Back to school !!
Friday evening, I wandered into the market only to find
herself in the midst of a crowd of excited children and harried parents
finishing some last-minute shopping.
A flurry of memories : )
The evening before school began; also the last evening of the
summer vacations.
I would carefully assemble the following, with some assistance and
loads of critical comments from K. (Aai usually finished our back-to-
school shopping in May, so there would be no last-minute scramble.)
School uniform, washed and ironed.
School badge and sash.
Black rainy shoes, white socks, kerchief.
School bag.
Books and notebooks - covered with brown paper
and labelled in Aai's hand.
Pencil box : Fountain pen, nib checked, ink filled. (Ball-points
were not permitted.) Pencils - sharpened, Eraser.
Canteen coupon.
Thin black rubber-bands and black ribbons (I had long hair
which Aai would tie in two tight plaits)
Water bottle.
Umbrella.
Tiny purse with emergency cash (a crisp green new five
rupee note).
Alarm clock - set ten minutes before waking time to
ensure a snooze.
Doojoo would pop in and out of the house to speculate
on who would be our new class teacher (the deciding factor
in the fun quotient of the school year). We would fervently pray
to be seated close enough to our friends to enable surreptitious
communication during classes.
The chatter would continue non-stop until Doojoo's
mummy summoned him to finish his own preparations.
Unable to curb my excitement, I would check and double-check
my things every half an hour. Doojoo would come over one last
time to remind me that we were going together the next morning.
I would warn him not to be late, to which he would respond with
an earnest "Double God Promise, I'll come early."
Aai would send me to bed early - "You have school tomorrow".
I would lie in bed, sleepless with excitement, whispering to K.
until one or both of us fell asleep.
Schools re-open tomorrow. Happy new academic year. : )
herself in the midst of a crowd of excited children and harried parents
finishing some last-minute shopping.
A flurry of memories : )
The evening before school began; also the last evening of the
summer vacations.
I would carefully assemble the following, with some assistance and
loads of critical comments from K. (Aai usually finished our back-to-
school shopping in May, so there would be no last-minute scramble.)
School uniform, washed and ironed.
School badge and sash.
Black rainy shoes, white socks, kerchief.
School bag.
Books and notebooks - covered with brown paper
and labelled in Aai's hand.
Pencil box : Fountain pen, nib checked, ink filled. (Ball-points
were not permitted.) Pencils - sharpened, Eraser.
Canteen coupon.
Thin black rubber-bands and black ribbons (I had long hair
which Aai would tie in two tight plaits)
Water bottle.
Umbrella.
Tiny purse with emergency cash (a crisp green new five
rupee note).
Alarm clock - set ten minutes before waking time to
ensure a snooze.
Doojoo would pop in and out of the house to speculate
on who would be our new class teacher (the deciding factor
in the fun quotient of the school year). We would fervently pray
to be seated close enough to our friends to enable surreptitious
communication during classes.
The chatter would continue non-stop until Doojoo's
mummy summoned him to finish his own preparations.
Unable to curb my excitement, I would check and double-check
my things every half an hour. Doojoo would come over one last
time to remind me that we were going together the next morning.
I would warn him not to be late, to which he would respond with
an earnest "Double God Promise, I'll come early."
Aai would send me to bed early - "You have school tomorrow".
I would lie in bed, sleepless with excitement, whispering to K.
until one or both of us fell asleep.
Schools re-open tomorrow. Happy new academic year. : )