Colours, Smells and Taste of SDA

White shirt, navy blue skirt,striped tie, white socks, black shoes and we were ready for 17, Vidhan Sabha Marg. Life in school was a routine that remained unchanged almost for thirteen years. In those days, however, that routine was something I loved. How we used to run with shoelaces undone. How our rickshaw guy would get angry almost everyday. Every irrelevant detail seems like magic.

Friends, delicious breaks, games, pranks, studies, window slamming, constant fantasies of two three affairs. Now thats what we mean by “Life was very busy”.

Time really flies. There are so many things I miss about my SDA. There are also somethings I feel I missed out on due to the strict vigilance there. Thankfully it wan't just discipline that was the goal of our traning. We were also taught to enjoy our studies and more importantly life.

You say SDA and I think of playing a lot and eating endless  potato patties. Those small snacks  that were sold by the watchman’s wife have their own place in my memory. Fights with the classmates. What fun it was to bend the rules.

I remember troubling my two bengali  KG teachers a lot. They used to call me by my nick name. Strange but an endearing memory!

The first grade teacher was beautiful but very strict. I was mighty scared of her. So much so that I used to cry to avoid going to school. Finally one fine day my mother paid her a visit and sorted it all out. This teacher used to stay in our colony. It was during these years that everyone wanted to be the monitor. Ah! Important piece of memory there!

In years to follow I enjoyed every day of the school, made many friends and cherished every moment spent. I will never forget the picnics and movies we went for. Must have been a small thing for the school but for us that was childhood well spent. One of the movies was on Subhash Chandra Bose. As a child that was an exciting watch in the local theatre.

SDA was all about its teachers and students. Every teacher had something distinct about her/him.  Ayesha Abbasi used to fling her hair. We often talked about her smart wardrobe. Ah and she had a chewing gum in her mouth much too often. Namrata Bahadur is remembered by most of us for her punch lines. Shanta, the chemistry teacher was an inspiration for mimicry and mono acts. Her voice was often copied while telling tales about her. Haroon Massy used to settle the  convictions. Oh how can I forget our handsome mathematics teacher.

With such exciting teachers arounds one but missed school in the summer vacations. I would wait for the school to reopen. We were a laidback bunch. Our teachers didn't push us for the rat race. We were trained to feel and think. What was respected the most was a kind act. That was the focus of the moral classes.

The very thought of SDA brings a smile on my face. I feel nostalgic often and pray that god gives me such a golden opportunity time and again. What does an innocent heart need but a nice bunch of friends and well meaning teachers.

Arunima is a mother, a teacher and a badminton player. She lives with her husband and daughters in Nagpur. In school she loved biology and History. There are many interesting stories we would want our Misti to share with us. This is only the begining.