The golden days of school are still casting its deep, realistic images and shadows somewhere inside my sub consciousness. Those days were full of energy, happiness, joy and melody. Sometimes, I penetrated inside me and thought of myself to go back into the stage of childhood where all things seemed to be overlapped by the feelings of jocund. The phase of childhood is determined by the sense of good humour, easiness, innocence and selflessness. Nothing matters except the minutes of some true love, faith, friendship, sympathy, care, peace and fulfillment. This is the core reality of a childhood stage. No material possessions, richness, luxurious comfort and big cars matters at all. I still remembered my shabby and torn clothes but still felt like the king of my world. We used to play, smile and share our meals together with other friends in the school campus. We treated all the fellow students our family members. No enmity prevailed and no prejudice against anyone occurred in our behaviours. Our hearts and souls were clear and crystal, pure and innocent. We loved each other truly and there was no access to greediness or material objective. But Alas! days gone by do not return. I still remembered that beautiful morning assembly at my school campus, when all the teachers used to inspect our turn outs, moral behaviours and other assignments. It was spring season, the sun was shinning bright in the clear sky. The chirping of colourful birds was rejoicing our senses and the fragrance of flowers left us feel like in the paradise. The school campus was adorned with the colourful and beautiful pictorial arts. The prayer reciting at the morning assembly could be heard in the four corners of my village. All the villagers passing by the external school campus would like to witness the performances of the students and admired them with sheer love and affection. We were reliving our imaginary and little world out of passion and curiosity. Our share and contribution towards the school was minimal but effective and fruitful. The teachers were hardworking and adorable too. I still missed those sacred prayer reciting morning assemblies. Somehow, I recollected those memories and found that childhood was full of love, fun and peace. I had been the most shy student among all the fellow students of my class, introvert and remained always silent. So teachers used to call Mr. Silencer. Whenever, I was asked any question or query. I failed to utter a single word, not because I didn’t knew the answer. But due to my unending shyness. I always used to speak less and felt awkward to present myself before the bunch of students including teachers. That is why, Mr. Silencer always found himself at the last row of classroom on the back bench. I still remembered my best companion at my school days and everyone called him with a pet name “Robo”. Robos real name was Naseer and he was like a robot in appearance but his IQ was like zero. He was robot in appearance only, looks fatty but absence of every wit and intellect. We both were having one quality alike and same i.e, eating habits. We ate excess, but i was still the most thinnest boy not in my classroom only but also at the whole school. I was the average student but Naseer was the duffer one in the whole class. We were like soul mates made for each other. We talked each other as though unending talk but whenever, we were asked by the teachers to give presentation or lecture. We hardly uttered a single word. Most of the teachers used to taunt us because we were lacking the exposure and traits of being a good and perfect student. Occasionally, we hid ourselves to save from being insulted. For us, school was the most dreadful place.
One day, all the students were playing in the school premises. A ray of hope immerged and casted its holier shadows. A long and smart, half bearded, curly haired good looking man entered through the main gate of the school. At the first glance, he knocked the doors of my lost and hidden talent. His first day in the school was the last day of my shyness. He illuminated me with the words of unending wisdom and withdrawn inside me the hub of lost knowledge. Yes, I am talking about my best teacher, a mentor, a huge and true inspiration, the Principal of my school Mr. Prince Sir. He was himself the gateway of knowledge and education. He proved to be the real prince of my lost career. He started to shine me with his crown. He poured inside me the ultimate truth, dedication, determination and honesty. He was the person who changed my life and made me feel special. I still remembered his love for the humanity. He was not only a teacher, head of the institution but eighth wonder of the world, the cream of the teaching faculty. I believe teachers like him are the role models of the whole nation. That is how, the journey of my career started on the auspicious note. I owed my life to his Excellency for exploring my hidden and lost talent and giving wings to my flight. No doubt, in my school, the classrooms were used to be less sophisticated. There were no use of smart boards and concept of digital or internet based teaching and learning. But still, we used to acquire knowledge at the fullest and in the best possible way. The teachers used to disburse firsthand knowledge to us. Our classrooms were used to be overcrowded with students but still teachers were able to pass on the aim and object of the subject matter smoothly. There were use of chalks, boards and dusters in the classrooms. The books we read used to be in a limited readable form. There was no concept of digital books, internet access, laptops and other innovative technologies. We used to take kitchen made prepared lunch along with us and ate it at the corner of the classrooms. There were no dining halls in our schools like today’s. We faced lot of problems but still we were happy and fulfilled. The school days gone by do not return!
(The author is a freelancer. The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are author’s own and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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