A Lesson From Life

Sarita was elated. Her students had performed extremely well in the mid terms. Hours of revision and practice seemed to have paid off.  Feeling satisfied she glanced through the student list not at all surprised by the name that showed right at the top. Radha had excelled beyond her expectations… yet again, scoring full marks in almost all subjects. It was tough to expect anything but the best from this girl, she thought. She wasn't alone; every teacher that taught the 7^th standard held a high opinion of Radha. She was the apple of every teacher’s eye.

Source: MTV.com

It was a year since Sarita had joined the school as a Maths and Science teacher. Her first class as class teacher of “7^th A” had left a lasting impression on her mind and a reason to look forward to her teaching career. Radha had stood out right from the word go. Smart and immaculately dressed, she was a model student. Excellent in studies and extra-curricular activities, her IQ kept all teachers on the toes. A scholarship winner, she not only scored well but also motivated her class mates to do better. To cut a long story short, she was the all rounder every school yearned to have. For the first time in her twenty year career, Sarita had developed a soft corner for a student.

The school bell rang, shaking her out of her thoughts. It was time to announce the results to the students. She picked up the report cards and walked into the classroom, making the noise turn into pin drop silence. Sarita looked around and broke into a broad smile, making the class heave a sigh of relief. “The results mustn't be that bad”… the same thought ran across everybody’s minds. The announcement of who had topped the class came as no surprise to them; instead they screamed their voices hoarse and clapped till their hands hurt when Radha went up to collect her report. She was a quiet girl who kept to herself but was loved by everybody.

With the exam tension now a matter of the past, students had begun to let loose with the sports day events. Class races, drills, march past and pyramids were the focus of everyone’s attention and studies had taken a back seat. Radha excelled once again, winning the class race, the Long Jump and the Javelin throw. This time she raised the bar with surprise wins in High Jump and Shot Put as well.

Convinced that she was witnessing perfection at the age of 12, Sarita marveled at her abilities and decided she would nominate Radha for an international Science symposium to be held in Chicago USA. After the Sports Day fever had died out, she called Radha to the staff room after school hours and said “Radha, you have been performing extremely well in both studies as well as outdoor activities. You must have heard of the Science Symposium being held in Chicago, I want you to participate. I will work with you through this project; I am sure we will win. There is nobody other than you who can win this for us”. Expectantly she waited for Radha’s response and was taken aback when she got none. After what seemed like eternity Radha spoke up slowly “ Maam, I appreciate the confidence you have shown in me however I don’t think I can take this up”.  She sighed and without any warning ran out of the staff room.

Bewildered, Sarita wondered “what could be the problem? She is so smart, wonder what the problem is…”. Days went by and the incident was soon forgotten. It was the end of the term and the school picnic was round the corner. Each student had to contribute Rs 100 and parents had to provide a dish for the lunch. After making the announcement, Sarita was leaving the classroom when Radha walked up and said “Maam, I will not be able to come for the picnic, please excuse me”. No amount of cajoling could convince her; finally Sarita gave up and walked away with a disturbed mind that kept mulling over Radha’s behavior.

It was the weekend but nothing could relax Sarita’s mind. She kept thinking of Radha and her behavior. Unable to think straight, she decided to visit the beach, something she had not done in a long time. The waves crashing against the rocks had a calming effect on her; she doodled on the wet sands; Radha playing strongly on her mind. At a distance she could see the silhouette of a girl selling flowers to the women on the beach. “That girl looks to be the same age as my students and here she is selling flowers… what a life” she thought, turning back to face the endless blue that lay in front of her. Suddenly there was a tap on her shoulders and she heard a voice “Madam, will you buy my flowers? It is the last garland, if I sell this I can go home to do my homework”. The voice was familiar but she could not believe her ears. She turned around and stared into the eyes of her star student; the all rounder she was so proud off. With a gasp Radha ran away towards an older lady dressed in a patched Sari sitting with a basket of flowers. Together they briskly walked away into the growing darkness, not once looking back.

Tears welled in Sarita’s eyes as realization dawned and all her confusion from the past few months faded away. The scholarship, the denials to go for picnics… everything started to make sense. She stared at her student until she became but a dot in the crowd. She had raised the bar beyond studies and extracurricular activities... this time she raised the bar with her attitude for perfection in an otherwise imperfect life. 

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This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda. This time the entry had to contain, ‘This time, she raised the bar…’