the blue school days

Setting- School

Period- early 2000s

The last bell would ring at 3:30 pm sharp.  Those were the happiest few seconds of my life. Books were closed and Scooby day bags were hastily packed as a much awaited and cherished activity. 

Then began our after-school-walking-saga: trekking the steep path from our school building to the main gate. Though we had to drag the 'burden on our backs' through the concrete hill like uniformed pilgrims, we gleefully gossiped our way to the top.
Every structure of our school was painted blue- buildings, gate, the statue of the founding father of our school, his eyes his nose- nothing was spared.
Ghost stories about the founder's blinking left eye and skeleton fingers that appeared in one of the washrooms did the rounds amongst friends. The washrooms were located a little away from the school building. All one could see from the small ventilation inside the wash room was darkness, emanating from the thick forest cover outside. 

Once we crossed our school gate, the busy main road welcomed us to join the noisy and happiest time of the day. Autorickshaws, vans and jeeps, mothers and fathers, two and four wheelers, and a lot of honking from every side of the road. Caught in the midst of all this were us- A bunch of walking wanderers.The ones who were privileged to live close to the school. The ones who just,  almost mostly missed the morning assembly prayer.

'sip ups' sitting up

At the Kalathipady junction, we would squeeze our heads and bodies into the crowded Annmarias (the ladies' store) in search of some sticks or chews.  Next to Annmarias was located Anns which sold more solid eatables like egg puff and sweet nans. Our pockets could buy only their icy-sip-ups.One could spot plenty of plastic sip-up wraps on the road side back then. Such was the popularity of the zero size ice gollas.

On my last visit home, as I entered the atm counter that had replaced the anns bakery, I made a conscious effort not to reminisce. Because school time somehow conjures up in me horrifying memories- of unfinished home works, wet socks and caning of the worst kind. The blue school had borne witness to some of my greatest fears and pains, which I didn't simply want to revisit.

I see bhaji and pain puri stalls that have sprung up near the school gate. A few kids clad in their blue uniforms and glued to their cell phone were snacking on chats.
As I left the junction, I exchange smiles with some autodrivers who don't seem to have grown old as I have.