A New Abode

Varun boarded a bus to travel to St Paul Boarding school in Mercara; a hill town, also known locally as Madikere. His mother Prabha had come to see him off at the bus station. He was a big boy now and his mother trusted him to travel by himself; she promised to come and see him when she had time on hand. This was the first occasion that he was leaving home; and he was nervous. His mother had schooled him on how to manage by himself. He put on a brave face in front of his mother, but began to sob as soon as she left. She didn’t wait till the bus left, she was a busy person. His co-passengers looked at him with empathy, one of them nodded her disapproval; “How can the mother be so mean as to let her little boy travel alone. Doesn’t she have a heart?”

“Don’t worry son, we are there for you. Please don’t hesitate to ask for help,” said one.

Many came to him and struck up a conversation. “Where are you going?”

Varun quickly recovered to converse with them. “I have been admitted to a boarding school in Mercara, the classes start in a few days time. I will be in 8^th standard this year,” he said proudly.

“Mercara is a long distance from Bangalore. How do your parents have the heart to let you go so far- for studies?” clucked another.

“My mother holds a big position in her company, she does not have time to spare,” he responded solemnly.

“Well at least one of your parents should have accompanied you, you are still young - kid,” said his co-passenger in sympathy. Varun kept his silence. They made a fuss over him and retired to their seats promising to take care of him on the long journey. Varun gave a weak smile and thanked them.

“You have excellent manners kid, your parents must be proud of you,” said one.

Finally Varun was by himself; the man sitting next to him put a towel over his face, slid back and took a nap.

Varun looked out of the window; the cool breeze caressed his cheeks gently to give him relief. He was exhausted by the happenings at his home.  He remembered his parents fondly from his growing up years. But things changed when his mother started to work. The relationship between his parents took an ugly turn when his mother got rapid promotions and moved up the corporate hierarchy. She began to travel extensively and had little time for family or home. This was an affront, his father couldn’t reconcile to the new equation with his wife. The ugly spats began to affect Varun’s health; he went into a shell and performed badly in class, to his teachers’ surprise. They had considered him as a bright, extroverted student. On enquiry, the teachers found the reason for his poor performance in class. They advised his parents to send him to a boarding school till they sorted out their differences. Varun had tried to protest, but his mother refused to heed to his pleadings. So here he was off on a journey; its direction and destination shrouded in uncertainty.

A couple on the bus reached him to school and handed him over to the school officials. “Good luck son, do well. This is a very nice school, we are sure that you will come across some good teachers and students. We live close by, we will drop by to check on you,” said the lady and warmly hugged him. Varun responded in kind, he pecked on her cheek. He promised to be a good boy and focus on his studies.

“That is my boy,” said the man and gave Varun a hearty tap on his shoulder. Varun smiled back.

~

Varun heard the warden’s instructions carefully and nodded his head to tell him that he understood. He left his bag in the space that was allotted to him and looked around nervously. How would he cope in this school, in the midst of so many people? He had to do everything by himself- that would be a new experience for him. Since he had a lot of time he decided to venture out to explore the school. He hoped that his stay would be pleasant.

The hostel was at the rear end of the school. He saw that there were two dorms, one for the juniors and the other for the seniors. The classrooms were arranged in order of the class grades; he met a boy about his age. They introduced themselves. “My name is Akash, Welcome!  I am in eighth standard.”

“What a coincidence I am also in the same standard, which means we will be classmates isn’t it?” Varun asked excitedly.

Akash nodded his head, they chatted nonstop - getting to know each other. “Do you like sports?” he asked suddenly. “Come on, I will show you around, but let’s go to the sports field first. It is a big one- you can engage in many types of games there.”

“How do you know so much?” asked Varun curiously.

Akash slipped into silence, but he quickly shook himself up, “If we are going to be friends, we should not keep any secrets between us. I am an orphan. One day, Father John saw me sitting with a book and reading by the candlelight in the night. On enquiry he found out that I was alone in the world and decided to bring me here. I promised him that I will study hard and become a strong and independent boy.” He went on to relate many incidents from his stay in the school. “I am always here, that is why you met me first,” he added simply.

Like Akash had said the sports field was huge, he could see some boys playing there. Akash followed Varun’s look and said, “They are the seniors, their classes started a few days back.”

Varun and Akash walked along the boundary of the basketball court chatting. They didn’t see a senior boy approaching them. “You must be a new entrant, can you play basketball?” he enquired.

Taken by surprise at the sudden intrusion, Varun nodded his head without a second thought. “Come on then, let’s see how good you are,” said the senior and walked ahead.

Varun hesitated, realising his error he turned to his friend for help. But before Akash could do anything, the senior boy caught Varun’s hand and pulled him off to the court.

“Try blocking my goal,” said the senior dribbling the ball and running with it. Having got into this tricky situation Varun decided to give his best. He was no match for the senior who dodged easily and scored the goal. “Come on now it is your turn.” Some more seniors joined in and watched with a smile as Varun put up a brave fight. Varun fell on the ground and dirtied his clothes; he hurt himself, but didn’t give up without a fight. “Brave boy, I like your spirit,” the senior said giving Varun a warm smile. The others joined them and applauded the lad.

The seniors were charmed by Varun’s affable personality. “What else are you interested in?” asked one.

“I don’t know, I have to find out,” Varun said with a disarming smile. They grinned at his reply.

“You are a smart little lad, we are looking forward to your active participation here,” said a tall lanky boy, ruffling his hair. “If you want any help, don’t hesitate to ask us, we would be glad to assist.” Varun thanked them for their graciousness.

~

Varun was glad that he had come a bit early, he got time to get accustomed to the new environment; Akash was a great help. They had become the best of friends as they shared a great rapport. “Varun, I am so happy to have befriended you, I will learn a lot from you. You are from the city and you are smart, you pick up things very fast, I am a slow learner,” Akash confessed.

Varun refused to accept Akash’s arguments, “We are all the same; we just need to work hard to get what we want.” Varun was hesitant to talk about his parents, seeing the reluctance Akash didn’t probe - though he suspected that all was not well for his friend on the personal front.

As the students returned from their homes, they settled down to a routine. Father Michael was the school principal; he met with the students’ everyday - during the assembly. The students respected him for his fair and liberal attitude. Varun loved the assembly sessions, he met with students from the other classes and he liked to hear the principal’s talks. Varun was in a class of thirty students, most of them had been part of the school for some years. It was a jolly class and the teachers enjoyed teaching them.  Soon Ram, Alex and Hari joined Varun’s inner circle, they did everything together. The teachers and the hostel warden were not too harsh with the juniors, as they were still young.

One day their Physics teacher walked into the classroom, he was surprised to see students in class. “Do you have class today? Isn’t it Saturday?” he asked puzzled.

“We don’t have a formal class today sir. Varun is good in math and science, he grasps easily in class. He is coaching us and clearing our doubts,” Akash said coming forward.

“That is a very nice gesture Varun, keep it up,” the teacher applauded and left.

Varun was so occupied by the activities in the class; he didn’t have much time to think about home. His mother called to check on his welfare, she was relieved that her son was safe and liking the new school.

Adam was the sports star in their class, he was training to become an athlete; he came from a family of sportsmen all of whom excelled in some sport. Varun loved playing with him, Adam taught him well. Even the seniors watched Adam with awe. Varun and Adam paired often- to take part in sports competitions.

There were three lady teachers in the school, one of them Ms Alice was the class teacher for the standard eight; she taught English and social studies. She took a particular liking to Varun, she was pleased by his performance in her classes. ‘It is rare to see boys as well mannered as Varun’, she thought to herself. She was called in by the principal and primed about Varun’s personal life. “Did not suspect for a moment that Varun was going through a personal crisis, he has exhibited remarkable character and courage in conducting himself here. I have got very favourable reports from his other teachers too. Don’t worry sir, he is my responsibility now; I help him out if there is a need.”

One day she casually asked Varun, “I have been assigned to collect the names and phone numbers of parents of the newcomers. Even if you give the contact details of one of them it would suffice for now.” Varun innocently passed on all the information. From then on, Alice kept in touch with Prabha to keep her abreast of her son’s wellbeing and sought clarifications when in doubt. 

Dates for the inter-college play competition were finally announced, there was a lot of buzz. “Do you know that our school has been winning the trophy consistently for the last three years? The choice of the plays and the acting of the seniors have been awesome,” whispered Sunil in excitement. The juniors were in awe of some of their seniors, who happened to be their role models.

The seniors wanted a young lad to play the role of a son to one of the characters in the play. They thought of Varun and approached him. “I would love to do it, but I have never acted before,” he told them sadly.

“Don’t worry about that, what are we there for?” a senior said.   Soon Varun was part of the group, he went for rehearsals regularly after his classes; he enjoyed the experience.

This time too they won the competition hands down; their play was many notches higher than those of their adversaries. There was a huge celebration that day; the warden chose to be lax with the rules, he too was immensely happy that their school had won the trophy again. “Thanks buddy, you did well,” one of the seniors told Varun. Varun’s heart gladdened at the compliment.

“Relieved that I didn’t embarrass you,” he said humbly. The boys cheered him.

Teacher’s day was fast approaching; Varun asked his classmates, “What’s the plan?”

“Only the seniors celebrate that day with their teacher, we just wish all of them in the assembly. But this time it falls on the weekend...,” said Hari.

“We should do something, we have been lucky to have got such a good class teacher,” reiterated Varun.

“I agree with Varun, Ms Alice has been an exceptional teacher, we should make that day a special day for her,” Tom said.

“Let’s ask our seniors for advice, they might be of help,” Akash said.

The seniors were touched by the eight graders’ gesture. They planned their entire schedule and got a cake and snacks for the day. ‘Enjoy.’

Alice was surprised to be called to school on a holiday, yet she obliged. She entered a room decorated with balloons, streamers and Confetti. “Happy Teacher’s Day Ms Alice,” greeted her. She had a fun filled day with her students. They sang, danced, put up a skit and told jokes.  Varun spoke on behalf of his classmates. “Thanks for being our class teacher Ms Alice; we learnt a lot from you. You were compassionate and understanding and we are grateful to you. You showed great patience in handling us, sorry if we were obstinate at times. Some of us didn’t like English, but you made the classes so much fun that we changed our minds. You were tough when we erred, you made us realise our mistakes, for that we are indebted to you. I am sure my friends would also like to say a few words.”

After Alice spoke they cut the cake and had snacks. She ended the day on a happy note, “I am overwhelmed; today is the best day of my life, I will long cherish it,” she said softly.

~

A year had passed by, Varun couldn’t believe it. He had a lovely time and had learnt a lot inside and outside the school. His teachers were all praise for him. He had built a good relationship with his seniors, it was sad that he wouldn’t be seeing many next year, when a new semester would begin. His classmates were his strength; he had formed a formidable bond with them.

He bid goodbye to his schoolmates, promising to keep in touch with them during the holidays. His mother came to pick him up. Varun introduced her to his friends; she had got a lot of goodies with her, which she gave out liberally. She made Varun wait while she met with the principal and Alice.

“The teachers are very happy with you,” she said pleased. “That is unfortunate, because this was a temporary arrangement,” she teased.

“What do you mean Mom?” asked Varun impatiently.

“This was just a stop gap, I want you to come back to Bangalore to stay with me,” she continued to pull her son’s leg.

“Not a chance Mom, I am very happy here. I love the school! I love my friends!” Varun said stubbornly.

Prabha grinned and tweaked her son’s ear, “I was only joking!”