Just got out of a hot shower in a December morn,I reached for a pair of denim and well ironed top/kurta, knowing that I had a lot of running around to do at the Annual Sports Meet in the school where I teach. Though there was no dress code but it is a truth acknowledged throughout India that saari is the safest bet if u are in a formal environment.So I chose one from a few I have.
As I was signing the register a colleague smiled and said, "lucky saari ! you are wearing it :-)" Cute compliment.I never heard it before."yes"I responded,"I didn't want to disappoint my fans.;-) (who belonged to III A ). In the class, girls chirped, "looking nice ma'am" and boys gave me the look of 'what happened to this lady'? She is looking so different.
My students come from varied backgrounds. A child who has already traveled half the globe, rubs shoulders with another whose father washes clothes in one of the hostels or cooks food in some mess, in perfect harmony. One was absent for a few days and told me that he had been to Princeton University.And when I asked Saina why was she absent for two days.shyly she replied and I didn't believe my ears,
"Ma'am our cow ate my uniform".
A unique excuse I've ever heard."It is possible", a few others confirmed.
Now some complaints:
Ankan Verma: Ma'am these people call me Ankal (uncle)
Maanas: Yes and they call me Minus :(
By the way Class 3 won the Trophy for the 'Best special Display.' Sari was lucky indeed.:)
Enjoying my afternoon siesta is in my DNA. And internet is the lullaby. I could be the founder member of the page:‘I don’t watch TV’ On Facebook, but Luckily I got to watch a part of the documentary on Madhubala which was being telecast on one of the news channels. The segment I watched was dedicated to Kishore Kumar and how he married and then tortured her later.
I never cease to thank God for my evening walks.Mostly I'm alone. Sick of the same songs on my mobile, I took hubby’s IPod and the first song was ‘Jab Tak Maine Samjha jeevan kya hai,jeevan beetgaya' sung by Kishore. Thinking about the way he treated Madhubala ,I hated him and felt like skipping the song.Then I thought of what I read somewhere:
“All forms of madness, bizarre habits, awkwardness in society, general clumsiness, are justified in the person who creates good art.”
So if a person is gifted he has a right to hurt/humiliate others? I almost agreed and couldn’t skip the song and what a song!
My locality is full of small and big temples. I pass by many of them. And here was one.It looked like a well and covered with a lid. Some smooth round pebbles, marked with vermillion reminded me the saying about my hometown, Uttarkashi. It goes like..’Jitne kankar,utne Shankar’.
After supper I watched Bawarchi with my MIL (mother in law).Kishore Kumar again! I was fast asleep just after I heard Jaya asking Rajesh Khanna.
‘Itna pyaar diya ,uska koi mol nahi?”
RK had no answer.
How different my life would have been if I were living in a Metro,having a good job.I put myself in the shoe of those ladies whose profiles I view on FB and wonder do they have a life better
than mine? I don’t really know. All I know is that I'm happy in celebrating myself in the small pleasures that everyday holds.
