hopes, dreams, nailbiting scenes
sanjana started school. apprehension, a nervousness not unlike one before an exam, anxiety to get everything right, the mom (and dad!) all agog the previous day. change of clothes? yes. marked and labeled? yes. water bottle? yes. swimsuit? yes. towel? yes. bag? ready.
6am, 25 July 2005. sanjana is all excited and wakes immediately. an hour and a half later, a washed and combed 4 year old in tow, the mom, grand mom and dad set off. dad is unloaded at BGA1 and the rest carry on for 50 kms to the new school.
yup, you read it right -- the school is all of 37 miles from home. tall white domed buildings with natural light flooding in, courtyards full of plants, a swimming pool, race tracks, tennis courts, and classrooms full of air. color (of skin, too) and talk everywhere. koreans, indians, germans, israelies, you name it -- back after a long break, catching up on time spent apart. these were boarders, week boarders, day scholars. some small people also float around like flowers -- sanjana's classmates. no uniform yet for these characters and their class rooms are a visual delight and a huge jungle jim sells the place to a little energetic sanjana.
suddenly she spies a set of matresses in the classroom -- stacked high waiting for nap time... "like the princess and the pea" she breathes excitedly! yes, but you will sleep on only one. not missing a beat, she says, "i only said it looks like princess and the pea!" yes doll, you're right. there was no "mommy, dont go," no "waaah," and i watch her pinkishness disappear into class. a flood of pride and a small sense of loneliness engulfs me... my partner for 3 months has other distractions now! i spend a nail-biting day with a million questions coursing through my idle mind.
needless and futile. "i love that school." she proclaims on her way back. the little yellow bus number four carries my hopes and dreams with it each morning and delivers them chattering away at 5:18pm. is she tired? not at all. "i still have to play!" wow. omlette and bread, chicken manchurian and rice+curds, idlies and sugar, sambhar rice in the "school restaurant," humming "horsy horsy something something clippetty clop," 2 days later sanjana is off to school again.
oh, and with her "bye mommy," goes my excuse for staying home ;)
6am, 25 July 2005. sanjana is all excited and wakes immediately. an hour and a half later, a washed and combed 4 year old in tow, the mom, grand mom and dad set off. dad is unloaded at BGA1 and the rest carry on for 50 kms to the new school.
yup, you read it right -- the school is all of 37 miles from home. tall white domed buildings with natural light flooding in, courtyards full of plants, a swimming pool, race tracks, tennis courts, and classrooms full of air. color (of skin, too) and talk everywhere. koreans, indians, germans, israelies, you name it -- back after a long break, catching up on time spent apart. these were boarders, week boarders, day scholars. some small people also float around like flowers -- sanjana's classmates. no uniform yet for these characters and their class rooms are a visual delight and a huge jungle jim sells the place to a little energetic sanjana.
suddenly she spies a set of matresses in the classroom -- stacked high waiting for nap time... "like the princess and the pea" she breathes excitedly! yes, but you will sleep on only one. not missing a beat, she says, "i only said it looks like princess and the pea!" yes doll, you're right. there was no "mommy, dont go," no "waaah," and i watch her pinkishness disappear into class. a flood of pride and a small sense of loneliness engulfs me... my partner for 3 months has other distractions now! i spend a nail-biting day with a million questions coursing through my idle mind.
needless and futile. "i love that school." she proclaims on her way back. the little yellow bus number four carries my hopes and dreams with it each morning and delivers them chattering away at 5:18pm. is she tired? not at all. "i still have to play!" wow. omlette and bread, chicken manchurian and rice+curds, idlies and sugar, sambhar rice in the "school restaurant," humming "horsy horsy something something clippetty clop," 2 days later sanjana is off to school again.
oh, and with her "bye mommy," goes my excuse for staying home ;)
posted by ara at 10:13 AM
1 Comments:
no worrries arati- just wait till she gets real homework- then she'll want to stay home no doubt;) do wish her a happy school day from me and remind her it's going to be like this till the 17th grade!!
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