Stepping inside the foyer of my school, I fancied the weathered leaves dropping off from the branches of the great old ash tree as it used to happen during autumn. A student suddenly pushed me aside as he rushed forward to kick the tennis ball onto the stringer of the staircase, scoring a goal, followed by a celebratory reaction alongside with an apology for having broken my streak of evocative thoughts.

But he didn’t know that he just added another streak whose trail I could easily derive from the milestone I achieved a year prior to freshman’s grade — becoming a pro at this tennis ball football game, something I didn’t envisage when I first stepped in this school as a lower secondary grade nerd.

As I made my way to the staircase, I felt the same atmosphere aerating me as in the days long ago when as a child I stood, breathing heavily, outside the class. Sometimes I would push the door by myself, being the first in the class to reach school that day. At other times, I would just stare at the other half a dozen students present there, wondering how they make it to the class so early every day.

I recollected the moments of stubbornness that came over me when I would sit crossed-legged in a bossy pose on the centre seat of the last row. The teacher would reprimand me and my ever-changing partners in crime for disturbing the momentum of her lectures with nonstop chitchat. This would eventually result in one of us backbenchers being shifted to some other desk. This divide and rule didn’t help her much so she would send one of us outside the class or simply unseat us.

In no time we would be standing parallel to the wall, facing it as a punishment. But one of the most popular punishments was the murga (cock)pose. When the frequency of such punishments would exceed a limit, we would be doing the same aerobics in front of the principal’s office.

The recesses weren’t monotonous either. Every day at the canteen there would be the usual folks monitoring us and trying to regulate the queues to not let things get out of hand. Sometimes they would be good enough to help us buy lunch, which would help a few students avoid the long queues for the day. At other times, they were overly rude and would push us out of the queue when we would have almost made it to the counter and that too for no legit reason other than creating commotion and unrest. Funny isn’t it?

Every time I stepped up the spiral staircase, a breeze of fear crossed my face — I might fall off from it! Though students were not allowed to use the spiral staircase leading up to the lab, we often used it as an escape route when being pursued by friends.

And then there was the science lab, a place we had all been eager to explore since we started school. The first time I was ever handed a beaker containing some chemical, I was asked to keep stirring it until the crystals dissolved completely. Without knowing the strength of the glass beaker, I tried doing the assigned task the easier way: breaking the crystals with the spatula.

Without any fear of what would happen next, I smashed two crystals in one go. While breaking the third one the spatula slipped and pierced through the glass of the beaker.

The teacher wiped off the chemical and the broken pieces of glass that spilled over me. Surprisingly, she showed no signs of irritation and even patted me on my head, but her sarcastic remark had all the class laughing.

While departing from the school, the elderly guard moved over to salute me just as I stepped out of the gate. The same guard, the same outright pose, the same smile on his face and the same call for a blessed future for us and the country. His same calls greeted us every day when we came to school and a warm handshake with him helped in brightening our laziness in the mornings.

The purpose of narrating this visit to my alma mater is to let those who are still in school know what a blessing childhood is. Those carefree days never return for age brings with it responsibilities. Those who long to grow up at the earliest must not forget that we all grow up gradually and that is best for us. It is essential to enjoy our childhood with as much enthusiasm as possible, letting go of the desire to grow up.

Learn to take up responsibilities one by one, for instance, ironing your clothes and polishing your shoes all by yourselves. Apart from that, participate with zeal in extracurricular activities and make learning a fun-filled experience.

Published in Dawn, Young World, February 24th, 2018