After the earlier post, what I could track down as my next instance in memory is, the day I joined the school in Cuddalore. I think thats the first time I have ever been to Cuddalore, may be before, but this is the one I still remember.
I don't remember what day it is. Its during the year 1984 and the month should be June, obviously. I was sitting on my granny's lap, and one of my uncle (Chandran) came along with us to complete the joining formalities, as my granny was never educated. The school campus was totally a strange place to me. I have never seen such a place till then in my life, as I was from a very remote village. I looked in awe, the people roaming inside the campus. And the funniest part is, I was not aware that they have brought me to put in this school.
On the very first day, my granny and uncle stayed with me till the evening. After the joining formalities were over, they handed over me to the teachers and they were about to leave. Only then I did realise that I was not going home with them. I started crying. I didn't leave hold of my granny's saree and it almost tore. I made a total mess on the very first day. All the students, who were passing by, were looking at me as if something funny is happening. Till then I don't know what an hostel is and how will it look like. After the vain struggle, I was dragged into the hostel by the deputy warden, and the hostel was also inside the school campus.
After I went inside the hostel, I was sitting beside the warden and constantly kept on asking him when will my granny get back, because my granny had told me that she is not leaving me, instead, she is going to get me biscuits from the shop. I was waiting for my granny to get back with biscuit packets and rescue me out of the place. After dusk, I started crying, screaming like I wanted to get to my home. The wardens told me that I must take food and my granny will come soon. After taking food and expecting granny anytime, unknowingly i have slept.
When I woke up next day, around 6 oclock, all I could see was, I was sleeping among a group of around 70 boys, all in different age groups from 5 to 10 years of age. The school then had only till class five. The warden came and commanded that all of us go to the toilets and finish our morning chores and then come back. Till then I was not aware what a toilet is, because my kindergarten school doesn't have one. And, in our native hamlet there was no house which had toilets and all. Everyone have to complete their morning chores in open university.So, toilet was a new thing to me then. There wa a child caretaker along with wardens in the hostel who would help in getting the students do their morning chores and dress them up before going to school.
On the very first day, she helped me a lot, and around 9 AM we started to leave for the classrooms. We have to go in a line from hostel to the classrooms, and the wardens would explain that sending us in queue was to make us disciplined. The warden, on my first day to school came along with me and put me in 1st standard A section.
Mrs Janaki, was the class teacher for my class. The very first thing she asked me to do was to come and sit down at the first bench.
The very next day she had thrown me out of class.......................
Memories will continue..............
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