It was just another day in Rakhiyal English Medium when an anxious man came rushing in to the office looking for 5th and 6th grade teacher, Meena Patel. She was in her class as usual having a tough time monitoring 50 shouting, shrieking 13 year olds.
Yamini Ma’am, our Principal, walked to her class carrying with her the grave news. What happened in the next 30 minutes seemed like a montage of pictures seen through a bioscope. There were two cars parked outside the gate, with all the teachers trying to figure out who travels in which one, disdainfully; students were parting with serene curiosity in their faces; the surrounding air had subtle morbidity lingering!
Meena ma’am’s husband had passed away earlier that morning. He had an organ failure. Meena ma’am and Sir were a young and bustling couple with 1-year-old daughter they had fondly named Nancy.
I have heard stories about her and her constant struggles. By the sound of it, her life has been so dysfunctional, shouldn’t she be vexed and prickly?
I mean my life is comparatively sorted and I mostly have options available to make it better and steer it in any direction I want to but all I do is sulk and crib and maybe, sometimes, take out my anger on poor people in an unjust manner.
I cannot remember how many times I have gotten off the auto and walked through the huge school gate looking as grumpy as an old squirrel on a winter morning, only to be merrily greeted by this woman standing at the top of the stairs. I would instantly light up and spend a few minute (as I set up the classroom for daily lessons) wondering how is she so composed all the time!
She is the first one to be there. She travels 20 km every day to get to school on time, seldom take leaves and delivers her responsibility with utmost dedication! You would never find her sitting idle or chatting her time away. She is always working! The children adore her, the staff is fond of her, and even though we both know the psychological torture she has to endure being nice to me, she still puts up with my silly, random high and not-so-high spirited behavior.
She derives her motivation from her daughter and all the people she meets. I had a stuck up mentality previously that random people do not add value to your life. They do. She does. I would like to achieve the mental and emotional stability that she displays, one day.
Till then, she is my one of the celebrated Humans of Teach for India.
Story submitted by Sutapa, 2015 cohort, Ahmedabad.
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