Sunday, June 21, 2009

Bye Bye Dimapur.............(Entry dated 08/23/2008 )

So at last I am coming to an end of second episode of my journey of - the stay in the beautiful North East.....

I studied in the first school - Holy Cross till Class-2...There are as usual lot of memories associated with this school....I had shared my experience of my first day in the school and subsequent daily routine of my ma - dropping me at school and picking me up everyday....We used to stay pretty nearby to school, so it used to be either walking down or mostly rickshaws...Nor that I remember any other means of public transport in that distant hamlet - dimapur....hidden away in distant north east....in good old early eighties...

I remember the lunches that she used to pack for me.....few of my friends....Paromita was one of my very good friends.....she had a elder brother, and our parents were also fond of each other, we visited each others place quite often........have tried a lot to search for you in cyberspace....but was unsuccessful....paromita - if you ever get to read this....a big HI....and do get in touch !!!!!!!!!!!

Apart from her, I do remember a few faces.........well actually I have a few Class Photographs of those days, but no names unfortunately ...

I remember the small school canteen......the huge campus, the church, the gulmohar trees in full bloom.....the large playground......the picture has become hazy over period of time..........it has been 26 long years......

And then the hawkers selling fancy tit-bits near the school gate.....I was allowed the privilege of tasting only very few varieties - considered "safe" by ma....one of which was raw oranges.....fresh green oranges .....juicy and tangy- cut into half and smeared with "kala namak"....tch...tch....my mouth still waters at the thought of it ....one particular item that always fascinated me looked something like chewing gum...but I am still not sure what was it actually......it was sticky, multicolored, wrapped around a very smooth long bamboo stick....and it was sold in small pieces........one of the early temptations, that was never fulfilled as ..........u see it was "not safe and hygienic enough"....Not sure this is still sold around School gates these days..........but u know somehow I am not interested any more........there are newer and better forbidden frontiers to be conquered now....

Another incident.....my story of Holy Cross will not be complete without it.....There was an outbreak of Cholera those days....quite a few of my class mates were falling ill ....so one fine day school authorities decided to immunize all the students....I must be in Kg-2 then...5 yrs old...and dead scared to injections....I never wanted to go thorough this torture.......I told my teacher that I will not take the injection....as my parents told me against it...........she told me to tell Mother about the same....then I did actually in trembling voice, told her that my parents told me not to take any injection in school ......and can u believe it, they actually listened !!!!!!!!Well I do believe in my convincing and persuasion capabilities, but now I know I developed it pretty early in life ....

Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) was coming up in Dimapur and that was great news for my parents.....Do u know what is a KV....Many of you might, but let me make it simple for the rest of you....KVs are schools owned and managed by Govt of India, and they are available all over India. These are meant for children of Central Govt employees - including defence and civilians have to travel across the country on frequent transfers.........so whats so unique about these schools? First of all, only Central Govt employees' children are allowed entry.....they all follow the CBSE curriculum and the same books.....the overall teaching pattern is identical with 3 unit tests , 1 half yearly and 1 annual exam, projects and assignments. And the beauty of the system is all schools are time synchronized and when the employee is transferred to a new location, the children can get admission into the KV in the new location seamlessly, without the hassle of admission tests etc. The child starts off in new school exactly from the point he/she has left in old school, and with all marks in order it becomes complete seamless.....

So for all Central Govt employees, who anticipate frequent transfers, it is an absolute necessity to get the children enrolled in central schools....

So u can imagine the relief of my parents when they learnt of the new KV in Dimapur ....Then the next hurdle was getting through......admission tests etc....but wait..........there was a BIG problem.....Hindi in KV used to be pretty high level....whereas in Holy Cross, I had just learnt the Hindi Alphabets in Class-2 , it was very elementary.........So to come up to KV level, I had to pick up Hindi real fast.....then started the training sessions at home......though my parents were not actually masters of the subject.....they had studied hindi in school and could read, write and speak....

So after some time of rigorous training if Hindi, I attempted the admission test and got through!!!!!!!! and from here started my school no.-2 and the first KV.. ...I studied here for only a few months before my father got transferred to Kolkata, and so my days in Dimapur came to and end.........

But how can I say bye without relieving some moments of my KV Dimapur days.....This school was very small as compared to Holy Cross.......This was new, only Classes I-V and only a single section per Class....did I remember to tell u that Holy Cross had 3 Sections and Classes from LKG-XII !!!! The building was small and cozy and all the teachers knew all of us closely and vice - versa....Principal Sir was also very friendly..........he had 3 daughters ...2 of them elder to me, and youngest one was in Class-I - very cute

I remember 2 Classmates here - Samujjwal and Sonalina.....whom again I have never been in touch with hence....Hi both of you ..

2 of the best experiences in this school was participating in the "bamboo dance" of mizoram.....and selling nariyal barfi in the school fair.........both unique and first time experience.....and ya as far as group dance is considered....the last one too....as subsequently i gained weight and was an obese child for quite a few years to come....and was disqualified automatically for any selection for group dance ......This is actually not fair, as no theory states that one's dancing capabilities are no way inversely proportional to one's weight...but then who said life is fair ......Over the years I lost all interest in trying to perform dance of any form......and this continues to this day...I continue to live with a phobia of dance and dread the occasions - most office get togethers/parties where u are expected to dance with people around.....Though I do have to force myself into it sometimes....I am visibly uncomfortable..........I have never enjoyed doing anything I am bad at ........may be all of us are

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