HER REFLECTION ✨️❤️

She brought you into this world
As loudly you yelled and bawled,
I’ve answered you more than readily
Every time, my name you’ve called.

She taught you to take each step
You mastered it, as you stumbled and fell,
I’ve taught you to stand your ground
In life’s toughest situations, to do well.

She cooked up a meal for you
In the twinkling of an eye,
I’ve given you food for thought
And helped you aim for the sky.

She sat up late nights with you
Whenever you’ve been ill or sick,
I’ve lent you a ready listening ear
It’s all it takes to do the trick.

She’s the one you’ll always turn to
At life’s every twist and turn,
I hope what I’ve taught you will help
At times when you’re about to crash and burn.

Her’s is the shoulder you will lean on
Whenever life weighs you down,
I hope the lessons you’ve learnt from me
Will keep you away from every frown.

You’ll always be there for her
Till the day you bid each other farewell,
I wonder how long, we’ll stay connected;
That’s something only time will tell.

Our roles in your life have been so similar
We’ve both helped you mature and grow,
And yet, one of us gets to stay on in the game
While the other, becomes merely part of folklore.

In making you who you are
We’ve both played a vital part,
It’s just biology, and what we call fate
That gave her a bit of a head start.

I know I can never replace her
Though for a few hours each day, I actually do;
But I just wish I could get to share in her role
For more than just a decade or two.

She’ll never have to bother about being remembered
Cause you’ll always be close at hand,
What I dread most is that with time, I’ll be forgotten
I’ll vanish from memory, like the wave in the sand.

But there’s a long way to go before I cross that finish line
Over time, I’ll meet countless others like you, each day,
And I hope that at least in a few of your minds and hearts,
Like a mirror-image of her, I can forever stay.✨️❤️


(P.S. - A couple of alternate ways to end this poem were suggested to me, by one of the readers, because he felt that it would make the poem easier to understand. He felt it should say....

'And that's why She's a Mother and I'm a Teacher'
or
'But at the end of it, things come full circle,
Cause a Mother becomes a Teacher and a Teacher becomes a Mother'.😊

I found both very interesting; but didn't want to tamper with the spontaneous overflow of emotion, that was my poem. So, thought I'd just add this as a post-script.)✍️

FAITH RENEWED…CONFIDENCE RESTORED ✍️

The excitement had been building up much before the day finally arrived. The countdown had begun in the midst of all the tension and stress of the exams. Suddenly in the middle of supervising an exam, someone would say, “Miss, just 7 days to go.” I guess their enthusiasm rubbed off on me as well; and I also began looking forward to the trip, with a lot of anticipation.

Finally, the day dawned…The exams were over; but the joy on all their faces, was not just because the ordeal of the exams had been over and done with, for the time being. It was more because, in a few hours from then, we would be heading towards the land of the sun and sand. The land of the coconut trees and the rivers. The land endowed with scenic beauty.😊

For me, the excitement was tantamount to that of a little kid, who was visiting a new place for the very first time. No doubt, this was a place I’d been visiting, from the time I was a little kid. I was familiar with practically every place we were going to. Despite that, there was an underlying sense of joy, to be going back to the place, where I’d spent so many holidays with my Grandfather, and enjoyed every moment of it.✨️

For the others, it may have been like just another holiday; but for me going back to Goa, is always 'Special', as it brings back so many memories of my childhood.❤️

It brings a smile to my face, every time I think of how I tried coaxing the boys, to stop what they were doing, by saying, “Look out of the windows of the bus boys. We’re in Goa.”😄 After a point, they may have got annoyed at my repeated interruptions, to say something which was obviously 'So Silly'. For me though, it was a joy, to show off my native land, to these young visitors, who also happened to be my students.😊

Back home now, I find myself day-dreaming, every once in a while. We’re back in our beloved hometown Mumbai; but I don’t know whether I’m really happy to be home. There’s something that seems to be missing. I miss the noise around me. I miss the constant jabbering and yelling, the sing-song and the fooling around. I miss the fun and the laughter. 2 days on the train and 3 days in Goa…Somehow, all of that seemed a little too short. It seemed to get over, before it had even begun.😔

One of my past students, looked at the pictures of my trip today, and he said, “Miss, you sure have a lot of people in your pictures.” His conclusion was that I liked being around people, and that was very evident in my photographs. 

Come to think of it, I actually always like having a lot of people, in my pictures. This time it was Goa, so I didn’t really need to click pictures of places; since I’d already visited most of them before. However, even otherwise, I guess I always have 10-12 people in my pictures; with the monument, famous site, etc, only in the background. There’s so much we learn about ourselves, from the things we do. Isn’t it strange how everything we do, reflects a part of our personality?🤔

I’ve been on so many trips with the boys in school, over the last 5 years. So, what is it about this trip, that stands out? Was there something, that made this particular trip memorable? 

Yes, there sure were a lot of things. The hotel was amazing. The journey to and fro was fun. The hungama on the bus-rides from place to place was crazy. Lots of happy moments to choose from.😊

Strangely though, something that I will never forget about this trip; is an incident that made me unhappy. For almost half a day, it wiped off the smile from my face, and nearly drove me to tears. It was a misunderstanding, with one of my oldest students. An accusation of being ‘partial’ towards a particular group of students, was leveled against me. That word ‘partial’ is something, that cut through my heart like a knife. 

I guess it hurt more, because the person who pointed the finger against me, was a student who was so dear to me; one of my first students, who has always been so special. In the 5 years that I’ve been teaching, this was the first time, a student had leveled such a charge against me; and being something, that I’d always striven not to do, I found it extremely difficult to digest those words.😔

After a distressed day, I ended up with a splitting headache; but decided to sort things out, before turning in for the night. A relaxed chat face to face, worked wonders. It helped to ease the feeling of discomfort, that had been troubling me all day; and it definitely helped to clear the air and sort out every misunderstanding that ever existed.

So, would I call this experience, one that was a dampener on my fun trip? It upset me, no doubt. However, I don’t think it ruined my trip, in any way. Rather, it was a great learning experience. 

I’ve heard the saying very often, that ‘you can’t please all the people all the time.’ This was a real life example of that saying, coming to life through my own experience. 

Of course, I can joyfully say, that I now share an even more special relationship, with that student of mine. A rapport, that is now devoid of misunderstanding; as the whiff of the chilly air, that had momentarily slipped in through the crevice in the window, had now been driven out, and overpowered by the warmth of love and understanding. 

With the faith in the relationship renewed and the confidence in the student-teacher bond restored; I’m happy and my entire trip was worthwhile.✍️

A TREASURE TROVE OF MEMORIES ✨️❤️

I made an amazing discovery today - One that made me happy; and also brought tears to my eyes, at the same time. 

Some of my colleagues from work, came home for lunch this afternoon. After stuffing ourselves to capacity, with the delicious food that had so lovingly been prepared; we spent the rest of the afternoon, just sitting around chatting, enjoying the antics of little Parth (the son of one of my colleagues), and browsing through really old photographs. I dug out the oldest photographs of myself, that I could find, because I absolutely love showing off pictures of myself, when I was a little kid.😊

Flipping through those albums, was like going down memory lane, through the annals of time. My colleagues were quite intrigued, to discover the little kid in the pics, and see the way she’d changed and grown. None of them were a part of my existence, at the time those pictures were taken; and so my childhood, was an absolute mystery to them. Turning the pages of those old albums, was like a journey of discovery, into a world that was totally unfamiliar to them.

As my friends left to go back home, I found myself drawn to those photographs yet again. I may have seen them a million times before; and still, there’s something about albums and photographs that keeps drawing you back to them over and over again. 

As I went back to put those albums in place, I discovered, stashed away in that same cupboard; a whole bunch of old cards and letters . I started reading through every single one of them. 

These weren’t birthday or anniversary greetings, that we usually tend to save. Instead they were letters, cards and wishes dating back to March, 1990. Most of them were addressed to my Mum, Dad and Me. What amazed me though, was that upto this day, more than 18 years later; I had never ever laid eyes, on even a single one of those greetings or messages. 

I started going through every single one of them, and each word I read in those letters, was filled with so much of love and concern for me and my family. There were letters from immediate family, cousins, distant relatives, family friends, even casual acquaintances from long ago. 

Some of the letters had come from Goa, Mysore, Canada, Dubai; and some were from people who were close family friends at the time, but who’ve moved to different parts of the world today. 

So many of the letters had references to me as well; and every word in them expressed tremendous concern, for my well-being. A number of them wondered, how I was coping with the totally unexpected situation, that I had found myself in.🤔

As I read page after page and message after message, I realized how much of affection our family and friends had showered on us, through their kind words. I discovered how deeply moved, everyone had been at the time. I realized that the loss, which my family had suffered, had sent shock-waves through the lives of almost every person we knew back then.I was so moved by the words I had read. The empathy and deep emotional connection, was evident in every word.😢

Being a person, who loves corresponding and keeping in touch; for a few moments, I was upset at my mum. She is obviously the one, who has preserved all those letters, for almost two decades; but I was really irritated, that she had kept these from me. I immediately asked her, why she’d never told me about them. 

Later however, as I pondered over the situation, I realised that I was just a 10 year old kid then; and so maybe, she hadn’t felt the need to burden me, with so much of emotion and so many sentimental feelings, at the time. Over the years, she’d probably forgotten that she had never shown me those letters; and they had remained hidden, in a corner of that cupboard, waiting to be discovered by me so many years later.✨️

I’m not 10 anymore. Time has flown; and I wondered to myself, what if I were to sit down and reply to all those letters today? What would I write, and how would all those people respond? Would they even remember what they’d written, almost two decades ago? Most certainly not!!! Maybe, it would seem strange, to suddenly receive a reply to a letter, they had written so many years ago. 

I guess, it’s just something I’m thinking about, that I’ll never really get down to doing; but if I were to reply to all those letters, I think the underlying thought in every single reply would be, “Thank You Aunty, Uncle, Grandparent, Cousin, Friend, Neighbour, Associate, Mum and Dad’s Colleague, Well-Wisher. Thank You for showing that you care. Thank you for the love. Thank you for being there. Thank you for realizing, what we were going through. Thank you for feeling one with us, in our moment of deepest sorrow. Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!"❤️❤️❤️

I doubt any of those people will be reading this post today; but I hope they know, how much joy my latest discovery has brought me. Sure, some of the letters made me cry; but every single one of them was 'Special'; and I will never ever be able to Thank everyone enough, for all that Love.✨️✍️