Opening Minds Changing Lives Diaries

In which we celebrate the Annual Day

Dear Diary,

Today was a momentous day.....

A day to remember.........

The Annual Day had arrived and all the children and teachers were excited after weeks of intensive practice and hard work.

All the kids looked adorable in their myriad costumes.

There was a buzz of activity everywhere.

The hyperactive kids were all bursting with excitement and were prancing to and forth merrily. They were a restless bunch and few fistfights also broke out which had to be sorted out amicably. I ran to make one sit in his place and the second sauntered away. I finally ran out of my breath and had to use the carrot and stick both.

I passed around some candy with the threat that anymore running around will make me send them home.

That was enough.

They sat down coyly with docile expressions making me feel guilty for reprimanding them. I tried to make amends by cracking some jokes and making them laugh for I liked to see them smile .Their restless energy did not bother me.

They seem to live as life has to be lived......

Life is supposed to be vibrant and pulsating and these hyperactive kids infused some of their innate vigour and zest into me too .

I shed my inertia and gained the momentum in life by imbibing the aura of energy and force that they radiated.

But our source of concern was kids like Geeta .They were nervous and jittery.

Some were going on the stage for first time and getting stage fright.

The teachers were assuring them as they sat huddled.

Suddenly, someone tugged me from behind.

I turned around and it was Geeta. notice the aberration

She looked so pretty in her Barbie dress and pink cheeks.

I hugged her and she clasped my hand tightly and said, "I am forgetting my lines."

"Don't worry, dear! If you get stuck, I shall prompt you .I shall be there by your side. Nothing will go wrong. ''I said to her.

She started crying.

I knelt down and wiped the tears from her face.

Her hands were cold and clammy.

I wheeled her away to a quiet corner.

What should I do to make her feel better?

She had rehearsed so hard and it was crucial that she do well to boost her confidence in future .She was a bright girl who deserved to be applauded and praised. It broke my heart to see her so dejected. I wanted to help her come out with flying colours.

I somehow comforted her by narrating to her the monkey antics of her class-mates and she smiled.

Then we started rehearsing on her poetry lines that she spoke with so much feeling and depth. The moment she fumbled, the placard with her lines went up and she took the cue and spoke on.

I rehearsed with until she felt confident and smiled .

The little Miss Prim wanted me to retouch her makeup which had been ravaged by her tears. She preened herself before the mirror as she fired me with one instruction after the other.

"Put some more rouge, lighten the eye-shadow, pump up the lip-stick, darken the mascara and highlight the cheeks." She said.

I stared at her and asked where she had learnt all that.

Geeta gave me an incredulous look and laughed her musical laugh which reverberated in the whole room and all the heads turned in our direction.

''Didi,you don't know anything about beauty business. Trust me for I am a veteran as I daily dress up my Barbie". SHE berated me.

I pretended to look mollified and walked away as she went onto discuss her future plans of being a fashionista with her friends .

I smiled to myself and felt that she would ace the occasion now.

The opening bell was sounded.

The Bollywood dance performance by our robust hyperactive gang had everyone in the auditorium thumping and cheering for them. There were some synchronization issues which were overlooked as they won all hearts with their zeal and energy.

Next came the singers who belted some melodious songs to the beat of musical instruments played by their class-mates.

It was a beautiful symphony of the beat and lyric.

Then It was the turn of our elocution stars.

Geeta's turn came and I cheered her on.

Her eyes shone with confidence and she waved to me and said, "I am ready"

She reposed so much confidence in me that I started feeling nervous as I did not want to let her down.

She started with elan and her voice rose and fell with each metre.

She fumbled suddenly and up went the placard.

She took the cue and sailed on and no one seemed to notice the aberration.

She took the bow and received tremendous ovation.

There were tears in her eyes as I came to wheel her away.

"I could only do this because of Didi's help.Thank you''! Her voice echoed in the mike.

There was clapping again and this was for me.

I never felt so proud in my life as I wheeled her away misty –eyed.

Dear diary,I realized that life has to be lived at all terms.

There may be crosses but we have to live it right.

-