The sound of horns and screeching of tyres woke her up from
the deep slumber. She yawned and stretched herself. She went and made tea for
herself and snuggling the hot cup full of her favourite green tea, she made her way to the balcony. The Sun was
all prepared to go to sleep now.
Every evening she stood in the balcony bidding the Sun
goodbye and watching the city traffic making its move. The crowd moving with a caterpillars’
pace, people struggling to cross the roads and tired white collared people
cursing the traffic.
“Everyone must be going home by now”, she thought. The
feeling of going back to home after a day of hardwork is exhilarating. Everyday
we slog throughout our working hours, adding value to the work we do and the
mere thought of going home makes us enthusiastic. You can’t trade the peaceful
ambience of your own niche with anything.
The phone rang. She rushed to grab it.
“Dadi how are you”, chirped her grand daughter from the
other side.
“I am fine. How is my little princess doing? I was waiting
for your call”
“Oh Dadi I get so much homework. Dadi I called to say that
you should join Facebook.”
“That is for youngsters like you. What would I do?”
“Just join it, then you can see all my pictures na”, she
insisted.
“Okay okay I will see.”
She again went to her balcony.
“I should have gone with them to USA. It feels so lonely out
here. Since I have retired there is nothing to do. My life is nothing but on
the path of slow deterioration. This boredom is eating me away. I can’t sit and
watch these idiotic daily soaps showing crying wives. Neither can I tolerate
these gossipmongers of the kitty parties. Having taught kids how to utilize
their time , I can’t waste mine like this”, she sighed.
A group of teenagers were passing by. She was in no mood for
eavesdropping on their conversation but then they were loud enough for anyone
to hear.
“That math teacher of ours is good for nothing”, said one.
“He would himself fail in the paper he sets for us”, added
another.
“He will pass only those who’ll attend his tuition.”
Her heart sank.
“This is what it all boils down to. We spend our entire
lives trying to teach them whatever we know and these kids would not even
respect us. But somewhere the problem can’t be just in the students. Even
teachers now a days are not that passionate about teaching. For them it is a
job. For me it was my worship. Each student of mine was a lump of wet clay for
me whom I moulded as long as I could. They all have reached places but somehow
I never heard from them again. We as teachers selflessly devote our lives to
these students without yearning for appreciation. Appreciation does flow in but
only once every year, 5th September. Rest for the entire year they will treat
you with indifference. I wish students were a little more sensitive towards us.
Never the less I am not a teacher anymore.”
She felt agitated. She missed teaching. That is all that she
had done in her life.
She sat on her laptop and then created her Facebook account.
She filled all the information and updated her profile. And sent a request to
her Grand daughter. She closed the laptop and attended to her daily chores.
Late in the night she logged back again to check if her
little princess had accepted her request.
“Not yet.”
But she saw there were many friend requests from different
people. Some of the m she did not even recognize though the names felt oddly
familiar. Another red sign was blinking in the corner of the page. It was her
inbox. There were around ten messages.
“How come so many messages”, she wondered clicking them one
by one.
The first was from some man named Arun
Arun (Active 2 hours ago)
8:05 pm
Good evening ma’am
Do you recognize me? You taught me in class 9th.
I am that student who brought my driver to the Parent Teacher Meeting instead
of my father. Now do you remember me?
“Oh Arun. My God he has grown into a well built man.” The
memory of a lean child ushering a well dressed man with no manners into her
classroom came to her. She smiled thinking of the notorious child. Another
memory flashed by where that same child stood next to her , his body tensed and
his lips shivering, when he barely managed to speak that he flunked and had to
give supplementary papers.
She typed I do remember you. On a humorous note I hope you
are no more taking your driver in your meetings.
Instantly the messenger beeped
“Hahahaha Ma’am I don’t. I told my children how you saved me
from all that embarrassment. Ma’am can I say something?”
“Yes go ahead.”
“Ma’am do you remember when I got those 4 supplementary
papers? I came to you. Ma’am I knew nobody else would help me. You were always
a saviour. I still remember the entire week when I kept testing your patience
by repeatedly asking the same questions and you without a speck of annoyance
kept explaining. Those 10 chapters have stayed with me all my life. My kids are
very eager to meet the teacher who their Dad brags about all the time. Would
you please tell us where you are these days?”
She stared at the screen. He still remembers that. Her lips contoured
into a smile as she typed, “ I live in the same home. Whenever you pass by
bring them along.”
“I surely will ma’am. I surely will.
She hopped onto another message which was from a girl named
Sheetal.
Sheetal (Active now)
9:12pm
Hello ma’am
How are you. Ma’am it took you so long to join Facebook. I
searched for you so many times. Ma’am please see the picture that I have
enclosed.
She clicked on the picture. It was a passport size snap of
Lord Ganesha, a little worn out picture that she had given to a girl who was
scared of exams.
“You still have this?”
“Obviously ma’am. I have never ever separated myself from it
. It will go to my grave along with me. Over the years it has become my lucky
charm. I do not go anywhere without it. I am very sure you laced it with
blessings of yours. I never felt scared after keeping this with me.”
“I am glad it helped you.”
“Ma’am teachers like you are hard to find now. My kids aren’t
as lucky as me. Please open a school. I’ll send my kids there only.
She typed controlling her laughter,” Sure sure.”
Next was a message
from a man she was sure she did not know.
Riten (Active)
9:12 pm
Good evening ma’am
I am very sure you don’t know who I am but you have brought
a very lasting change in me. I was student of yours for five years but I was
very introvert so perhaps I never came under limelight. In your class you
taught us not only our chapters but the real value of life. You may have not
realized but everyday you were bringing change by telling our subconscious the
power we were not aware of. I personally idealized you in my life. I was never
a very bright student or a very poor performer. I was just average. If you
recall once you patted my back and said that I’ll do wonders if I put my
inhibitions aside. That line stuck with me ma’am and since then I never looked
back.
She was overwhelmed. Her eyes had become moist. The moment
she was about to reply, it started raining heavily.
“Oh my clothes are still outside”, she rushed to the
balcony. She collected her clothes and bundled them on her bed. She logged out thinking
she would reply tomorrow. She wanted to seize the moment. All this evening she
was thinking how worthless and unappreciated a life she lived. But these simple
messages unravelled the simple magic in forms of words that touched her heart
and soaked her soul with love. She never realized she was changing lives all
these years just by existing. She was astonished that these kids found her and
took time to message her. What surprised her more was that they told their kids
about her as well.
“I am of no use to them now but still somehow I reside in
the memories of so many. My life has not been wasted. These kids are just a few
whom I have taught. There are many more.
And who knows they still care.”
Suddenly she felt very proud and happy.
Outside it was raining hard and she still dry and
comfortable in her bed was drenched in love.
