Reminiscences

The long and winding stairs, the loud footsteps on the uncarpeted wooden floors, the clatter of cutlery and the banter that followed it in the hall during the lunch hour, the thrill of getting down on all fours to play when a free hour pops up, the anxious wait for your turn to read a book or submit your work, the play fights, the nicknames, the competitions, the feverish revisions before the examinations, the curtains coming down on the stoic demeanours of your favourite teachers as you are ready to leave the school for one last time, the mad rush to the bus stop as the bell rings in the evening, and the ride back home. And when it is all over and your friends and familiar faces part ways one final time, the gnawing feeling in the pit of your stomach that reminds you that your school days are truly over.

Perhaps it is because I like to think that the school offered me that butterfly effect-the small initial condition that conspired with the cosmos and nudged me down the many a forks in the journey of my life so far, to get to this exact time and place I am currently at. And for that, I am eternally grateful. Thank you Rani Jai.