'Mamma I am coming home' was my status update on facebook, counting back days to go back home, summer vacation was finally there. It was probably one of those rare summer vacations when my parents did not plan out a trip for us, definately because their work load was sky high. They were struggling with one of their turn over projects, designing and building 'St. Marys provincial house' in Christian Basti, Guwahati.
Not getting enough time to spend with them at home, I decided to accompany them to their site one day. While sitting and talking to my mom and the sisters, I spotted kids at a distance. Inquisitively I asked the sisters and it was then when i learnt about Videsh. Videsh was an international NGO run by the sisters, and these kids visited them for one of their programmes where the under priviledged kids come every evening to the provincial house to learn and play.
On knowing this, I got interested and enthusiastically asked I if could help them in any way. I then got familiar with all the various ongoing programmes that Videsh was running and learnt that they needed teachers for their weekend classes organised at St. Marys High School,Guwahati.
The name St. Marys got me nostalgic. A sudden flash back to class 2 or 3. I remember how insecured we were on leaving our boxes or books inside the desk because every evening after our school was over, our seats were filled in by the under priviledged students. I remember wondering myself, if they celebrated their bithday everyday because they had no school uniform.
With mixed emotions, I immediately showed my interest in going and teaching them for their weekend classes. Walking inside St. Marys brought me all those innocent childhood memories, and then I walked to the sister in-charge and class 3 was the call.
Pre imagining my old classroom filled with 30-40 kids and thinking on my first few lines that I would deliver,I walked towads the class. A sudden reality struck me, they were no kids. My class had students of all age groups. I had to deal with little 9 year old girls to women of 65. I loved the challenge and forgot all my pre planned speeches. Their eagerness to learn left me agaped.English language fascinated them and they told me they wanted to converse in english someday. I heard those unherad voices, I knew they too wanted to become someone. Even at the age of 50 they had the same level of enthusiasm to learn how to read and write.
I looked forward to every weekend and it was easy for me to say a 'no' to go out fishing to one of my most favourite family outing place, my grandads farmhouse. I knew they already had a special place within me. Struggling with the alphabets every weekend and learning little amount of grammar and math I loved the smile on their faces every weekend after their class. And that day, when the lady of 65 could write her name and she came up happily to thank me because now she would not ask anyone else to sign for her, I cannot describe the feeling of self satisfaction that I felt. Though it was nothing big that I did, an inner satisfaction filled me with joy, I taught someone to write her name, what a wonderful summer vacation i had!
And I lay there wondering how many such man and women are still waiting for the day, they learn to sign their name themselves.
Comments
Post a Comment