Don't let your school interfere with your education!

Well it was a revolt I took up in class 8, 9 and 10. And the words by Mark Twain rang loud in my ears: "I never let my school interfere with my education". Well the revolt still continues till today as I rummage my life to find meaning, excellence and love. I remember writing this on the classroom board in the quote of the day section and being scolded by Renu mam. But I could rarely give up the spirit. I tried every-time to live the commonplace life but the spirit returns to me stronger than ever. I have a way to go to educate myself and will not let any establishment to interfere with my education.

Carmel Chronicles: The Recess Runners

We had the luxury of a fairly big playground in our school. And plays were indeed the most anticipated events on any school day. We tried to eke out time to run around and have fun. Recess was one time we would get everyday.

It is class 3 or 4. The class just before recess is going on. It is one of those times when in an attempt to find some way to keep your attention away from the class you drop your pen and want it to roll away a good distance for you to take multiple minutes to get it back. And the recess bell is conspicuously delayed. But finally it rang. And oh what a music it is to our ears. We grab our lunch box and rush out for the ground knowing well that finishing it would just be incidental. The mood outside is indeed festive. Little boys and girls with their multicoloured lunch boxes are seated in circles in the shaded part of the ground or at the circular benches around the trees. It is time to meet friends from the other section and brothers or sisters from a junior class to reassure your presence and protection. Time to chat about the atrocities of the teachers or the glories of your father or grandfather.(I distinctly remember the discussion about the strength of our daddy's or stranger still the size of the shoes that our grandfathers would wear. Some state a ridiculously large size but it is all fair and possible as long as you can better your friend). It is also the time to have a deeper bond with friends by sharing your food or help them in a pending homework.

 The mood appears all joyful, but it is so only on the surface. There is group of around 20, class 4 students gathered near the tree towards the Hindi medium building. There is an auction going on for the best runners. In the game one team has to chase the other team's members. The captains of the two teams are the ones who have proved themselves to be the most agile and shrewd runners of the lot. Now they have the privilege of choosing their teams. All the other boys are huddled together in an expectation that their loyalty to their favourite captain will reap its results today. There is a slight argument between the captains about who will be the first one to choose a player in his team. Because the first one gets to choose the star runner, the one distinctly faster than all others. It is an enviable status exactly one kid would enjoy for a period of time. The kids are picked one by one and each one reassures the captain of his best efforts. It is a time for the captains to end old rivalries as well as to confirm new ones. The teams are decided and one of them chases the other.

The play ground has transformed into a battle ground now. Everything is fair in this war. It sometimes happens that you are being chased by a fast but noble kid whom you know would not harm others in an attempt to catch you. The best strategy for such an opponent is to bring him in a position such that your are across a group of students seated for lunch. And then you have to deceive him as to the direction you are going to run to escape him. And if you can get a group of students passing by, you can escape from behind them knowing well that he will not push them to get across to you. But then there are also these ruthless chasers who would not mind jumping over or on other kids to catch you. The runners are hunted down one by one by the chasers the one surviving till the last betters his reputation in the group and threatens the position of the present 'first kid to be selected'. The recess ends and we all get back to classrooms bathed in sweat and basking in the glory of our chase or our escape.
It was precisely for such exciting things that I would die to go to school and miss it so much even today. 

Carmel Chronicle: The Class Monitor

It was when she would become the class monitor that she would transmogrify herself into a ‘Nayak’ of sorts. She would dawn on the soul of upholder of truth and justice and be the common flesh and blood no more. All this can be taken but the fact that she would have a special liking for writing my name on the board ( and I am sure every student in the class felt the same) can’t be taken. I mean while all the barbaric acts of indiscipline were being overlooked I was being punished for the least movement of the lips. Well it was fun too to steal a chat while the monitor looked away. So, the monitor would write the names of the students who would talk on the board and the teacher would punish them when she comes to the class. But there was an exception: those students who would keep silence and behave well for a period of time as felt appropriate by the monitor would have their names erased from the board. And that was the caveat that made it statistically safer to finish your talks in the first phase of the monitoring because you then have all the time to be the best student in the world. And there were these liberal monitors who would warn you at least three times before they write your name on the board. And with the smallest stint of silence, before the teacher has to enter,  would erase your name. And these were exactly the monitors you want to be in good terms with. Everything said the monitors did the thankless task of disciplining us, although it must have been quite a pleasure to see the lesser mortals in their fear and subjugation.

Kota Chronicle: When excellence is the norm

At the surface Kota is thought to be a fiercely competitive environment where students are fighting for their choicest dream. For me, however, it was a different story and I will many would agree with these. My fellow students all had great humane values coming forward to help each other even it meat personal sacrifice. an there was very little ego. I mean no matter how intelligent people were they all behaved as if everyone is ordinary. Maybe when excellence becomes a norm pride has no place. I personally never wished any other student to perform less so that i could go ahead, and others felt the same way towards me. There was a sense of healthy competition, a sense of respect for each other which I do not find in much less 'successful' groups that I have come across. There was no prejudice either, we hardly knew about each other's background in detail. There was a common objective of excellence and we were quite comfortable with the fact that one who puts the best effort gets the best result. Even the teachers were very relaxed and did not put any pressure. For me, who has never worked under a pressure to perform, it was a sigh of relief. They teachers were never moved by fleeting show of excellence or a drop in performance. They knew that life is a long game and sustained efforts is what ultimately pays you.
In the present environment in which I live is not composed of the most academically successful people but still there is jealousy and back biting. May be only when excellence becomes a norm pride has no place.