Did it take a lockdown for me to bring back memories of my dear students of yesteryears? No, not at all. But I must admit the fact that the spare time which the lockdown has provided got me thinking about all the loved ones that I had taught and where they are now.
Maybe it was the anxiety that the lockdown induced in me regarding the safety of my dear ones, far and near… That set me thinking about the students I’ve taught, some of them nearly three decades ago. I set out on the task of tracing many of them through Facebook. I tried to send them messages through Messenger and others whose contact numbers I had were easy to connect with on WhatsApp.
But those who responded did so with such vigour that I wanted to turn the clock back and return to an era where I stood facing those bright and eager faces. Conversing with them or reading their messages brought back all the wonderful joys that I shared with them during the years in school/college. We talked about those noisy English classes, the debates that ended up in verbal fights, the drama rehearsals that ended up with the prince falling in love with the witch, all the pranks that I covered up for them, of their crushes, of our trips together and of all their little failures and big triumphs.
“Let’s have a reunion, ma’am!”, said a student. It would be lovely to meet and relive all the fun and catch up as well. A wonderful plan but something that seems so uncertain in the near future! However, I’ve decided to plan a recreation of our classes from the past when the time is right.
As the lockdown extends, apart from finding joys in the glory of household jobs and enjoying the leisure of celebrating one’s thoughts, this is one particularly happy pastime that I have found; of having been able to connect with my very affectionate students who have given me love in abundance during my tenure.
The writer is a teacher in Kochi.
