Teachers' wonders

         


                                                               
                     
Helping hands have blurred
Warnings and scoldings have waned 
Care and concern have died a sudden death
Lessons have become shallow,
O teacher, how I miss the days,
When finishing your homework was the biggest worry!
                                

Living without a time-table borders on helplessness,
A break lacks worth without a bell,
Notoriety without punishments is futile,
The blueprint for life is unavailable,
O teacher, I want to relive the days,
When getting a star in my book was the greatest source of joy.


The time when 'Sorry' was a golden word,
Getting consoled after tears filled the eyes was the best therapy,
A remark in the handbook was the only disappointment,
The excitement of sitting on the front desk was palpable,
O teacher, I yearn to learn more.
And I promise to never give you a chance to complain.


Under your tutelage, time just rushed,
Glad I am to have been your protégé.
Even a million thank you's will not justify your stature,
For every child you have enlightened,
Gratitude will flow through an entire generation.
O teacher, do look back to see your child soar high,
It is my teacher who believed in my ability to fly.

2000s video games that rule our memories

Realization dawned on me when I tracked the source of various life lessons to the many video games I played as a child, even though a lot of them were also responsible for letting my imagination go into overdrive. I doubt whether kids of today's generation would even come close to cherishing the few-but-spectacular video games the way the kids in the 2000s did, let alone underscoring their learnings. One of the major reasons why our bond remains special was the lack of easy access and frequent hanging up of the computer screen, back then. Isn't it?
Here's my vaguely arranged list of all the killer video games that rocked the 2000s....

1) NFS (Need For Speed) - My earliest memories of playing video games remain those of aimlessly pressing all the buttons on the keyboard, hoping that my car's speed would accelerate to 200 kmph so that I could win the race. Sadly, I did not know that those fancy cars and the speed they were driven at are the stuff dreams are made of.

2) Super Mario - This is the one game I could always play without having to worry about what my parents would think. Because seriously, what would anybody's parents find offensive about a man who rightfully collects money on a rescue journey that sees many a hurdle and perpetrator. On the contrary, Super Mario teaches us that if you aim high enough, then even you can collect some coins along the way.

3) Prince - My real fighting prowess came to the fore every time Prince picked up a sword to fight the devil. For me, MCP will always stand for Male Chauvinist Prince. He resembled the ultimate dream man, albiet on the computer screen.

4) Disney's Alladin - I was totally smitten by Genie and had bought into the notion that Genie actually existed in real life and that it had magical powers. So much so that I bought a water bottle just for the cut out of Genie pasted on it. Alladin's nemesis haunted me for the longest time in my dreams. A part of me always wanted to grow up to be Alladin's princess. This game literally personifies the term ''smiling away to glory.''

5) GTA Vice City - If someone ever asked me what was addiction, then this game would me my savior. Aspirin found a totally new place in my dictionary after GTA Vice City came into being. Killing and running over people never seemed more fun. Thanks to this game, my experience of mass murdering has seen me do away with various miscreants in my life, even if it is just in my imagination. Unfortunately for my parents, by the time they started to reprimand me for my obsession, I was already an expert in the game.

6) Doom - This game should conveniently be renamed 'Don't play this game if you suffer from Misophonia.' How was one supposed to play this game with no one around! Opening the doors of a prison cell with a 180-degree view only added to the horror. Sometimes, a game like this balanced the overtly bright and colorful setups in most other games.

7) Stuart Little - A little cuteness and notoriety was something we all needed after fighting terror and Armadeggon in some other games. As someone who played for Stuart, looking at humans all around did seem a tad bit agonizing when miniatures did not find a voice in the happenings around.

Today, when I come across games like The Angry Birds and The Temple Run among the others, all I think is that the options may have increased a hundred fold, but I doubt if the levels of ecstacy and the fervour of kids, today, can ever match the excitement and thunder that kids experienced a decade ago. Meanwhile, Nintendo is launching an updated version of Super Mario through its app. Let's see if it is able to arouse the child in me!  

Scenes from a farewell

The much awaited D-day came and stirred many an emotion and unfolded all the classroom razzmatazz for one last time with a pinch of nostalgia. The day was marked by forging the final set of memories constituting the college life. The many memories of getting away with notoriety and loud talks, because one is still considered to be in a learning phase, then, laughing without a care in the world, bright smiles, and the bare hugs shall refuse to fade away for the longest time, and will always hold proof to the fact that good times don't last forever.

Surprisingly, I did not realize that my college life was almost behind me till I was at the farewell. And should I mention just how thrilled I was being there! It was an evening where I rewinded the time to when I first entered the college, directionless, with a set of pre-conceived notions about being in an environment of the grown-ups. I always fancied the idea of a farewell since I was a child. Seeing pictures of people gleefully posing in graduation robes never failed to mesmerize me. And now, it was my time to don one, ready to be catapulted into the big world. In some way, the farewell validates our ability to take over bigger challenges in life. So it was quite ironic for me to think ''Why is it all over?'', when my dream was coming true. For once, I just wanted to hold onto everything happening around me. Yes, I wanted to hold onto that time, I wanted to exhaust myself into talking about the days gone by and how much I was taking back from the college. The college that turned my doubts into certainties, my vulnerable streaks into formidable ones, my risks into challenges, and my passion into my strength should never know of grudges and complaints. Today, all I wish for is to strive towards never failing my very-soon-to-be alma mater.

The farewell took place on a Saturday evening, which meant that I had ample time to enhance my vanity. Many outfits were changed and frowned upon before settling down for the one which suited best for the occasion. The hours following up to the prosperous evening bore witness to my excitement and many hushed whispers about the big celebration. My Whatsapp chats with friends were flooded with pictures and ideas about the perfect dress for the evening and the anxiety within everyone to get the perfect look was palpable. The anxiety within me died down only when I reached the venue before time. I was advised from home to ensure that I had enough storage on my phone to save the countless selfies that I ended up taking. Being in a gathering of 1500 odd students meant that we would be overdosing on smiles and chirpy laughter that evening. While a lot of us were buzzing with talks of future plans and goals, some just decided to let their emotional streak get the better of them. And while future options and plans were being discussed, there were a few who were certain about where they saw themselves in a few years, while some restricted themselves to talking about their immediate academic goal. The one thing that remained constant throughout the evening was a satisfactory smile across 1500 faces. And that had to be inevitable, given the first big step towards success had been attained. On the one hand, where the student committee members were running helter-skelter to manage the proceedings of the evening, the rest were going berserk over the EDM music that was blaring. And there was no way anyone could get away without getting crashed by a multitude of high-on-graduation students. Sometimes, mobile phones can wreak havoc at social dos, where every other person in a group is only interested in taking pictures and selfies in every corner of the venue, posing with every mortal, like they are a rare commodity. Much to my surprise, I acknowledged quite a few classmates only in pictures on my phone, as it turned out that I was engrossed in posing and photobombing. Such is life, these days!

A couple of decades down the line, I wish to remember this life as vividly as I can, just to be able to tell my grandchildren that glorious moments may not find permanence in life, but they always live on in the memory of time. And this farewell shall never be forgotten, as till I will know life, I shall call myself a proud graduate.