Colours of life !!!

The Sunday started on a high note - it was high time i got up :-) Sharmili's call woke me up (was 9.30am ! ) and it took me arnd 10min to realise that the DI class to begin in next 20 min. What followed next was a frantic running arnd in the house in an effort to get ready for the class. Finally i did manage to reach - but not on time. Anyways, as the elders say - Der aaye durust aaye !!!

Neha was handling a group of around 15-20 kids (inter level) !!! The other group was of Arti (no .no she wasnt the student ! ) ..she was handling a group of around 10 kids (inter level) Prabhakar had also chipped in (as he has been doing for some time now) So i took charge of the older kids (some paradox here --- older -- kids ??? ..anyways leave it ! ) The class was in a state of sanity (surpisingly) with the children intent on studying. I did 'adverbs' with them - was a profound learning - of course for me. Meanwhile Shirish too joined in. By the time the class finished at noon, all were pleasantly weary after the study-class. It was now time for the painting competition to get underway...life was to be colourful yet again !!!

Meditation was the perfect thing to do now in the transition from pens to crayons. I always love the class during such saner times... feels heavenly ! It was Ajay's last day then - so we announced that the first prize of the competition wud be given to Ajay as a gift. The exhibition of colours started at around 12:15 and was to last till 1.00pm. The kids were divided into three different groups for the same. They had brought sketch-pens, crayons and all possible colours from their homes (they were asked to do so ! ) and were all set to unleash the budding artist in each one of them. The competition gave us (Shirish and me) enough time to buy some farewell gifts for Ajay. We were instructed to get it from a stationery store nearby (next to a Samosa shop) and so we went on our mini-mission. We walked for some time ..and then some more and then further more. Finally we reached the highway, but alas there were no Samosas --- err ---stationery store. We were on our way back (kis muh se class main jaayenge was our thought process !) and we found one small multi-purpose shop. We did get 3 small notebooks, few pencils, erasers, sharpner for Ajay. While coming back, Shirish promptly reminded me to get a chart paper as well ..and surprise-o-surprise we saw the samosa shop !!! There (in the store next to it !!) we also got a Moral story book. Huhh -- Mumbai afternoons were still hot !!!

The scene in the mandir was full of enthusiasm. Some were about to finish with their painting, some mid-way, while some deep-thinking souls were still pondering over which colours to use. I promptly handed over the chart paper to the two madams and we 'inactive' guys tried to control the proceedings. Neha and Arti got inspired by the kids' art and were hell-bent on displaying their own skills via the chart paper. The chart was to be a message board kinda thing - so Neha wasted no time in generating farewell and welfare messages for Ajay !!! Arti was fabulous in her role as a keen observer (she did write a few lines later !) On the other side, the mandir was getting more and more colourful (nope - kids didnt spill any colours on floor !! ) Some even took the pains of making a border with sketch-pens - true - no gains without pens !!!

It was about time to finish the competition and move towards the main event of the day - an emotional send-off to the darling - Ajay. Ajay himself came in front and spoke about how he felt and how he would miss all his friends and the teachers (including Sirs !!) in DI. The small expressive eyes of his said it all when words fell short. The day before, he was telling me how he would be celebrating his b'day (22nd jan) in his village and how his grandmom wud be making a cake for him at home. He promised to parcel one cake to the mandir as well - asking me to distribute it amongst all his dear ones. Back to the present, he was standing there, assuring everyone of his continual love for all. His sparkling eyes made a promise to play the game of life in the best of spirits with a strong will to succeed. Neha just hugged him for a while and with moist eyes, we all cherished that moment. Its' hard to put those 2-3 min in words - sometimes unsaid things say it all - right ???

We then gave him the gifts we had got. Neha then read out the different messages which other kids had written for him on the chart paper. Some were funny, some caring, some loving, one was in English(wow !!!) ..but every message had one thign in common - each was from the heart. We then asked him to distribute a pack of coffee-bites to all the kids and adults. Just then someone asked him - "Who's your best friend?". Now, any other kids wud have promptly replied with the best friends' name (maybe 2 or 3 three names ) But, this was the master political diplomat in action --- Ajay coolly said " Sabhi bacche mere bahut acche dost hain, mujhe sab log acche lagte hain !! " Then he pointed towards Suraj and said that he likes him more than anyone else, but also complained that they both arent talking since few days .... sheer innocence at its best !!!

The class was over and we just had a small chat with Ajay's mom. It was more of a re-assurance of her child's great aptitude and attitude. The long day did finally come to an end here - an end we didnt really liked. But, we knew that he was leaving for his own good. Just for being selfish, we couldnt care less about his bright future ahead. Ajay was leaving with hopes in his tiny eyes - we left with dreams in ours !!!