Blazer

D.H.Pradeep
© 2005

Winters in Delhi cause as much a fall in the mercury as it rises during summers - are tempers any different? The months of August and October bring in the transition - rainfall is scant. First, you need a half sweater, then a full-sweater and by the end of December till mid-January it's stuffing your body time.

The boy's school had taken good care of that. Of course you have uniforms. Can you have schools without uniforms in India? No.

Can you have public schools without uniforms in India? Blasphemy.

Come the month of November, you gotta wear your winter uniform: start with grey trousers, white shirts, tie, grey socks, polished black shoes and full-sweaters.

Come last week of November and a notice comes up on all the notice boards of the school 'Blazers compulsory from 1st of December'.

What are these blazers? Coats, short ones, with shining brass buttons and of course the school logo on the breast pocket... Makes the school look good.

The boy saw the notice and told the same to his Papa. The father refused flatly. He said, "Be grateful: for you have your full-sweater. I had none (he grew up in the coastal region), and remember I am already sending you to a public school." The boy knew better than telling him "Your school never asked for it, and I do ask for the same not because I need it but because I would be punished if I do not have one". His father would have whacked him. Because he knew that it was his father's birthright to whack his child.

The boy went back to his room. He was reading his book aloud - well he had to because it was a Saturday and the father was at home... and the father went to school when very few in his village did and the father always stood first in his class and the father always read his lessons aloud.. .because till he reached his college he believed that it was the only way to read... and when he first saw somebody reading without moving his lips... he was amazed... maybe black magic... he thought... but not for my kid. And of course for all this, his father had to walk ten miles to his school, his father had to walk ten miles to his school, barefoot.

Then came the first of December. Our boy went to school... carrying his load of books. The assembly bell rang. All the boys and all the girls started praying to God and then sang the National Anthem. And so with a touch of divinity, humility and of course patriotism, the boys and the girls started to thump their feet on the uneven yet to be leveled school ground. The boy was worried... the father had got a new pair of shoes just that year... and the boy knew it was going to be one shoe per year... because so said the father... because the father had to walk ten miles to his school... because the father had to walk ten miles to his school, barefoot.

When the boys and the girls completed the day's duty of leveling of ground, the prefects (with the same spelling as appear in any classic English literature) checked them. First the nails-snipped short. The boys and the girls were not afraid of this. They could always munch on those before their turn came. And of course - no varnish on the nails.

Then came the shoes - polished, shining and not torn.

Then the sock - grey color. The boy had just one pair. The boy told his father that it stank... because other boys and girls told him that he stank of it. The father did not get him another, because the father when he was at school had none... because the father had to walk ten miles to school... because the father had to walk ten miles to school, barefoot.

The belt and the tie: The boy always wore it. The tie was torn a bit... because the boy chewed it... because the boy was scared when he sat in the class because the boy had no friends because the boy was different because the boy stank... the boy stank of 'You do not deserve to be here because you can afford only to be here and not be a part of HERE. And because you think only studies and talking about it would do'.

Was the boy like that? Of course. The boy thought that if he read more than he understood, wore specs and said more than was asked for... he would get what the other boys and other girls already had comfort, luxuries and a sense of being at ease in life. Because his father told him to be so... live life now and struggle later. So the RIGHT way is to struggle now and live later... because the father told the boy that his father could now do many things because the father had to walk ten miles to school... because the father had to walk ten miles to school, barefoot.

The boy's turn came and the boy was inspected. Nails: OK. Shoes: OK. Socks: OK. Belt & Tie: OK... finally the almost disappointed prefect found something... dejected was the prefect? Yes of course. Because he was a prefect... he had the right to take the boys and the girls who were not in proper uniform... because it was his right so it was his source of pleasure... Sadist: No. Prefect: Yes.

The punishment was two rounds of the school ground. The boy liked it... because the boy liked running... because that was the only sport that boy could play... because the boy was turning into a loner... because the boy had no one to play with... because the parents wanted the boy to always study... because the parents wanted a return on their monthly deposit, i.e. the tuition fee + computer fee + building fee + transport fee... because the parents had dreams being sacrificed due to this... because the boy is the reason for this... because they had the boy... because they had a boy... because they gave birth to the boy... No! because the boy was born to them.

But the embarrassment of it made the boy cry. The boy was sincere. The boy was too dumb to be otherwise. The boy wore specs. Because the boy couldn't see without it. Because he could not see without it he wore specs. Because he wore specs the other boys and other girls thought he was intelligent... because people thought those who wear specs are intelligent.

Wiping his tears, the boy entered the class.

The next day, the same thing happened... and the next day... but not on the day after... because that was a national holiday... because no work is done on national holidays... and not because there are not enough Sundays and other holidays... but because the whole nation celebrates such a day... because we are a nation... and because as we as a nation strive and surge towards a better tomorrow, so we must all get educated... and because academics is the major aspect of education, so we focus on it... and because ours is a developing nation we may have to make ourselves believe that academics is equal to education... and because academics involves developing the faculties of mind for which we need lots of infrastructure and trained manpower... but because India is (for most parts) economically backward we may have to make do with it... because we still have to something in the name of education... we have to make it tangible. Because we have to make it tangible... we have marks... so now marks is equal to education... and everyone gets some or more marks we must rank them... so now rank is equal to education.. .because ranks is equal to education, what about further education... since education up till then does not stress on developing aptitudes and skills yet they need to be tested to bridge the gap between the orthodox education and skill-based education... and because this had to be done...we need to have competitive examinations... like CAT-2003. So now you get into a good institute immaterial of your aptitude for it... sheer hard work, and/or coaching, and/or leakage... and because you pass out of a good institute... you get a good job... and because you get a good job... you get a good spouse... The boy wondered... so is having a spouse of one's choice the aim of education... can all other things be bypassed... because if it were true then each step is to be forgotten at the next one. A bad student forgets before the exam and a good student forgets after the exam. But some things one never forgets... like his father... that he walked ten miles to his school and that he walked ten miles to his school, barefoot.

The boy went home and told his mother that because he did not have a blazer he was punished. The mother said because he did not come first in his class he ought to be punished... because the father was paying a heavy school fee, dress, school bus... because the father was doing this although he had to walk ten miles to his school... because his father had to walk ten miles to his school, barefoot. At first the boy could make no sense of it. The mother gave him a whack... because he got punished despite them sending the boy to a public school... because normally only rich people's kids go to public schools... and all others who go are a reason for monthly sacrifice by the parents... and because the boy was one among the later... he ought to carry himself smartly... and because getting punished is not smart... the boy needs to be whacked.

The boy did not tell the father... because the father was stronger... because the father had to walk ten miles to go to school... because the father had to walk ten miles to go to school, barefoot.