I am yet to hear anybody claiming that their mornings, on any given week day is orderly and quiet. Especially if you have school going children. As in other places, schools in Delhi believe in starting the learning process early- which implies that the parents wake up at ungodly hours. Waking up the children begins with gentle cajoling (unless the parents themselves are late). And then the quality of the voice and the intensity of the pitch increases, depending on the position of the hands on the clock. Socks not found, the expression on the childre's face of "how-did-this-homework-come-up", new notebook to be dug out, half wailing kids with "teacher will kill me" and the retorts "you deserve to be."All this while there are other distractions of saving the lunch from burning, pushing food into their mouths.
And finally when they tumble out of the house, I sit and wonder why does this happen everyday in my house? How do I make this more methodical as in an "assembly-line"?
One such morning, after having packed of the kids, I had the luxury of looking out of the terrace. There were children in various uniforms waiting or rushing for their bus. My house had the advantage of being bang at the common and last stop for all school buses in the area.There were screeching tyres of cars, parents ensuring that kids don't miss the last stop.Some senior kids had books open but busy in discussing other interesting facts( there were exceptions though).There was a child of 5 years, dressed up as Hanuman who had to be lifted and pushed into the bus because he refused to go dressed the way he was.In the course of the event, it looked like a reluctant Hanuman flying into the bus, accompanied by unwanted sounds comming from the bus. A mother was pulling a half sleepy 6year old, whose brother had already kept the bus from leaving his sister behind.
After most of them left, I was enjoying the morning sounds when the last school bus pulled in.And the final lot of the children boarded. And that, I thought was the end of the morning chaos.However the bus didn't move for a few minutes. The conductor stepped out, craned his neck for some stragglers since the number of children must not have been complete.As the bus inched forward, the conductor gave one last try for some missing child. And then I saw, from my vantage point...a cyclist furiously pedalling like his life depended on it. As he came closer, I saw a child sitting behind him with school bag on his shoulders, a water bottle around his neck with both hands holding on to the seat of the rider...he had a chapati rolled and stuck into his mouth. Some hapless mother must have been at her wit's end and as a last ditch effort , she must have shoved the "chapati" into the child's mouth. As he came near the waiting bus, the conductor sprinted, lifted the child and transported him into the bus. The bus left immediately.
And so ended another uneventful day for every home in my area.
And finally when they tumble out of the house, I sit and wonder why does this happen everyday in my house? How do I make this more methodical as in an "assembly-line"?
One such morning, after having packed of the kids, I had the luxury of looking out of the terrace. There were children in various uniforms waiting or rushing for their bus. My house had the advantage of being bang at the common and last stop for all school buses in the area.There were screeching tyres of cars, parents ensuring that kids don't miss the last stop.Some senior kids had books open but busy in discussing other interesting facts( there were exceptions though).There was a child of 5 years, dressed up as Hanuman who had to be lifted and pushed into the bus because he refused to go dressed the way he was.In the course of the event, it looked like a reluctant Hanuman flying into the bus, accompanied by unwanted sounds comming from the bus. A mother was pulling a half sleepy 6year old, whose brother had already kept the bus from leaving his sister behind.
After most of them left, I was enjoying the morning sounds when the last school bus pulled in.And the final lot of the children boarded. And that, I thought was the end of the morning chaos.However the bus didn't move for a few minutes. The conductor stepped out, craned his neck for some stragglers since the number of children must not have been complete.As the bus inched forward, the conductor gave one last try for some missing child. And then I saw, from my vantage point...a cyclist furiously pedalling like his life depended on it. As he came closer, I saw a child sitting behind him with school bag on his shoulders, a water bottle around his neck with both hands holding on to the seat of the rider...he had a chapati rolled and stuck into his mouth. Some hapless mother must have been at her wit's end and as a last ditch effort , she must have shoved the "chapati" into the child's mouth. As he came near the waiting bus, the conductor sprinted, lifted the child and transported him into the bus. The bus left immediately.
And so ended another uneventful day for every home in my area.
Loved it - the ending incident was funny!
ReplyDeleteHey thanx Mohua! When we sit back after the madness, we actually realise how funny the whole thing is!But then before that its "do or die" kind of a situation :)
ReplyDelete