MEMORY

This is a real story from my life in 1970s I was reading in class 4th in a primary school and was living with my parents and my three brothers. In those days we were very much scared of our parents as well as school teachers with a stick in hand. In those days we were not free to ride a bicycle or move outside the home without permission of parents or teachers in school. Generally we were moving to our uncle's house in long holidays more than 15 days which was in a city 35 km from our city. when the holiday begins we start in bus and reach there in one hour. we completely enjoy the holiday with my cousins brothers and sisters. We were all afraid of our uncles but with lovely foods and enjoyment in house games bind us totally. When time comes for departure to native town and engage ourselves with routine life of school and tuition we, I generally feel shocked for an week and take sometime to accustom to the situation. In that seven days I can not go to school properly even read, was many times punished by the teacher not doing the holiday home work.

We had a morning school from 7 A.M to 12 noon . From coming from uncles house in holiday my school was to open the next day. I slept and wake up at 7a,m in the morning i completed my manual work could not be ready in time but my mother (who was alive) compelled me to go to school with a stick in hand. I became fearful and started for school which was 400 m from our residence. Then in way I could smell a severe punishment from teachers being late. I was not stable. I thought from midway if I go to school I will be punished and if I don"t go to school I will be punished. With the almunium box with books in the midway I sat on the box felt and heard the sound bell in school it was 11.30 p.m. I had a fear in mind that any neighbor would notice me and tell to my parents or any teacher might notice me sitting midway not gone to school. But by good luck last bell rang I ran to the house and it was mystery till I join the college at the age of 17.

I do not know whether at that time the punishments were right or wrong but it was there. But being a father now I had never touched my child. I had left that duty to his mother. after my engineering degree completion I met and asked one of my the then teacher about the punishment in school. He told me that in their school time they were being punished more than us. These days punishment has been totally abolished