For the second time in the last five years he felt he
was on top of the world. He had now become a father! A million thoughts
occupying his mind – she is so tiny, what do we call her, my little princess,
will she grow up to be a doctor or an engineer? , I can’t wait to see her talk,
to see her take those little steps and walk.
He held his wife’s hand and said, “Thank you for this wonderful
gift” and they hugged each other with tears of joy rolling down. Both he and
his wife were bankers and workaholics. They decided to raise their child with
the maternal grandparents which is a norm in the culture of Indian working
professionals. Their daughter was named Sindhu* on an auspicious day when
friends, relatives and well-wishers were invited for a feast. Sindhu’s eyes
sparkled; she was a very special child – born with two teeth. Over the years,
her parents visited her every weekend. Sindhu’s grandparents meant everything
to her. She would eat with them, play with them and spend all her time
listening to her grandmother sing and grandfather telling her stories of his
travel. They loved their evening walks when the three of them would eat
ice-creams, road-side food and watch the sun setting down for the day. Sindhu’s
uncle and aunt lived with her grandparents. While returning from work, they
made sure they stopped by a store and picked something special for the little
girl at home.
This is the beginning of my story, the journey of a
traditional Indian middle class girl’s foray into pursuing her goals.
* Sindhu means oceans, rivers and seas.
I was an early beginner – started talking, walking and
eating dirt from the floor before I turned one. I believe the reason for me to
start early was my grandparents being around me all the time, talking to me,
putting on the tape recorder with a nursery rhymes cassette, reading my
favorite book and telling me stories repeatedly. It is beautiful how even
today, they have saved up all my books, my first bicycle and a photo from my
first day at school at home. Though I don’t have many memories of my early
childhood, my grandparents retell the stories of my journey with them every
time I visit them. I have learnt from them that I really enjoyed nursery
rhymes, loved listening to stories over and over again and scribbling on the
walls.
It was six in the morning when I was woken up by my
grandmother. It was my first day at Frank Anthony Public School. I had turned
four already. Everyone at home was excited to dress me up, make me some
breakfast, pack my lunch and drop me to school. I was the only one weeping that
morning – I never liked the idea of going to a school. My grandfather made sure
he was standing a few feet away from my classroom all day as promised. This
went on for over a week. Eventually, I started making friends and enjoyed going
to school. It was more like a fun trip or a picnic to me. By this time my
parents visited me once in a month or two. At school, I learnt math and English
for the first two years. I am told by my grandparents that I had a knack of
learning things at the first time and had good retention of what I learnt. Good
for me! J
Time had come when I had to say goodbye to my
grandparents and start a new life with my parents in a new city, a new school
and a new set of people. I was eight years old by now. I hardly knew my
parents! The separation from my grandparents almost felt like I was being
ripped apart. I made sure I would fair badly at the school’s entrance exam.
During the interview, I told the Principal that I wanted to go back to my old
school and did not like the ambience in the current school. Unfortunately for
me, the Principal liked my so called “speech” of disliking the new school and I
was enrolled into the school. It took two weeks for me to settle into a new
classroom with a different set of people. I searched for my elementary school
friends in the crowd but my efforts went futile. It took me over a month to
settle down with my parents, get accustomed to their way of life, and forget my
old friends and the routine I shared with my grandparents. My class teacher
then, Mrs. Yeshodhara was a very friendly, understanding and an intelligent
teacher. She felt that I would never come out of my cocoon if she didn’t put in
efforts on me. In front of my classmates, she called me out and pinned a badge
on my uniform and said, “Sindhu, this term you will be the class monitor. It is
your duty to see that your peers are well behaved, understood, punctual and
learned. There should not be a time when anyone from this room is left behind.”
After saying this she left and I stood there stunned (not knowing what was
happening – in excitement). In a fraction of seconds, I was surrounded by my
classmates who hugged me and congratulated me. It was a very proud moment for
me. I felt like a leader. I now had a whole class of friends. My parents wanted
to treat me on this occasion and I was loaded with gifts. I faired pretty well
in my academics too. My friends and I exchanged our comics, we visited each
other’s homes; I do remember events that took place in my life from that year
on. We watched TV shows like The Small Wonder, The Bewitched and, The Aladin
and the wonderful lamp. We also enjoyed cartoons like Tom & Jerry, Captain
Planet, Pokemon and, Disney. Since I grew up in a India, where the majority of
the population is comfortable communicating in their native language, the
English cartoons and TV shows also had access to subtitles. This is one of the
reasons why my reading and writing skills are poised and I still continue to
enjoy both. Another reason is that, my father loved reading and writing. He had
monthly subscriptions of a science magazine, the reader’s digest and loved
reading the dictionary. The dictionary reading became like a ritual for me and
dad at home. We would make sure we read one word, its synonym and the parts of
speech every day. At the end of the month, we had a test for each other.
Years flew by. I was good at writing, reading and had
developed good language skills too. My parents were bankers just as I mentioned
before and we were forced to travel to different states every three years. This
led to me learning the local language easily and I now speak seven languages
including English. And for those who don’t know, in India, we have over 780
different spoken languages and 86 different scripts… which is a lot! Woaaa..
I was in my X grade now, all set to give my board
exams. I stood second in the district and was awarded a scholarship for the
next two years at school. Another feather in the cap for both me and my
parents! The next two years, XI and XII grade, I was absorbed into books,
studying to get a good score and enroll myself in a decent engineering college.
My engineering degree and my Masters program ate up a couple of years. I
understood that my goal was to work in the field of education - join Teach for
India. I enjoyed teaching, learning and playing with forty 7-8 year olds. The
greatest lessons in life so far were taught by my forty children at school.
Harsh, the tiniest one in the class would enter the class with a huge smile and
a bear hug. Irrespective of whether I was sad or gloomy, he would just make me
flash that smile. I had mentioned about this child even in my blog; he has a
huge impact on my teaching and learning in the process. Krithika taught me that
hard work is the stepping stone to success. Neha taught me that unconditional
love would leave no stone unturned! Every child in my class taught me a lesson
over the two years of my fellowship. I am so proud of each one of them. My
parents visited me when I was teaching and were overwhelmed looking at what my
kids and I have grown to be, the relationship we share and the things we do.
During this time, I also met my boyfriend, Sandeep who is now my husband when he
visited India for Christmas. We are friends from middle school. After 3 years
of skype, international calling cards and social networking, we finally decided
to take one step forward and tie a knot! In order to pursue my career goal, I joined the
Education program at University of Illinois. I learnt about the
education system here in the US, the philosophy behind implementing the policies and, working with children of various age groups. After graduating, I moved to Seattle to join Sandeep who is currently working with one of the giant corporates (biggies). He is happy with his job but feels like he is a fish in the ocean. Anyways, he enjoys being in one of the top notch firms and hasn't gotten bored so far. And, as of me, I work with an Education based startup as a Curriculum and Instruction specialist. It's been a roller coaster since then :)
