School of Rock

What do I remember about yesterday, you ask?

Walking down KK Lane, all of a sudden acutely aware of all the political slogans painted on the compound wall of the Collector’s office. Seeing all the Annual Day pictures up for display on the first floor landing, while speaking to a couple of ninth graders. Stopping by the second floor Water Doctor, and glancing at the Ratna Residency signboard against the sky. Walking into class and straight to my desk (third row, third column) without having to think about it, after which Thenmozhi Ma’am, in the teachers’ pink uniform sari, asked us to go down to the Shuttle Court for the Lighting Ceremony.

Standing outside the Shuttle Court and catching sight of the farewell invitation, while listening to a beautifully delivered story in the morning assembly. Receiving my brass lamp from Usharani Ma’am and falling at her feet. Standing besides Asha, trying to salvage whatever little oil I could from my leaking lamp. Rolling my eyes at the many ‘light’ metaphors made by practically everyone in their speeches. Going up on stage and finding that it was terribly hard to sound casual in what was the last speech I would make in that hall, as a student of that school. Seeing everyone else put into words what I’d forgotten to say. Seeing four boys walk up onstage and declare, ‘We promised ourselves last year that we wouldn’t come stand up here and be sentimental and cry. We really want to keep that promise, so we’re going to sit down onstage right now’ to loud cheers. Laughing as the aforementioned four boys exhorted our juniors to opt for commerce when the time came.

Posing for the Batch of ’11 picture. Posing for the XII C picture. Posing for the Leaders’ picture. Shuffling back into the Shuttle Court to hear our juniors say nice things about friendship and school life. Hearing Sandeep strum the intro to ‘Give me some sunshine’ and applauding as our juniors filed in and sang it to us. Talking to Saishree about standing up and singing along. Being unable to carry out aforementioned filmi plan as song got over.

Playing dodgeball against XII D. Winning. Running around collecting items for Queen of Sheba. Lifting a heavy fire bucket across the school grounds. Ordering people to run around collecting steel plates and tamarinds and fire extinguishers. Coming second in aforesaid event. Playing against XII A in the dodge-ball finals. Winning again. Talking about ‘defusing bio-weapons’, inadvertently setting off a Facebook gang war in the process. Getting our hands dirty while playing another event involving sand and buckets.

Standing first in line for lunch. Eating baby corn fry, parotas and fried rice with kurma. Eating some excellent thayir saadham. Jostling the rest for malai kulfi and eating the same in erm, a visually suggestive manner. Noticing how, over the course of the day, the juniors ran around getting things done. Wondering at the amount of planning and preparation that had gone into the day. Playing with the balloons and streamers that the 11th std students had hung up all over the place. Going to the girls’ loo, the French room, the library and the rest of our regular haunts. For the first time, fully understanding how much this place has given me and how much it would cost me to leave. Telling the eleventh graders just how special they’d made the day for us. Taking picture after picture and yet feeling like it wasn’t enough. Laughing. Feeling special.

Yesterday was awesome, and anything else I try to put into words will only sound simplistic.

I'll miss school. And I'll miss all of you.