm sitting among a mob of diverse people whom I have never spoken to or even never met before. Here I'm not just Mahalakshmi. They call me Examiner no.xxxxxx. ...

Dear students, Soon after you leave, your classroom will be filled with other set of children. Other set of impish creatures, chatter boxes, wimpy kids and brainboxes.  Back to square one!   I won't lie that you are the best but I will surely miss you. Your jokes, laughter, the witty counters and every single thing. I even love the way you irritate me. You have always been and will ever be close to my heart. The year with you was eventful— filled with lectures, class tests, revisions and model exams. Every single day was a brand-new learning.  Looking back, I can't recollect what I taught but I can certainly remember what I have learnt from you. It's from you I learnt that the students are not aliens (though they behave like one), It's from you I learnt that the students want a teacher and not an instructor. It's from you I learnt the art of empathy. It's from you I learnt how to keep one's cool even during adverse times. I don't know whether I'll be...

"Ma'am..." he started.  I responded rather curtly, "What?"  "Why are you hitting so forcefully on the desk, ma'am?", he said recklessly as if he were talking to his long lost friend.  It was too strange for me to react or respond. But he just went on without waiting for my response, "It will hurt your palms, ma'am. Clutch it! Tap this book on the table!!" They were unexpected words of kindness at an unexpected moment from an unexpected mouth. That made me stand tongue-tied half guilty and half ashamed for having turned so savage in front of those tender children. But thankfully they couldn't read my mind. "So? You use book to tap on the bench?", I blurted out with pretended seriousness, staring at him. His response was a wide sheepish grin. By then I understood that I could rant and rave at them but that wouldn't make any sense. So I decided to have rather a light touch on them.  I went again to the board this time w...

An ear-piercing "Good aaafternooon....,maaa'mm" was the chanting with which those students invited me. It was totally unexpected as I had been habituated only to a silent standing up and a half-hearted muffled good morning/afternoon/evening from my students. It was pleasant and annoying at the same time— pleasant to see their hearty smile, annoyed due to their exploding scream.  The children are so weird. They are the bittersweet mixture of chaos and charisma.  I entered the classroom with an approachable smile gesturing them to be seated. There were some muffled voices, as they sat down talking among themselves.  I stood still for half a minute in front of them all, scrutinizing their vibrant faces habituated to pure fun and mischiefs. The boy who waved at me was still sulking. The remaining children were so curious as if they were on an adventure. That is all a teacher needs— a welcoming, conducive environment to share whatever he/she feels like sharing w...

With the same pace I climbed some two flights of stairs and reached the class on the second floor, panting. The previous period teacher hadn't left the classroom as she was busy endorsing some tasks to the students. When the first bench boy notified my arrival, she peeped out with a formal smile on her face, gesturing two minutes for which I responded readily with my thumbs up.  Time is so weird — it stretches and shrinks as it wishes. When I was in staffroom, sitting leisurely in my chair it flew away like anything but those two minutes seemed like an eternity. I kept my book and chalk on the ledge and stood there straight to the window so as to observe the students' hight of naughtiness perhaps. That was a blunder I committed.  The last two rows were visible through the window. They seemed unbearably impish with bubbling energy. From the very moment they noticed my presence outside, they couldn't go on with their works.  One of the boys from the penultimate bench smile...

It all began with a tremble... It was 1:40 in the afternoon; Friday. A day on which a teacher's energy level is already on the sump.  I was in the staff room, sorting out the then collected grade-11 term-2 answer scripts. I counted, it came somewhere near hundred. It was a long day. I had already been exhausted with back to back classes and invigilation duties.  "These papers are not so much in count. We can easily correct them, fifteen papers per day; will take around 5-6 days", convinced my optimistic mind. "These many papers? Correction within 5-6 days? It's a humanly impossible task!, protested my dominant  pessimistic mind— When to prepare for the classes? When to prepare study materials? When to do this? When to do that?.....", the list went on and on... It's always difficult to settle between these two. The staffroom was empty except for some two to three teachers— one was typing something frantically in her laptop and other two were s...