A QUICK JOG DOWN MEMORY LANE

I got a call this evening from Akhila, an ex- student of my teaching years at Bhadravathi. We chatted for half an hour about her batchmates, other students and acquaintances in and around St. Charles English High School. Many of her batchmates are married and with kids of their own. Akhila has been in Ajman since July. She told me how a particular student of mine went to Russia to do his MBBS but dropped out after the second year, brought home his Russian girl friend and eventually married her. She told me of an alumni gathering of the 96 batch and promised to mail me the pictures, an initiative taken up by Vijayasimha.
A few of my students are in touch with me. Rashmi Raman working in IBM is a regular in my mail box. Prathibha Hampapur working with Volvo has remembered to send me greeting card every Teacher’s Day.
Once in a restaurant in Bangalore, I turned when someone called me ‘Miss’ and saw tall dark fellow towering over me. For a minute I couldn’t place him…. Not that he minded. M.S. Kiran, Miss, he told me. Oh my God! How he had grown…. A great kid in my English classes, he was in the third year of engineering at that time. Must have got married and even got kids by now.
These days you meet people in the most unexpected places. Once while I was playing Literati online, suddenly someone started chatting with me…. It was Vibhav Sharma who is working in Chennai as a software engineer. As usual we catch upon who is where. Another time I get a mail from Mohd. Wayeez who had been one of my favourites while at school. Not favourite as in favouritism but someone I liked, trusted and counted on to help me with that class of 62 students. I later taught Wayeez’ sister who was in my last batch in St. Charles. He had got my mail ID from her friend and mailed me about his whereabouts and that of many other of his batch. I have registered myself with batchmates .com hoping that someone might in the course of their busy life remember my name and at least talk about me with their family or friends. Thanks to technology many of them contact me and the life I spent as their teacher, suddenly seems to have been meaningful.
It was great talking about good old days with Akhila, but after we rang up I realized how time has flown. All those boys and girls I left behind in Bhadravathi after their Grade 10,have become young men and women. Soon my own boys will start on their career and eventually settle down in life. When I left Bhadravathi for Sharjah, I had been given an overwhelming farewell by my students and I had told myself that no one will love me as they have. I stand corrected. I guess I am one of those few blessed teachers who will be given unconditional love by students.
When I look back at the seven years I spent teaching in Sharjah, I thought I may just be an ‘also ran’ but the emails that flooded my mail box after I resigned made me realize something. Students are just great people. They like you…they love you. Every now and then I get calls seeking advice, announcing their performances, sharing their dreams for future…or just making a friendly call to ask me how I am. I bask in the love showered on me by my Sowmya, Arti, Afshan, Karen, Deepika, Michelle, Sana, Christina, Anju, Ann Isac and many others. I just love it when a chat box pops open with ‘Hi M’am’ smiling at me…. Then follows a quick session of catching up with what is happening in their lives. Their achievements are of great interest to me. One explains why she has chosen a commerce stream after pursuing Science in 11th and 12th. One justifies why she left the college after the first year in BA Political Science to join the Law Academy. One tells me of her dream of becoming an ace tennis player…. One needs my advice on a college project. One just mails saying how much she misses me……all these reiterate the truth- Students are the same…whether they are in India or in the Emirates.
They don’t always use the grammar I have tried to drum into their heads. They don’t use the right letter format..( One even wrote, ‘Now that I am out of school, I am not going to sign off with ‘ Yours sincerely’ I am going to use ‘With Love’…and I don’t mind if you cut my marks for this….heh..heh…’the student has the last word here…..because I am speechless with emotion). They don’t even use the English language I know…. They use a mutilated language with terrible spellings…… But the message they convey is always the same… They love me still…. And miss me…..as I do ……miss them. They are my gratuity… my bonus…my savings… to ruminate on during the twilight of my life and perhaps to entertain my grandkids in future. In the meantime, all my Deepikas, Sowmyas, Sanas and Akhilas are welcome to mail me, call me or chat with me.