I have been shuffling through all the stuff that I have written through the years to find something appropriate for a publication in my school's magazine and funnily there is nothing that I have ever written about school or anything that remotely mentions it. But I could not live with the idea of not having written anything for my school's Diamond Jubilee publication...the school where I have spent 15 years of my life. Anything that I write will not be enough to actually paint all those wonderful years but here is an attempt to at least try and narrate what school life has meant to me.

Although the memory is all blurry now and only in pieces, but I remember first walking in through those green gates in a red-checked apron...the year would be 1991. I was only 5 and I never cried like other kids did...possibly because somewhere I already knew that this was a home outside home. I remember making green flowers on a pink page of my scrapbook and the teacher telling me that flowers are never green. She didn't realise that I had made green flowers because a red, pink or an orange flower would not look as nice on a pink page! Those were the days when we were making butterflies with toffee wrappers. I remember going up to my classmate, Anuradha during lunch time and asking for one french fry from her lunch box and she gave me just one. Little did either of us know that we were to become best friends for life. We still laugh about our little 'introductory incident'. L.K.G had colourful wooden desks and chairs in those days and U.K.G had plastic ones. We would sit 6 to each large square desk. I can still name all the people who sat on mine...some I am still in touch with and some I have no clue about. I remember never managing to take down everything the teacher wrote on the board in class 1 because I was always so busy talking. I never quite shut up after that.

There was so much excitement when we got to wear skirts in class 2. It felt like we had really grown up and there were certain things that I didn't like about growing up. Like when my best friend became best friends with someone else or when the class formed little groups based on what language they studied as their vernacular. But I remained quite a joker of the class through out.

School made me realise a lot of my potentials. By the time I was in the 5th standard I just knew that I wanted to study English Literature which I actually did and loved. I did music. I painted. I did plays, although no one has ever been able to make me dance. While I was experimenting with the all new things, I realised that I couldn't sing all that well but I kept singing throughout my school life. I was in the choir and played the key board on the school band. We went for competitions to other schools. Some we won. Some we didn't. But it was always great fun, working together as a team. I loved all the celebrations that we had in school...be it Independence day or Saraswati Puja or the Annual Function. There was always so much to do. And I was always a part of whatever my school did. I couldn't help but. It was my school and I was so proud of belonging there. I still am. I still remember all the songs that we sang on these occasions. I remember how I would run away from make up before a play or a performance and Mrs.Ghosh would chase me all over with a lipstick in hand. I loved Sports Day too...not that I was good at any but I loved being a part of the Florence Nightingale House and hoping and praying that we would win. I loved the excitement and the tension.

School changed a lot while I was there and I saw myself as a part of the progress. We got new uniforms. The green walls became blue, which I hated. The school started a band and a magazine. We also started having compulsory extra curricular activities and computer education. The auditorium got air conditioned. And nowadays when I go back to school, I can hardly believe that this is the same place I entered back in 1991.

School, I think ended too fast. There should have been more years of celebrations and activities, of art exhibitions and excursions. School left its indelible marks on me though. I still cannot make myself see someone use a mobile phone in class without wanting to confiscate it and I still cannot bring myself to bunk university. And I guess it was the habit of being a part of everything that I developed in school, that I am still very actively involved anything that doesn't involve studies.

I did not cry while leaving school either because I felt that I needed to leave home with a smile and I knew I would keep coming back to it...And while writing about school today, I realise why I never wrote about such an important part of my life before...it is because I never wanted to spoil or adulterate the emotion that surrounds it by trying to put it into words...I hope to have failed.