I am sitting here in the balcony. And I hear small kids screaming at each other, not in their mother tongue but in English. Hey I have got a plan.. Standing also considered out... *** Some events flash through my mind. You know, I was never good in English. All of our textbooks were in local language. No one spoke, even in the English periods, including teachers. After all, teachers of our government school didnt consider us to be important, they simply used to come and ask one of us to read out the textbook. Others would stare at the kid who stood in front, as the teacher would be reading the newspaper in her desk. I am going to share a secret I have kept for long. This is not fiction, but what happened in my life. Every word I write depicts what I went through. I had gone to my uncles home in the city, for the first time. Everything seemed new and exciting. I saw an escalator for the first time, in inside a mall. I ate pizza for the first time in my life, and travelled in a car that had air-conditioning. Two days later, my elder sister, that is my uncles daughter came home from her college hostel. She was doing her post graduation. She was unorthodox, eccentric and had a lot of friends. That evening a few people, girls and boys, came to meet her, and they were spending hours inside her room, locking the doors. I was lonely, I wanted company, so I went to meet her. I could hear the laughter and squealing inside. They were talking loud. Gathering some courage, I knocked twice on the door. My cousin sister opened. I still remember the ambience of the room. It had a single red light and was filled with smoke. There were bottles and glasses around. What? She asked. I was afraid of unknown faces, and decided to stay away. Moreover all of them were speaking in English. Leave this place soon, my mind said. Books, I blurted. The next moment, and I dont know why it happened, she pulled me inside the room. I was in front of all these people, who were possibly drunk, including my sister. Whats your name? one of them asked. I said my name. Which class are you studying? I told them. Obviously these were the questions I was familiar from my textbooks. Why are you nervous? One of them asked. I thought thats what he asked, seeing me shivering in front of them, and I had no answer with me. Speak up man! One said. I mumbled something in my language. English! My sister shouted at me. He is asking a question in English! Reply in English, My vision was getting blurred. Palms were getting sweaty. It was hard for me to recognise faces. I mumbled something like Me okay. Fine. Then there were a queue of questions accompanied by sarcastic laughter. I dont know whether my sister joined them. From the third question or so, I started to sob. Again they made fun of me, because a fourteen year old boy was crying. Somewhere between their excitement and my fear, a soul died a painful death. I lost my confidence. I fainted. It has been exactly eight years. Two days back I resigned from my office. I gave a 35 minute long speech in English. They say life is our best teacher. For me its true. Experience taught me this language. Memories made me learn further. Sweet revenge forced me to venture into writing. *** Anna, can you take that ball? It went inside, one of the kids said pointing at the store room. One minute, I am coming down I said. In English. #MonkeyWrites #PageFromLife
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 07:48:29 +0000
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