YAYYY!! HOLIDAY!

"All schools, colleges and other educational institutions will be closed tomorrow due to heavy rains". The tv announcer announced with a smile in the corner of her lips. This piece of news gives me immense joy. I start dancing in my minds eye. As the rest of the news fades away, I begin to forward this news to my WhatsApp groups. I no longer study or work in an educational institution and this news has no bearing on me.  My day will be as normal as always. Still....

As the WhatsApp groups get active with this news shared, some talking about their kids’ joyous reaction at getting a holiday, some parents are petrified at having to engage the kids at home. A few of us go on a memory ride to our school days when this news meant postponed tests, cancelled plans, escape from assignment submission, one more day to forge a parent’s signature on the report card!  Plans are made to sleep late or finish up the pending assignment, study for the impending exams or just relax in front of the television set. Pestering mom to make pakoras to be had steaming hot as the rain splattered on the verandah. Tearing papers from the used notebooks to make paper boats, writing names on it and racing it in the flowing water in the street. As mothers bellowed at us not to play in the rain and fall sick. Working parents would have to make arrangements to leave the children in a neighbour’s house or call and inform of an emergency and take a break from work to babysit.  Almost always the rains would stop once the holidays were declared. It was like a conspiracy between the children and the rain god, just so they could enjoy a day at home. 

As children we used to worship Mr Ramanan, a meteorologist, the head of cyclone warning department who comes on the news channel to declare holiday to schools. Just a year ago he retired from service and there were so many memes extolling his virtue on making school and college kids happy! 


Another incident that comes to my mind is, once a friend wasn't sure if the school will remain closed and not wanting to miss meeting us friends, spent a bomb on autofare and braved the rain and came all the way to see the watchman standing next to a board  "closed due to rains".


In my primary school the black board would be placed near the gate, we watched eagerly as it would be cleaned up and written by the headmistress using a blue chalk piece "Due to heavy rains the school will be closed tomorrow" signed " By Order". We used to wonder if the order was from the school management or the state government, until we realised much later that it's the British way of signing up! 

Some days we would wade through the water, wearing rain coats of various hues, the heavy bags weighing us down, care taken not to drench the books. Shoes and socks would be soaked and as we near the school gates the notice board would read "School closed". What happiness and joy, then splashing water at each other we playfully walk back home. Invariably the books would be wet in the corners and laying them down on the floor to dry with the fans switched on. The brown covers would become mush to our touch. An excuse to not touch the books!


I ask my mom what her thoughts are on this schools being closed due to rains.... She comes out in a torrent... the kids in those days were better behaved, they would listen to the parents not like the ones I see now, adamant and unruly, it was easier to manage our children on a holiday and she continued the women nowadays do not have patience and are lazy etc etc... I had to calm her down, phew!! My mom can write more blogs than I. 


My neighbour and her daughter are shouting and fighting, (what’s it with mothers and daughters !!) the mother wants her to study, the girl Amrutha runs to our house and hides and giggles! Amrutha, a girl of 10, addresses me as "baby”, she asked my mom that every house has a kid except moms and my mom answered, "my kid is in Dubai". This girl was waiting to see my mom's baby, she watched me open mouthed and exclaimed "such a big baby". Despite my size she continues to call me "Kuzhandai" that's baby in Tamil!


Some days schools would be closed early, with the incessant rains the classrooms would get flooded. Rains would dampen the walls and the teachers will not be heard amidst the thunders. The socks and shoes and raincoats will be hanging on the chairs to dry. Walking bare foot, the toes and feet will all be pruned and wrinkly. So, they close the schools post lunch and we would go home drenched pushing our bicycles in knee deep water.   An incident that happened on one such rainy day pops up to my mind.
Our school was situated in a road where other 3 schools were too. 2 coeducation and 1 girls’ school and another a boy’s school. I studied in one of the co ed schools and would cycle back home with my friends, both boys and girls. This particular day as all the schools were let out early the road was congested with students in different uniforms. One guy from the boy’s school came over and proposed to me. I was in std 9 then. I was so furious at it and brave that I had friends with me, pushed my cycle onto his and broke the spokes of his wheel and rushed home with my friends. I was trembling, and my friend dropped me home. After 2 days the doorbell rang, and I was shocked to see the guy who proposed to me standing outside with an older man. My parents asked them inside the house and the boy’s father apologised for his son’s behaviour. The guy was a class topper and he was challenged by his friends to do this act. He had to prove himself to his friends and was ashamed of his action now. He said sorry and that his cycle wheel had to be changed from his pocket money and he was punished by his father. We were made to shake hands and forgive and forget this incident. Rain and school holidays have triggered this memory. Well I sure have not forgotten the incident !!

As usual I have gone on a tangent.

These unexpected holidays were such a pleasure, but nothing gets done on these days. At least nothing worthwhile. The day is spent just shifting from one chair to another, switching on the 2 in 1 to play our favourite cassette, surfing channels on tv although there were no more than a few channels in those days. The constant scream from the mothers to open the school book or clean up the room which fall on deaf ears as we sat dreamy eyed looking at the raindrops on the leaves and flowers, the pitter patter of the falling rain forming patterns on the mud