July, The Third

On a humid sunny morning following a broken night's sleep, eyes opening to 6 on the clock is not quite pleasant a feeling. Not, until the mobile screen flashes today's date: July, 3rd.

Fond beautiful remembrances this day holds, which flash one after another in
rapid succession inculcating glee and nostalgia.

The last day of the summer holidays it used to be, at my alma-mater. Kinda weird it was to always start on a 3rd July instead of the usual ritual of 1st. But, the content of your vacations lasting while that of others' don't, is a sweet feeling. ;-)

The dusks of July 2nd always held an element of mysterious eagerness. Was it the pride of writing the Class V on the labels by a barely-two-month-back Class IV student; or was it the thrill of getting to meet a new set of teachers and sitting in the new classrooms? All was blissful.

Come evenings, and Mummy would get to covering the notebooks with the brown papers, and make us do the stapling and label-sticking. Labels were the ones we used to choose for ourselves, when Dad used to take us for pre-school-shopping on his Bajaj scooter in the lanes of the congested city area. I usually selected some cartoons, once I got barbies...and younger brother always got cars, if not pokemons. =) With the labels in place, we used to get Dad's pens. They meant quite much when WE wrote only with pencils till Vth Stdd. And, such an achievement it was, when Dad purchased me my first Ink Pen. I even got a Chinese Pen along with it for good performance in the fourth standard. B-)

Google Images

So...

Quitely, in a disciplined fasion, we arranged ourselves in the room with our covered-book-sets with us. Writing the labels was the only one task where our jubiliation was expressed in silence and not dis-order. Mummy used to supervise each one of us, and kept us reminding to mention the 'higher' class and not the one we had studied the last year on the labels. The best of handwriting was to be inked, which once done with were the reason of another uproar, for we ran around the house, behind Mummy Daddy Granpa Granma...and asked them to judge and name one winner for the best scribbles.

Neat stack of books, notebooks, new HB Nataraj pencils, new pencil box, with the scented bright-colored apple-mango-teddy shaped rubbers, or the Non-dust erasers which took the former's place as we grew. The new tiffin boxes, the water-bottles, and the new bags!!

Sometimes, merely having a new thing in life injects the 'enthusiasm' shot which even the drip of already-having-things-that-interest-you can't infuse.

Nights of 2nd July were dreamy. And early. Eyes wide open imagined the coming day, which came too early, too bright being too energetic as well.
The bathroom area bustled, shouts of 'Towel' 'Comb' 'Paste' echoed. The pressed uniforms that had been distanced and ignored the previous months, tempted; the polished black-shoes attracted. Bubbling bus trip to school, meeting old friends, prayer time in the lawns...'Where the mind is without fear, and the head is held high!'

The introductions that happened in every period on Day 1 and the first recess of the academic year...truly, words were taken in, more than the food. New classmates were befriended, seats were alloted. Every activity had higher energy levels than the previous one.

Those days of innocence, sincerity, zeal and selfless intent... July 3rd makes me remember all.

=)

On an analytical note, Kiddy me usually lives more in me than the grown up me.

Enough a reason to jive...Isn't it?? ;-)