Summer of broken dreams

Somebody was shouting in my ears to get up. “Mamu utho na, please”. It was my niece Mahi, she was getting ready for her school. I was in no mood of getting up so early. Well 7 AM is too early in my dictionary after my school life. Mahi is in the same school in which I did my schooling. So it was all over again visiting those places where my best part of childhood was spent. I decide to drop her in the school.

Well lots of changes have come in the school. It is not the same school in term of structure and also in term of schooling. I could easily recollect the road which I used to travel, the auto, gate, lots and lots of thing which I could not explain here. It took me to memory lane of my school days. My initial years in school life.

It was easy for my family to choose school for me, as my two elder sisters were studying in the same school. I joined the school in the first class. So I never went to use less class called K.G, Nursery and worst prep. I have very few memory left of my first class. Few things I do remember is when we joined our school has only the main building in which all the classes where there. But after few weeks we got our expansion and our first class was divided in two parts, A section and B section. And after that we never saw eye to eye, we were always rivals and still are in terms of classes.

My first ever friend of school life....

In my class few things that clicked with me instantly was I found one friend on my first day of class. His name was Sankalp, Our friendship was simple because her sister and my sister were in same class and they were friend. So it was easy to become friend as we knew lot about each other. We used to sit together in same bench from first class; we used to share lunch box and lots of things. My roll no used to come first and then his, so in exam also we used to sit behind each other. It will be so hard to explain my friendship with him; I could not be done in words. We are still connected but not as great as we used to be, because times we have spend away from each other. He has grown in own man and I am in my own league. But we are still connecter that is important. But right now there are few more important people who come to know me in first class.

The whole Indian Oil group, this was there group name because they used to come from bus which was of Indian Oil. So in our class they were all famous as Indian Oil group. There are very few people who was in the school from the first class they were in the few batch student. Our first Class teacher Mrs. Bhalerao Ma’am, she was the first person who knows how naughty I was in the class and yet I always got saved somehow.

If I could still remember few more things then Awdesh was our first class monitor, he was always class monitor stuff. He used to know what he does. Then there was topper of our class Yogendra, He was more obsessed with topping class every year than anything else. He always came first in initial few years and then we all gave up to come first in the class. We all were fighting to come second in the class.

Talking about Girls, how we can forget about them. There were two best of friends Anandita and Richa. They used to be best of friends. One of best things they did was “Dance”, they used to dance on some song which I could not remember at this time of movement. There was ever laughing Nazmi in the class. If you ever could associate with her, then her laugh was it. She used to start anything with her giggle and also end with the same.

I am missing so many people in this note, brijesh only Indian oil group person who was in our gang, and then there was Lawlesh, Vivek and lots of other. I could not remember all of them at this time. I am still touch with lots of them. I hope this summer is not turning out to be “Summer of broken dreams”…

The Village diary...(Part 2)

I looked at my watch it was about 12 noon yet there was so much calm here. I got the mixed feeling in my heart. It has been about 6 months since I visited home. Crossing the road seemed easier as traffic chaos was missing of big city. Everyone seems to be familiar face in the small town.

Usually form road to my home the distance is of about 1.5 Km. either my dad or Jija ji used to pic me up from the outside of the Village. This time it was different as I have decided to give surprise to all of them by reaching on my own. Nobody knew about my arrival apart from my Sister. While walking to the side of road I can see the difference in the village. The biggest change I have seen was to see lots of educational institute around my village. Well from engineering to management and even law college is now in walking distance of village. It feels strange to see these things happen in outside of my village. This was the same village where not a single school used to be there apart from Madarsa (It is place where Muslim student take education usually of religion and also now days it turn out to be full school with all facilities).

I and my sister used to go At least 25 KM for our college and even to 35 KM daily (Don’t think we used to walk that much. We used to take public transport). I had a luxury of bike when I was in college but my elder sisters used to go by public transport. This thing seems to have so little relevance today but it taught me so many things. I never complained in my life that I live in village so I will not be able to that or I am this because of that. Education is one thing only which can change the life and dynamics of villages. Nobody in village used to go to college from here till my sister first started it (I am biased toward praising her). People used to stay either in city or do it by correspondence. She was the one who gone against the trend and started the new trend. Nobody will remember her as first lady to be Graduate from his generation but she broke the barriers that were there in the village. Girls can study and even the higher studies. Well matter of fact in my village girl’s ratio of Graduate is higher than the boys. Maybe because they all know how hard they have to work to go for the education. It could not have been possible if two main points where not there:

College fees: It is quite less compare to what all big college charge to student. I graduated from Allahabad University in less than 5,000 Rs. And it is combines fees of all three years. It gives them option of dreaming that they can also take the education.

College status: Co College may be in trend in big city but if you go in small city there you find all girls and all boys colleges. Well it might be seemed backward to people here in big city. This is only hope for lots of girls whose parents might not allow them to go for college if it is Co College. This is truth but who cares if we can educate one generation we hope next will be more liberal and free in his/her thoughts.

I received the best education that my family can provide me. But when I see there are talented child’s out there but they can’t do anything. They don’t know what to do with life.

Well moving on I just imagined how things can be changed with little effort but will be helpful. I have seen city grow and villages turn into city just because of this education industry. I Hope same will happen with my village. Someday we might get to know it as a education hub of Allahabad.

A noise broke my thoughts. It was horn of car. Well I have given them way as I was walking in the middle of the road. Well walking carrying a big bag filled with all dirty cloth was not easy. I was smiling at every change I can notice. From trees to new homes in the village, new holes in the road and yet it seemed so much the same old like nothing has changed since I was the kid.

P.S.: Well education is one thing which can change your life. Even my grandmother used to take classes from me when I was in school. If she can try I think ever body can. She can write her name in Hindi and English yet she has not seen the face of school (only time she was in school to listen my compliant from teachers).

 By:  Saifi Shahid

Mission Admission ...the battle for Child admission.

Well last week I was discussing with my sister the hardest thing she faced her in life in last few years. Her answer was straight to me, “You know it may sound easy to you but getting admission to Mahi to good school is the biggest battle I am facing right now”. I expected that answer but never thought how our education system has changed and it has become much more difficult to get admission in good college.

So the mission Admission starts from January. All the good school either of CBSE and ICES has their own criteria of admission.Some take test of student and some even of the parents. My sister applied for few of the best school my sweet angel. She has almost trained her for 1 year for the interview and test by teaching him home.

My sister wanted to apply for Mahi admission in one of the reputed ICSE School in our city but the problem was getting the admission form of that school. So we have to track lots of sources who have access of that and even the person who can provide details about that. So that school form cost around 1000 bucks and yet you are not sure wheatear your child will get admission.

They have strange admission criteria like father and mother should be well educated, they should have an X amount of salary and the best one they can speak English. Can anybody tell me how that can be main criteria for the child admission.

Nobody ask about how good child is and how talented he or she is. It makes you clueless how to overcome these problems. Well in the end you realize it harder to get admission for child in school then them to IIT or IIM because there their fate will be in hand in but now there fate is in the hand of their respective mother and father even before they have started education.

After trying for too many schools, there was one school which my sister was able to get to admission. Well here also the most important part was the Interview of parent not the child. She told while answering the question she felt like it was her admission test not Mahi. Not a single question was asked for her but all the question was asked to my Sister. The question where do you know English, from where you have done your education, you are science student or arts. Well she can’t get admission of mahi here also due to donation price was way too much.

Well after few tries she finally managed to get her admission in the same school from where we all have done our schooling. Well it’s strange that today admission process has nothing to do with the child age, her ability and her desire but only on parents and the amount they can pay to school.

In the end my sister took the best decision even though I was not part of it and I was the one who opposed it. She decided to give Mahi one year of more freedom. No schooling this year maybe that was the best outcome of it. Next year she has to again go through the same things, same school, admission process and admission form and whole lots of interview.

P.S.: Better be prepared for admission marathon of the school. Read not for your career but for your children.