End to School Life ...

Here's part of the speech , I made at the farewell programme ... hope you enjoy reading !

"... To begin with, I would like to share my recollection of the first day in class 12. I have been studying here for the last seven years but never ever had I the same feeling as that day when I read on the pillar “Go out to serve your country and countrymen”. I thought to myself: One year and you’re finally out to serve your country.

One year … this one year was something I would remember throughout my life. And maybe everyone does. There were ups & downs, successes and failures, emotions of disgust, pain sorrow but still greater were the emotions of joy and that of pride. Pride of going out from a school considered one of the finest education establishments in India. Almost everyday was a challenge. With teachers having fun with us and getting annoyed when we did something wrong, all of it seemed to be a part of a process, I guess, called school life. I, would, however lay stress on the fact that we were lucky to have such fine teachers to teach us. I have heard of “bad experiences” from students in other schools but I can’t seem to remember any such incidence happening to anyone of us. Yes of course there were times when a teacher scolded a particular student but that happens and all the other students did enjoy stealthily laughing if not the “victim”. Talking about the teachers, I don’t think any of them kept a bad incident in memory for more than a day … and as students we too forgot those eventually.

From the first period with our class teacher Tiwari sir to the sixth period with Santosh sir, the whole day was exciting. There was something special about all these periods. The physics period, Tiwari sir would teach us saying things in between that would make all of us laugh. Chemistry was fascinating for us as we sat with blank faces whenever Vinod sir would ask a question and we loved it when he got annoyed. Then came the computer science period where Atul sir helplessly explained one topic again and again just because as he famously says “I am paid for it”. The biology students ask me to add that their period was equally enjoyable and they convey their thanks to Kundanlal sir through me. English periods were fun too. Srivastava sir would engage us in refreshing activities and he once said something I would remember always ... he said you can say the doctor or the lawyer insulted me but you cannot say the teacher insulted me. Then the maths period was after the recess … and came in Santosh Sir. Santosh sir would do at least 10 sums every day as he said one after the other “Write one more question”. So, to look back and ask if we enjoyed it … we would say yes, thoroughly.

In November and December all of us students talked about how “hard” and “stressful” life had become. And for this reason, many of us longed for the school to end. To add to it, many said they wanted to grow their hair long, some simply said they did not want to get new uniforms or shoes. I never really thought why I wished to leave the school. I too, wished it to end but for no particular reason as such. So this is how the year passed. On a personal note, I don’t remember any other year working so hard and yet not getting the desired results. On a couple of occasions, I let many of you and myself down. But the time spent in the classroom was indeed worth it. I will remember the useless chit chatting that we had in the free periods, the rare yet serious study atmosphere. We all will remember being too sleepy to study and at the same time striving tirelessly to make the grades. To the year 2009-2010 that was like a scene from a train journey, I dedicate a 4th class poem by R.L. Stevenson:

“Faster than fairies, faster than witches; bridges and houses, hedges and ditches; all charging along like troops in a battle, all through the meadows the horses and cattle.… Here is a mill and there’s a river, each a glimpse and gone forever.”

In a matter of months or so, we’ll all be gone forever as well. At this junction, I can only hope to find all of us prospering, making us proud. We hope to meet each other someday and hope is a good thing, maybe the best of all, and no good thing ever dies.

On an ending note, I, on behalf of my class would like to apologize for every mistake we made, for every time we let you down. We would like to thank the Principal and all the teachers from the bottom of our hearts. I wish we had every teacher who taught us was present here for I’ll never ever be more grateful. I would also like to thank Class XI for hosting this programme. Concluding with the quintessential lines by Robert Frost:

The woods are lovely dark and deep

But I have promises to keep

Miles to go before I sleep…

Miles to go before I sleep…

FAREWELL CLASS XII 2010 "

A Misery Called Childhood

Before the title may suggest anything , I take the opportunity to clear the fact that this is not an account of problems faced by a depressed soul wanting to commit suicide or eager for vandalism. This is just an account of the things in my childhood I've dreaded the most or maybe not. I have no idea how this may look like . Please cooperate , even if you feel like "what do I have to with it " . And to see the silver lining , I had a fine childhood like you may have had !

I'd like to begin this with a shock ; not a metaphor , a real, electric one. They say a magnetic field is generated when current flows. Ask me and I can tell you what else than a magnetic field is generated. An electrical shock , for me , basically generated a "heavenly" field and a racing sprint circuit for the blood in my body. And as far as I can rememeber , new standards were set in the race with blood completing a thousand laps up and down my body in a matter of around two minutes. Thankfully , someone pulled out the plug and according to the doctor , i was saved by a minute or so.

After this time elapsed quite peacefully and I took part in the school's annual function . Like being forced into dancing to the tunes of "Monkeys ! we are the monkeys " with yourself wearing that monkey dress wasn't enough , I suffered a fracture in my left foot. The accident, however, took place a day after the function when someone wished to see us dancing one more time ( must have been a sadist ! ). So we were all geared up in our costumes and I was having fun on the swings. Just then ,someone called and hurriedly coming off it , my leg was entangled in the swing bar and I had a fracture . And that took another 3 months of my life . The 3 months actually were not quite bad . I mean if you are eight or so and you get to play computer games all the day and chocolates and chips to feast upon ,and people visiting you , would you call it a bad day ? Not at all for me !

Another 2-3 years passed and I was more than happy. No electric shocks , no fractures , not a thing on earth to care about except being chased by moneys once (that really scared the hell out of me ! I , never feared monkeys though ) and bulls twice . Just when it all seemed to be perfect and I was learning the song "All things bright and beautiful , all creatures great and small ... " a creature great yet small emerged on the scene - cometh "Naughty" . Well "naughty" was the name of a puppy ( later to be dog , but of course ) who I considered every bit deserving enough to be a wolf or a hound or a lion or anything like that. I dont know what on earth contented his owner to name him "naughty" . I would have gone for better adjectives had they asked me ... how about "Fiercy" , "Annihilator " or something. Yes ,a glimpse of him could annihilate me at that time . No, naughty didn't bite people , he ate them ( to be honest , it was just that he barked continuously at me -- only me ! ) . And the naughty chapter was unwilling to close until thankfully we shifted from our place.

So these were incidents that impacted my life to a great extent. There were certain other things , very subtle in nature. Out of those , some I understand now, some I am patiently waiting to understand and some I know I'll never understand. But the lesson learnt was a very common one and so common that it isn't worth mentioning about. There are times when you feel like you've lost it , then you hold it tight. Suddenly , you lose your grip and you feel helpless of the sweat thats causing this lose grip. Then you realise that the sweat was a result of your own worries and anxiety. So this is how life has been to me and to everyone , I guess. Good or bad it is , you live it. And it is good or bad only as long as you live it. So what do I have to say in the end ? I am clueless for I havent seen the end .

End of a Decade ... Begining of Another

After having seen and read a few year-enders and a decade-ending ones , I feel I deserve to have one of my own. What makes this decade special for me is the fact this is the first decade that I can remember clearly ... In the previous decade , I was born , suffered the shock of a lifetime : an electric shock to be precise , had my leg fractured, and ironically that was my lovely childhood. So the decade 1990-1999 was all about oblivion for me .

Coming back to 2000-2009, the decade remains crystal clear in my memory for reasons I try to laborate below, I try to recollect most of the things yet I may miss out on a lot of things , maybe because I never tried to remember or understand them for their complexity or the measure of wisdom that it would take to write about them. This article/post does not contain news from around the world. Basically , this is an account of things that seemed significant to me. The notable feature is that I have grown up in these 10 years from a small child to an adolescent to a youth, so it may contain varied pieces of information . So here goes 2000-2009 as swiftly as the decade itself.

The first thing I remember of year 2000 was that of the world coming to an end, and yes the world, as far as I was concerned, had started showing the signs with news coming in everyday of computers falling to prey to the Y2K virus. A dangerous and intriguing name like "Y2K" , I feel, would scare the hell out of a 9 or 10 year old , but I was "courageous" enough to follow the news only to find out that it was more than tackled , and in any way could not bring an end to the world. 2001 brought out the "glamour" of the terror groups with Osama-bin-Laden carrying out the twin tower explosions. The people around the world stuck to their television sets watching the first "mega terrorist-event" of the decade and Al Qaida , Laskar-e-Taiba became household names. Household not in the sense that people named their loved ones or possessions as LeT or something but I do remember one of my friends Usama whom everybody started calling Osama , funnily. I guess these activities dont deserve to be written more about. On a personal note , 2001 marked the begining of a good academic career at school for me.
2002 , another unfortunate year for India as the communal riots in Gujarat shatter not only the window panes of the shops in the area but also the belief of people in one another. For reasons mentioned before , I refrain to get into the details. And then 2002 was unfortunate for all of us in Kanpur too ... the company my father was working with announced (or rather was forced upon), a closure. Life in Kanpur was certainly coming to an end. It better had been a few years earlier , I thought.
2003 saw us shifting to Silvassa , the place at first seemed fine with greenery around , decent crowd and a few other reasons I fail to recollect now. Nothing else in 2003 do I feel significant enough to write about . Quite a peaceful year indeed !
The consequent years too had nothing of much importance to me , except that these were the years that shaped up how and what I am , my likes and dislikes , taste for books, music and food of course, my beliefs and convictions and a few more things I know nobody's interested in knowing.
2008 , I appeared for the standard 10 board exams , scored decently , less than how much I had expected but then I guess you dont get everyting you desire. This was also the year of the infamous terrorist seige in Mumbai. And yes , I forgot to mention that these terrorists did continue their strike all these 10 years in different parts of the world and the Sun rose in East and set in West everyday. You dont need to mention that , do you ?
2009 I feel had been very demanding from the academic point of view with me being in the last year at school . You dont need to mention the ambition, pressure , thoughts , emotions of joy and sorrow that accompany.

Ending as it all started ,Global Warming, the promos, trailers and the english film 2012 itself, as the year ended, had everything in them to catch the fantasy of the people and scare them of a catastrophic end to the world in 2012 or later . 2012 because the Mayan calender ends that year . I dont know about the Mayan calender , but my calender ends today 31st Dec , 2009 and I look forward to tomorrow ...

"For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice ..." -- T.S. Eliot