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Thursday, August 4, 2011

MY DAY….MY ROUTE…..INE


A teacher’s day in the garden city

Long before it's bright, you see them rigorously burning their fat out around the railway meadows. A quick bath in hot water, a bowl of oats, a kiss on the cheeks of the baby asleep, and a bye to the better half....a waving from the balcony..

The steep ascent of the railway overbridge,  sneaking through the spilling crowd, pointing finger at the id card round my neck to the ticket checker, the dirty subways, the newspaper seller at the entrance, the jacket sellers surrounded by a bargaining crowd, the differently abled with things from safety pins to socks and then the BMTC platforms..


Wait for 280 series, again a flash of the BMTC pass to a dutiful/doubtful conductor, out of the Montreal-metro like doors, wait for the rushing airport-bound cabs to leave a gap to cross over to Defence gates, the gun-wielding frustrated security guards at the gate and then the school..

An impatient and panting crowd at the attendance register, "good morning"s, "namastey"s tossed around in the corridors and the staff room...then the morning assembly.

A restless lot addressed by the principal, a group of threes and twos here and there at the back updating the latest news, voicing grouses, few loners, the stock career-guidance from a few,

"you r so talented, yaar..y don't you try for better jobs? u shouldn't end up in a job like this....see, our case is different, we r trapped"

To the classrooms..... from the hyperactive to the lethargic.....the reservoir of a nation's future! ya, the heterogenous group.....nobody empathises with their plight...how they cope with the dynamic and the bore....each waiting out for the one inside to come out like at a public toilet.

The lunch break...a quick bite/gulp/gorge....each cheek swelling out, the uniform movement of the jaws (note: we r the ones who use mouth the most).

A quick sign on circulars without even reading the content...lots of signature here and there...a call from the boss, a clarification from a parent, a file of data for the office, a brief meeting, a few tips to some participants and the most tedious task of checking and count-down of the pile of copies....the long bell..and a peal of "bye-sir" in various pitch on the corridors...

Again, the same crowd in hurry at the attendance register, A bye-handshake from a few helmet-covered heads, some remaining for an extra 5 to 10 mts for the above said tedious task.

the wait for a less crowded 280 series, a colleague, like a granny, with a rich vocabulary of family line, unhappy with the changing values, yes the journey back..

the busy traffic, and the wait for the favourite colour of all motorists/passengers.. GREEN, the BMTC platforms, the dirty subway with new set of vendors, ladies(and the ladylike too) with thick lipstick and partly covered parts making their intention crystal clear(note: i feel they are the best communicators in the world), the fruit vendors, the space of the newspaper seller now replaced by a ground-net seller and a BANGALORE CITY MAP seller....entry to the over bridge through the metal detector....men and women running frantically searching for the platforms, a few fined for no ticket, a board reads...PISSING HERE IS FINE! and then the steep descent,  on the steps the food for the pantry car in boxes, uniform-clad caterers counting them.....

walk along the railway colony, now not-so busy roads, the half-drowsy late afternoon, dogs enjoying a nap under the trees, RPF men on a drill in the railway meadows, knock on the door of A-3, kiss for the baby and the id card to play with, a quick gorge and then the day's recap with the better half...and then a sound!(yes, literally a disturbing snore)sleep, poor thing my better half hardly enjoys a sound and deep sleep, the hectic schedule is obvious on her face.

a refreshing tea, daughter clad in sweater and with a cap on for the chill, gloomy evenings impatiently waiting for a walk in the railway meadows...the time for the better half to set the house right, the cartoons on POGO and a long browse through the same old sites...a light supper and then the alarm for the next morning....LIGHTS OFF.
-Santhosh Kana

13 comments:

Jeevan said...

sir this was really refreshing.. although all this is happening around us we never noticed it as u have described in the blog... missing u a lot..

jeevan

Unknown said...

Arty article sir!

Avantika jhunjhunwala said...

great article!!!

Bhaskaran said...

Mr. Santosh Kana. You said "Everytime a sensitive person bleeds within, remember, it turns into ink". A Teacher's Day in the Garden City is the blood truned into ink.

Rajagopal said...

Fantastic piece! The style is lyrical and engrossing ! By the by, the "warnings" like "pissing here is fine", are many in this part of the country ! Recently we saw one at the RTA campus which read "No Parking Fine". Expect more on Somatmika & the be(i?)tter half soon.... Regards & best wishes !

Nitu Sinha said...

wow sir...it really amazing to read u.finally got ur blog..remembering the school days......

Leena Madan said...

WOW SANTOSH..............
WHAT A GREAT PIECE OF WRITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THIS KIND OF REALISM, SENSITIVITY AND FRESH APPEAL I HAVE FOUND ONLY IN WRITERS LIKE ARUNDATHI ROY N SALMAN RUSHDIE................

GREAT GOING...............

shivam said...

nyc 1 sir,,such a realistic article,felt i m wid u while readin dis!!!!

vivanta said...

Simply superb, sir. There is lot of room for the reader to imagine!!!

Haritha Hariprasad

Anand kumar said...

A TRUTH WELL PRESENTED... awesome... miss u sir..
-ANAND KUMAR

Prateeksha said...

Worth reading sir... keep writing:)

Unknown said...

i knw i m repeating myself...but i am not at a stage to judge this piece of writing....
but...its really very creative style..in the way it is written....

Unknown said...

respected sir,
my name is iswarya and i am a class 12 student studying in 1 of the units of vivekananda educational society, chennai. i agree with asim that we are nothing to gudge you but i must say that this piece of writng is something very refreshing to the mind, churning out inspirations from the soul....all i can ever do is to thank you for postig it. i hope you will see me as one of your students.
sincerely,
iswarya :)