Read stories and build up your vocabularies: Being a five-year-old child, my family, as any other Moroccan family, sent me to the Jamaa (traditional kindergarten, especially in villages) to learn the Arabic alphabets and some short chapters from the Holly Qur’an before I officially enrolled (ভর্তি হওয়া) in “the modern school.” Usually in mornings, my mother would escort (সঙ্গী হওয়া/ সাথে যাওয়া) me and ask the Fkih to whip (চাবুক বা লাঠি দিয়ে মারা) me whenever I showed any sign of idleness or misbehavior – He would do without waiting for anyone to give him the green-light. In other times, my peers and I would bang (প্রচন্ড আঘাত করা) at each other’s door and go together. You could recognize some of us coming to the Jamaa without faces being washed, or with partially-torn wet clothes that reeked (দুর্গন্ধে ভুর ভুর করা) of the smell of urine (মূত্র) as effects of night dreams. Nevertheless, on our way, we would retrieve previous memorized verses chorally (ঐকতানের সাথে), sway (দোলা) , jump, and kick any rubbish we found in the street, or fight with our wooden slates. With our innocent souls we enlivened (প্রাণবন্ত করা) and invigorated (বলবর্ধন করা) the alleys (সরু গলি) with our shrieking voices in the early morning. At the gate of the Jamaa, we would wait for that long-bearded man to show up, and if he was already there, we would stand in a solemn (গভীর শ্রদ্ধার সঙ্গে সঞ্চার হয় এমন) salute becoming to the meaning of being under the supervision of that firm Fkih. We kissed his hand one by one and sat down. In turn, he would say “llah ifteh alik” (May Allah help you). After this short grin (দাঁত বের করে হাসা) on his face as a sign of kindness, he would extend his hand to that long stick he always put in a recess (কোটর) beside him for urgent cases. Instantly, everyone would dash (প্রবল বেগে ধাবিত হওয়া) and pick out his wooden slate and start memorizing as if a referee whistled for a match to start. I was one of the Fkih’s favorite pupils. I could easily memorize and clean my slate to embark on (আরম্ভ করা) another short Surah. The Fkih envisaged (বিবেচনা করা) me to be a skilled Fkih and reciter of the holly Qur’an. He was always pleased to point to me to recite before people whenever we met in any banquet (বিশেষ উদ্দেশ্যে আয়োজিত বক্তৃতাসমেত ভুরিভোজ) or party. But everything would be up-side-down later. One day, we were asked by the Fkih to bring five Dirhams-it was the end of the month in which he used to collect his salary. When I came back home, I urged (পীড়াপীড়ি করা) my mother to give me five Dirhams. I begged my father many times, and they kept saying to me “tell the Fkih to wait until the weekly market and we will give him five Dirhams.” But to their rigidity (দৃঢ়তা), I was so stubborn (অনমনীয়); I prolonged (দীর্ঘায়িত করা) my protest if they didn’t give five dirhams, I would not step into that Jamaa. Finally, my mother borrowed five Dirhams and gave it to me. “Oh! Yes” I jumped in full excitement! I was the first one to bring the five Dirhams. I was so honored for that. I considered it as a remarkable achievement. Afterwards, I recognized that the other pupils refrained (বিরত থাকা) from bringing the humble (নগণ্য) sum. As a corollary (অনুসিদ্ধান্ত), I regretted (পরিতাপ করা) giving the five Dirhams. I felt injured. Then, I circulated (ছড়িয়ে দেয়া) the idea in my tiny head and managed to fabricate (বানানো) a lie to get back my money. At the end of the session, I went to the Fkih in his nook (কোণ) where he used to sit and settle on his worn-out (ব্যবহারের ফলে ক্ষয়প্রাপ্ত) fleece. I told him that my father recommended me to fetch the 5 DH. The Fkih seemed surprised, but he could easily detect that I was lying. He stretched his hand to his Djellaba pocket as if he were going to pick out the coin. To my dismay (হতাশার অনুভূতি) , he gave me an unforgettable stormy slap on my face. Being slapped vehemently (প্রচন্ড ভাবে / তীব্রভাবে), I could see a series of copies from everything…Everything was blurred (ঝাপসা হওয়া) before my eyes. When I turned to go back to my seat, I totally forgot where I had sat before.From that day on, I was touchy(অভিমানী); raising anything beside me would give me the impression that I’m about to receive another strong slap. Worse still, that Jamaa turned to be a nightmare (ভীতিকর বস্তু / ভয়ংকর অভিজ্ঞতা) that haunted (প্রায়শ উদয় হওয়া) me every now and then. I was no longer seeing that Fkih as a teacher; but rather, I was always depicting (চিত্রিত করা) him in my mind as a big slap. Whenever I got to the gate of the Jamaa, my body would shake as I had to kiss his spade-like (কোদালের মত) hand. I was praying those days to be last days to leave and join “the Modern school.”
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 20:46:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015