One long board exam leave and that was enough to rejuvenate (in fact bored to death) all of us. After the board exam saga we were all happy to have two months just for ourselves without anymore ‘go and study’, ’stop watching TV’, ‘no more fun’ and even more nagging by our parents to do a whole lot of other things for we had already made our parents promise us that our holidays will be our private affair which included getting up in the afternoon, lots and lots of movies and even more TV. Well we must appreciate the fact that our parents did keep up their promises and we being the ‘best of children’ used it to the best of our advantage. But hardly a month had passed by before we started dreading the days to come. This was partly because of the results that just loomed overhead but it was mainly because we really missed school, our fabulous teachers and our dear friends whom we could not meet for another one month. We felt so alien to holidays that our prayers were mainly that our school should reopen fast (rather than us getting good marks for our board exams). Life became so boring until the results came out after a lot of suspense but even then all that was in our mind was when would our school reopen and after what seemed like an eternal wait and after so much preparation to start a new future, the D-day did arrive……
That was one of those days when we got up early in the morning without our alarms waking us or our mothers screaming by our bedside and adopting ‘vile’ methods to wake us up. Even our parents were so amazed at our transformation but little did they know that we would never change for the better. Anyway we got up and dressed up to attend school but our minds were already at school just imagining as to how our friends would look as after all we had not seen each other for two months. That day we all reached school very early as we could not wait any longer. It was not a simple wish like good morning or just a regular hand-shake that met the rest of us but it was a social drama that prevailed as we could not resist hugging and kissing and there were some occasional shedding of tears. But what surprised us all (in fact annoyed us) was that we were not allowed to go upstairs and all of were so sick and tired waiting downstairs without meeting any of our teachers that we wanted to break the instructions given to us and just barge in. But that would mean breaking the rules on the very first day and we could never ever imagine doing that. So we waited and waited and at last we were called upstairs. We were totally surprised (stunned) to see that the entire stage was decorated with all our seniors standing there just to welcome us. Just the thought of all the students looking at us sent creeps down our spines. We were asked to stand under the shade of our ‘big tree’ (as we fondly call it). From there we were asked to walk towards the stage in pairs. We had already known of the change of power that had taken place in school and 11th being the standard when fun and celebrations are at its peak we were a little nervous as to what was awaiting us. But little had we to think about it than we noticed small mementos kept on a table on the stage. The students who had received 90+ % in their board exams were asked to stand apart as they were called one by one and presented with the memento by none other than our former Principal. We ourselves lost track of the number of students who got above 90+ but we were very sure that the number did exceed thirty. But even students who missed out on 90 were not left behind and they were given due mention in the motivational and inspirational speech by our new Principal. Next we went to our room that was to be our home for the next one year. No sooner had we settled down than our respective class teachers came to class and made us even more comfortable. They started off advising us as to how to proceed on with studies and our life for the next two years and the years to come. We listened very attentively because they were life-lessons that were being given to us. All the teachers who came to class also entertained us with jokes and experiences that they had had.
For lunch, all the friends regrouped and had what is commonly known as ‘round table conference’ lunch amongst all of us where we arranged a set of tables horizontally with chairs on either side so that it seemed to be a ‘family lunch’ together. That was the time we gossiped and had a huge lot of fun with solo performances like songs, dances, speeches and even comedy skits by our friends that it did seem like sitting in a restaurant. As usual we finished our lunch just as the bell rang and we started settling down in our own places. Just then there was an announcement for the entire 11th standard students to go down to the Hall. We went there thinking that our new Principal was about to talk to us but we soon found out that something the reverse of this was exactly going to happen. Our dear seniors had organized a Fresher’s Day just to welcome us. The Hall was beautifully decorated with blue and white drapes that we could not recognize our Hall for a moment. Chairs had been neatly organized and after we had occupied them, we were asked to tighten our seat belts as we were about to have a ‘roller-coaster ride’ to put it in the words of a senior. After the funniest welcome speech we have ever heard, we had the opportunity to see our seniors shake a leg and hum to a very melodious tune. We were overwhelmed to see such scintillating performances dedicated just for us. The time arrived and the seniors got on with their job- ‘ragging’ as they put it just to frighten us. Well it had been a sort of game in which we were asked to introduce ourselves and according to our talents we had to do anything. It was a choice that had been provided to us and we could choose as to what we wanted to do. After an hour’s fun without teachers overlooking as to what we were up to we decided to have even more fun. We put on the music to the maximum volume and all of us started dancing on what we called the ‘dance floor’. The teachers finally barged in and asked us to wind up the show as the music was disturbing the other classes and we like ‘obedient’ children listened to them and went quietly back to our classes but not before thanking our seniors for this party they threw up for us and also thanking our Principal for having thought of such a warm welcome for all of us.
After a day’s fun and frolic it was time for us to leave for our homes and we despised doing that after having all the fun in the world. We also expressed our gratitude to our teachers who made sure that we fitted into the school perfectly even after being separated from it for so long. It was one of those very few days that will be perfectly inscribed in our hearts forever with even the minutest of things having so much meaning and warmth in it. It seemed as if the very pillars of our school shone with so much brightness and welcomed us to this all new beautiful world.
Post published on behalf of all my friends