Lane Of Memory

This is a real story about the experience I had as our family traveled to a new city in western India from the eastern part of our country. The experiences are still fresh and vivid, even after roughly 20 odd years. These experiences will be treasured for a long time to come. The sweet and sour moments are etched in my mind, and our family has very fond memories of that particular stay.

In the year 2012, we were supposed to travel to Vadodara, which was called Baroda at that time. My husband had a transfer to that city, and we had to travel from the beautiful state of Assam, where we had stayed for three years. Assam during the year 2000 was infested with almost a civil war waged by a group of people who wanted it to be liberated from India. Let me not get into this sensitive topic, but our state of mind was disturbed as we had to stay away from all our people, in a far-off state that was affected by ultras or naxals, whatever we may call them. With two young kids, we shifted into a house that was once the office of the Chief Minister of Assam and was converted into a residential place. The house was not a proper house; it was transformed into one for us. So, you can imagine the facilities that house had. No doubt electricity and water supply were okay, but everything else was in shambles. The weather was pleasant as it used to rain most of the time. Within the same compound, the family of the same political figure stayed in a bungalow. The revered CM was no longer alive by then, and only his son and his family lived there, along with his children and other residents. It was a huge area guarded by armed security guards who were a big support to all of us. Our children, both boys, were five and one year old at that time. My elder son was in his second standard at school, while the younger one was a baby who was learning to walk. Everything was so new and strange. We enjoyed our trips to Kaziranga, where the one-horned rhinos are found, and the beautiful gardens and temples around. We had a group of lovely people whom we used to spend time with during the weekends.

And now the next chapter begins. In the year 2012, my husband received his transfer order to Vadodara, and we packed our luggage and traveled to the city of culture, education, and learning. My elder son got admission to a reputed school and joined the fifth grade, while the younger one joined a local school as a pre-primary student. Even today, my son remembers the pulav that was served for lunch in school; it's a memory from Vadodara. My husband was busy with his work, and I was occupied with my responsibilities as a housewife. Time flew beautifully with our kitty groups, weekend parties with families, movies, shopping, and more. Wow, what memories! We even formed a group with like-minded people and chanted religious hymns and prayers on Saturdays, which was enriching and fulfilling. It was a two-way benefit; we got to meet people, chant religious hymns that brought peace of mind, host gatherings at our place, and serve food to them. It was a lovely time spent that way, and time flew beautifully. Our kids were enjoying school, and they even learned to play the keyboard as we found a music tutor who would come home and teach them. The boys also learned karate, with each of them earning a black and yellow belt, respectively.

Now comes the next phase. In the year 2006, one day we were traveling to a nearby city, and on the highway, our car stopped for fuel. I found something very interesting. There stood a huge building, a commercial place, and in front of the gate, there was a long queue of people, both men and women of different ages, with some kind of paper folders in their hands. Meanwhile, our car was ready with the tank filled with petrol. Just when my husband was about to start the car, I asked him to wait for a few minutes while I went to find out what the queue was all about. On asking the people in the queue, a young lady told me that it was a queue to attend a walk-in interview for a very reputed school in Rajkot. My husband agreed to my request to allow me to attend the interview while they waited at a nearby restaurant. I quickly borrowed a pen and paper from someone in the queue and wrote down my qualifications and skills. After about 30 minutes in the queue, it was my turn to give the interview. As I entered the building and once inside, I understood that the interview was not going to be easy. But, I just wanted to give it a shot. At least, I would know what I don't know and what I have to learn because I never connected age and learning and believe that we should keep learning as and when possible. There were about five people sitting in the room, and as I entered, I introduced myself and was asked to be seated. They made me feel comfortable, which was nice of them. One question asked by a tall man sitting in the center (later I found out he was the director of the school) got me the job. He asked me what one thing our education system was lacking and what I would suggest to include. The answer I gave was that our education system should

This is a real story about the experience I had as our family traveled to a new city in western India from the eastern part of our country. The experiences are still fresh and vivid, even after roughly 20 odd years. These experiences will be treasured for a long time to come. The sweet and sour moments are etched in my mind, and our family has very fond memories of that particular stay.

In 2012, we were supposed to travel to Vadodara, which was called Baroda at that time. My husband had a transfer to that city, and we had to travel from the beautiful state of Assam, where we had stayed for three years. Assam during the year 2000 was infested with almost a civil war waged by a group of people who wanted it to be liberated from India. Let me not get into this sensitive topic, but our state of mind was disturbed as we had to stay away from all our people, in a far-off state that was affected by ultras or naxals, whatever we may call them. With two young kids, we shifted into a house that was once the office of the Chief Minister of Assam and was converted into a residential place. The house was not a proper house; it was transformed into one for us. So, you can imagine the facilities that house had. No doubt electricity and water supply were okay, but everything else was in shambles. The weather was pleasant as it used to rain most of the time. Within the same compound, the family of the same political figure stayed in a bungalow. The revered CM was no longer alive by then, and only his son and his family lived there, along with his children and other residents. It was a huge area guarded by armed security guards who were a big support to all of us. Our children, both boys, were five and one year old at that time. My elder son was in his second standard at school, while the younger one was a baby who was learning to walk. Everything was so new and strange. We enjoyed our trips to Kaziranga, where the one-horned rhinos are found, and the beautiful gardens and temples around. We had a group of lovely people whom we used to spend time with during the weekends.

And now the next chapter begins. In 2012, my husband received his transfer order to Vadodara, and we packed our luggage and traveled to the city of culture, education, and learning. My elder son got admission to a reputed school and joined the fifth grade, while the younger one joined a local school as a pre-primary student. Even today, my son remembers the pulav that was served for lunch in school; it's a memory from Vadodara. My husband was busy with his work, and I was occupied with my responsibilities as a housewife. Time flew beautifully with our kitty groups, weekend parties with families, movies, shopping, and more. Wow, what memories! We even formed a group with like-minded people and chanted religious hymns and prayers on Saturdays, which was enriching and fulfilling. It was a two-way benefit; we got to meet people, chant religious hymns that brought peace of mind, host gatherings at our place, and serve food to them. It was a lovely time spent that way, and time flew beautifully. Our kids were enjoying school, and they even learned to play the keyboard as we found a music tutor who would come home and teach them. The boys also learned karate, with each of them earning a black and yellow belt, respectively.

Now comes the next phase. In 2006, one day we were traveling to a nearby city, and on the highway, our car stopped for fuel. I found something very interesting. There stood a huge building, a commercial place, and in front of the gate, there was a long queue of people, both men and women of different ages, with some kind of paper folders in their hands. Meanwhile, our car was ready with the tank filled with petrol. Just when my husband was about to start the car, I asked him to wait for a few minutes while I went to find out what the queue was all about. On asking the people in the queue, a young lady told me that it was a queue to attend a walk-in interview for a very reputed school in Rajkot. My husband agreed to my request to allow me to attend the interview while they waited at a nearby restaurant. I quickly borrowed a pen and paper from someone in the queue and wrote down my qualifications and skills. After about 30 minutes in the queue, it was my turn to give the interview. As I entered the building and once inside, I understood that the interview was not going to be easy. But, I just wanted to give it a shot. At least, I would know what I don't know and what I have to learn because I never connected age and learning and believe that we should keep learning as and when possible. There were about five people sitting in the room, and as I entered, I introduced myself and was asked to be seated. They made me feel comfortable, which was nice of them. One question asked by a tall man sitting in the center (later I found out he was the director of the school) got me the job. He asked me what one thing our education system was lacking and what I would suggest to include. The answer I gave was that our education system should include vocational training as well. This was in 2016, and I am happy that vocational training is being given some weightage now, even though implementation will take a longer time. At least people are thinking along those lines. The panel was happy, and I clinched the job. My husband and children were happy, and we celebrated that day. Now comes the twist in the story.

The next day, I received a call from Miss Charu, who was Mr. Bhlodia, the director's assistant, informing me to join the school, which was in Rajkot. This was unexpected and not at all possible for me to shift to Rajkot. And then came the good news that I could work with a school in Vadodara, which was a part of the same school in Rajkot. This was a great opportunity that I did not want to let go. I took up the job and managed my time at home and school quite well. Then came the most worthy twist that I need to mention now. In July of the same year, all the school teachers attended a workshop on the changing trends in the education system. I spoke quite voraciously about the topic and was appreciated by a few of them for speaking my mind. During the lunch break, two teachers from a residential school, known by the name of a spiritual guru from western India, approached me and introduced themselves. They liked the way I spoke and agreed with my ideas. We spent some time together during the lunch break, and when it was time to leave the workshop, they again approached me and asked if I would like to join their school as they had an immediate requirement for an English and Social Science teacher. Well, I had experience teaching both subjects. I noted down the school's name and their contact numbers.

Now comes the time to go down the next part of the memory lane. I contacted the number that the two ladies, Mrs. G and Mrs. P, had given me, and the receptionist asked me to forward my CV so that an interview could be arranged. As I did not

know the location of the school, I requested her to send me the details. On the coming Saturday, I went to the school with my husband and was stunned to see what was in front of me. Now, I have to go back into my memory a bit. Whenever we used to cross the highway while traveling to some other place, I used to see this beautiful campus with lush green grass, trees, and a building with the name of the school. I somehow felt what if I could get a chance to join this school as a teacher, and I used to think it would be very nice if it happened. Lo and behold, I was one step closer to that happening, and it really did happen. I attended the interview with flying colors and got the job immediately. Even to this day, I feel amazed at the turn of events. I chose to refer only to good memories in this story to feel happy and healthy.