It was my first day in a new school. I made my way into a 'class 9 A'. With 27 pairs of eyes fixed on me, it took quite an effort to smile and put that easy-going "koool" expression my face. There was pin drop silence in the room. Apparently, nobody had been aware of my arrival. The bell went off and a couple of minutes later the class teacher walked into the room, as usual, with one hand on the stomach and the other hand rather busy tossing the register, head unconsciously tilted towards the ventilators. Thus began the most boring ritual of having to introduce myself every 45 minutes (and not to mention, those teachers wouldn't be satisfied until they had every detail regarding my parents' education and employment history and every detail of all the preceding schools I'd been to. Infact, I can't believe how I could have been nincompoop enough to have played along with them like a 'teacher's pet'.)
Nevertheless, I didn't have to put up with this ceremony the first time I told my class teacher what I was to be called. Barely had I uttered the name when the whole class burst into laughter. While I wondered what was so strikingly hilarious about my name, the laughter died out, like wine poured over barbeque burns out, in a matter of seconds. But one girl who had seated herself at a desk parallel to mine continued to shake as a consequence of uncontrolled peals of laughter. The girl and I, as I later discovered, shared the same title. That was the silly reason for the sudden outburst of laughter.
As the days went on, she became a good friend of mine and I, hers. I realized that her laughter governed her way more than she did her laughter. She had in her the power to make others almost roll about in laughter even in the most strenuous environment. Many a time people used to ask her how much N2O she had inhaled. As the days further unfolded, I figured that she expressed most of her emotions with smiles of different lengths and thicknesses. This character of hers had its consequences, especially when a stubborn grin would refuse to budge and she would stare back at an angry teacher.
Once she and I went to IIT Guwahati as a team to participate in Technothlon. There was a hill in the campus which carried on its crown a point that gave a splendid view of the capital city of Assam. We decided , one evening during our stay there, to walk up to the view point and see if we could take any pictures. There were thickets on both sides of the road and it was almost sunset by the time we had traveled three-quarters of the road. Just then her phone rang. She listened to the person on the other end for a while in complete silence. Then she turned about and took to her heels. Not having a clue as to what spirit possessed her, I followed suit. Only on reaching the bottom did she stop. When I caught up with her she said, "It was ma'am on the other end. She just came to know that a leopard lives on this hill." Having explained herself, she burst into peals of laughter (apparently at her own childishness). We both laughed till our jaws hurt, speculating about how, ironically, we had commented on this being a tiger reserve just a few minutes ago.
On 28th September, 2011 she left for Jodhpur creating a gaping hole in all those school lives which she had enlivened. Now the days drag on and its only memories that come back to taunt.
Nevertheless, I didn't have to put up with this ceremony the first time I told my class teacher what I was to be called. Barely had I uttered the name when the whole class burst into laughter. While I wondered what was so strikingly hilarious about my name, the laughter died out, like wine poured over barbeque burns out, in a matter of seconds. But one girl who had seated herself at a desk parallel to mine continued to shake as a consequence of uncontrolled peals of laughter. The girl and I, as I later discovered, shared the same title. That was the silly reason for the sudden outburst of laughter.
As the days went on, she became a good friend of mine and I, hers. I realized that her laughter governed her way more than she did her laughter. She had in her the power to make others almost roll about in laughter even in the most strenuous environment. Many a time people used to ask her how much N2O she had inhaled. As the days further unfolded, I figured that she expressed most of her emotions with smiles of different lengths and thicknesses. This character of hers had its consequences, especially when a stubborn grin would refuse to budge and she would stare back at an angry teacher.
Once she and I went to IIT Guwahati as a team to participate in Technothlon. There was a hill in the campus which carried on its crown a point that gave a splendid view of the capital city of Assam. We decided , one evening during our stay there, to walk up to the view point and see if we could take any pictures. There were thickets on both sides of the road and it was almost sunset by the time we had traveled three-quarters of the road. Just then her phone rang. She listened to the person on the other end for a while in complete silence. Then she turned about and took to her heels. Not having a clue as to what spirit possessed her, I followed suit. Only on reaching the bottom did she stop. When I caught up with her she said, "It was ma'am on the other end. She just came to know that a leopard lives on this hill." Having explained herself, she burst into peals of laughter (apparently at her own childishness). We both laughed till our jaws hurt, speculating about how, ironically, we had commented on this being a tiger reserve just a few minutes ago.
On 28th September, 2011 she left for Jodhpur creating a gaping hole in all those school lives which she had enlivened. Now the days drag on and its only memories that come back to taunt.
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