May you be the mother of 28 girls

While applying leave in the online leave application form I had inadvertently clicked on to one option which made my manager in the publishing house in Delhi laugh. I had thought of availing a day’s off, there were just 3 options- casual, privilege leave and maternity leave. The manager of the company instantly reverted via email to my leave application with a single liner - - -

“MUM’S THE WORD?”

Initially I didn’t understand what she meant but when I scrolled down I realized my blunder. I had in a hurry pressed inadvertently on the last option- maternity leave whilst I was still single.

Life is amazing. You never know how it meanders like a river. Professionally I had worked in a publishing house in Delhi, a GIS-cum-automobile navigation company in Gurgaon, a journalist with a local newspaper and now I have taken up the job of a school teacher-cum-warden in Royal Global School, Guwahati located in the outskirts of the city. I had stayed in a hostel for two years while pursuing M.A. in Geography from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.

September 2001

Room No. 26, First Floor of Gerda Philipsborn Girls’ Hostel (commonly known as GP hostel), New Delhi- the hostel where we got rajma every Monday, paneer/ eggs every Friday and the much-hated yellow rice and bundi dahi on Sundays. In every meal, the oils would float. But as a whole, I cherish a sweet memory of hostel days.

April, 2012

When I came to know that a residential school would start in the outskirts of Guwahati a close friend of mine suggested that I apply. I was reluctant and apprehensive to take up the new role of the House Mistress-cum-teacher since I was a novice with no experience of “grooming” others. I accepted the offer after much thought. The first days few when the boarders moved to the hostel were the toughest days. The girls felt homesick, they cried since they were away from their parents, siblings and home.

There are children who still suck their thumbs while sleeping and it is a sight to capture permanently through the lens of your eyes. One young boarder very often directly translates from Hindi to English. So when in the cold winter days the DPS building was not visible from our hostel she remarked “Ma’am, DPS is not looking at us only”.

There are a few boarders who are fussy eaters. They don’t like to eat ‘saag’ and ‘karela’. Two boarders once tried to hoodwink me by coming to the dining hall during lunch time. They gave their attendance and left the dining hall stealthily. I took a head count and mentally calculated who was missing. Later when I questioned them they asked me how I came to know.

T.V. remote in the common room or the dining hall is a tool of dispute amongst boarders just like in any home. Someone would want to watch Doremon/ Dora-the explorer while others would like to listen to songs and some others would opt to watch Mahadev or Baalveer. It is a never-ending tussle in Gulmohar.

The morning PT/ yoga time is the part of the day when they all pretend to fall sick. The girls would complain of stomach ache but as soon as it is past PT/ yoga time they could at times be seen munching chips or other tucks and their ache vanishes into thin air.

Hostel life is fun. It is a temple of learning wherein one learns to manage time, they learn to adjust with fellow boarders and understand each other. They also become active, smart, helpful and cooperative.

Since I was also a boarder once in life I know what hostel life is all about- Kyuki hostel warden warden bhi kabhi boarder thi.

Under the shade of Gulmohar

What’s in a name? Gulmohar is not just a flowering tree providing shade to the people. You need not go to Musee du Louvre in Paris to see the Muskan (smile) of Monalisa. Karobi (Oleander) and Nirmali (floral offering to God) to Lord Krishna blooms in this campus. Out here you will be given the right Deeksha (direction) of life. Manvi/Tanvi, Ishika/ Gopika/ Ritika- could be just the names of siblings in a family. Urvashis meditate in studies and focuses in extra-curricular activities. Dorothy and Christina could be quite ‘English’ names but we are Indians to the core. Saloni or Sonali and Aditi or Arundhati could be just tongue-twisting. Maheshwari- a name which is also a surname can be found here too. Anisha (one night) is sufficient to know how strong the sisterhood of girls can be.