Down the memory lane

It’s the summer of 2020… 7A.M. in the morning. I go to the verandah and expect to hear the sound of the school bus, bikes, vans, etc. After all, every KVian is so excited on the first day of the new session. So many plans, conference calls to bag their favourite seats with their friends…

Strangely enough, the main road leading to K.V. No.1, Ishapore is completely deserted. Not a soul in sight…The air is cool and dry are the fallen leaves. Nobody seems to have passed by in a day or two… Then all of a sudden, I remember that we are in complete lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. Fancy me thinking of my beloved school to be open now! I feel bad for my juniors who just gave their exams and needed a well deserved break. But no, they are all at home, getting frustrated now and then even as this pandemic creates havoc across the globe.

I take out my phone and am instantly filled with nostalgia when I see my friends and seniors making templates, bingos – with all our names and fun moments of school life. Just “millennial things”, you know. Honestly, it seems a sweet idea that takes my mind off the adverse effects of the pandemic.

Eventually, my mind drifts off to those beautiful, carefree school days. Those were probably the best days I have ever spent in my life. Waking up late in the morning and rushing to school on a bicycle and that grin on our faces when we saw the school gate was still open! Being a regular in the late line and writing absurd reasons for being late in the register and the security guard’s annoying look- lol ! Wishing so badly that the assembly programme gets over real fast and getting heartbroken on hearing that we have to do mass P.T. and yoga both… Waiting for that perfect moment when the teacher is about to call your best friend’s roll no. for attendance and distracting them was so much fun! We had a nickname for everyone and that helped a lot at times!! Making love stories out of nowhere and spreading rumours was also pretty common, and my name was among the top test cases for the love calculator prank!! Honestly, you wouldn’t even have the slightest idea when these things happened!

 Focusing more on the teacher’s iconic and trademarked lines rather than the subject being taught was our priority. Pretending to frantically search for the notebook in front of the teacher when we very well knew we left it at home was so epic! Being a backbencher, passing side comments and jokes and giggling till the teacher scolded us were one of the moments we will cherish forever.

Bunking classes in the name of interhouse activities was a regular excuse, especially for the girls! The library, playground, medical room and computer lab, to name a few gave us refuge from those never ending classes. But yeah, we had to stay away from the CCTVs as they were always under the watchful eyes of our Pricipal Sir and could mean uncertain danger-anytime, anywhere!

 We played so many games, and so many more were invented out of necessity. From paper cricket, hand cricket, pen fighting, red hands, criss-cross and then to online multiplayer games in the computer lab- we played them all. Once, a Flip the Bottle challenge landed us in trouble and we were instantly sent outside class. God knows how many test tubes we broke in the chemistry lab!!

Recess was the best time of the day, especially for the foodies who ate away everything from others and then peacefully nibbling on their own. Ashish Kaku’s canteen was another hotspot during this time. We definitely miss his chhole bhature and aloo kata.  It was also a perfect destination for giving birthday treats.

Hall collection during the exams saw various forms of creativity one could never imagine of. The guy with the least preparation entered the hall like a pro!! Mugging up formulas outside the exam room 10 seconds before commencement of the exam was a must. I wonder what the invigilator thought of us then!

Really, school life was amazing…  Miss those “Stop talking nuisance”, “apne saaso mein dhyaan do”, ”Babu, eisob cholbe na!”, ”beshi beyadopi korona”, “come to my chamber” moments.  Only few students had the rare priviledge of tasting the essence of “come to my chamber”!

You must think I’m silly, finding wonders in the everyday school things around us – things I saw with you all back then.

But these are the moments we will cherish forever, because sometimes the most unforgettable moments are so trivial.

 School holds a really special place in the hearts of all KVians. It is where we found so many friends, grew up together and most of all, we found meaning in our lives.

As I keep recollecting, more templates arrive…each brings back a memory from the good old school days. Those days are long gone. And sadly, “The world is not a wish granting factory”. But if given a chance, wouldn’t you all love to relive the school days? Gosh yeah!!

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I'm thankful to my friend Esha Das who sketched our school.