The longest wait is over.
looking at this gate of shopping complex number 3 reminds me of how I and Didi used to hang on this gate until Papaji gave us what we wanted from the shops hahahah.
and Kunal babu enrolled in Kindergarten school.
Your patience for my every New Blogs is really appreciated.
Please do read my previous posts to correlate with this.
So, We Reached to the bhatinda Junction, and suddenly every other men there looked different, equipped with a big Turban on heads, a holy sign and an Identity that they belong to the Sikh Religion. I was amazed and shouted , "mommy dekhiye, kitne saare SARKARji (its actually SARDAR ji, a word used to denote sikh men)" as usual my mommy laughed at my cuteness hahahah. Well Sarkar literally means government and I don't know why but somehow I knew this too and all I thought that the Sardarji are SARKARji and they provide employments hahaha.
Already a team from army was waiting to receive us at the railway station with a vehicle ready to carry our luggages. With their help we were now ready to go to the Army Campus, The Bathinda Cantonment, which is the Largest Army Cantonment in Asia. We entered the cantt.(cantonment) through the RAINA GATE, and went to the Central Colony where our allotted house was awaiting for us, a 2BHK flat at the ground floor with the garden at the backyard and front yard. Soon we were in the love with this new place because of the new and very big children's park just beside our building, though memories of Pune hunted us for sometime. Papaji enrolled us in our schools, but since it was summer vacations schools were yet to open. Meanwhile the school opens, I and Kunal Babu started exploring the Bathinda cantt. There were two shopping complexes near to our home, they were named as shopping complex number 2 to and shopping complex number 3
Just few days went and we realized that we are now very close to the sun and the climate was not at all like Pune. All Army campuses have facilities like mobile Library, mobile vegetable van, mobile bakery shops etc. so that all families whether far or near will get the things at there doorstep. During those summer seasons we drank a lot of soft drinks which came in these vans, for just 3 rupees per bottle only. Somehow days passed and now it was time to go to our schools. I and didi were now in the same school, KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA NO. 1 Bathinda cantt.
This time our school was near, just behind the school was shopping complex no. 3 and 50 meters from the complex was our home. So, we didn't had to take any bus.
๐๐ช ๐๐๐ฃ๐ค๐ฅ ๐๐๐ช ๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐ ๐- I am looking for my classroom 2 B, okay I found it and when I entered, I accidentally bumped into a cute chubby girl and we both fell down apart. "Uffo, meri dress kharab kar di, dekh ke nahi chal sakte?" an angrily cute voice came from a reddened cute chubby faced girl. Already nervous me because of my first day of this school, stood up, cleaned dust from my uniform and went inside the room without answering or looking again at her.
"Gooooooooood morrrrrrrrrrning maaaaaam (whole class in Chorus)", greeted on the entrance of our Class Teacher, Kiran Ma'am. "Good morning (with a very attractive and cheerful smile), sit down all of you" she said and started taking our attendances, "yess mam", one by one we all answered when heard our names.
After all that she introduced me to the whole class and asked me to take a seat with Hussain and Sunaina. Hussain, a very helpful boy, we became a very good friend in the years we spent together. Sunaina, a cute chubby girl from Nepal. Hahahha yes she is the same girl whom I bumped into.
I could sense that she wasn't happy with this decision of Kiran ma'am, I as well was not happy hahahah, but it was an order to be followed. So I joined them.
It took few weeks to three of us for understanding each other and soon a popular trio of Hussain, Kundan and Sunaina was appreciated by all subject teachers. Within those few weeks some good things happened and the trio was an outcome of that. Hussain's family shifted to same building where we stayed. I and Sunaina were now no more a stranger, we both now understood each others emotions, likes and dislikes, our thoughts were in harmony. I remember she liked oranges more than Apple and sea-saw more than slides hehehe.
We three stayed together from the morning until the last lecture of the school and now Hussain was a home delivery package to me Hahahah. I, Kunal babu and Hussain played in evening at the nearby park to our homes.
In the starting we followed the proper path to school and back to our home i.e we used the front gate of the school which you can see in the third picture, and then when we found a shortcut which was a big broken boundary wall of the school at the behind of the school building, which shortened our path and reduced our efforts and travel time, I should thank my super-duper seniors for this creations and Hussain's brother for this discovery hahhaha.
Kunal babu was enjoying in his Kindergarten school while day by day didi and my education was complexing. He had a craze to go to school everyday that even on sundays he would ask mommy to make him ready and he would wait for the bus outside and during those days his favourite lunch food was "sooji ka Halwa(Semolina pudding)", which he consumed 365 days. I had my own motivation though to go for a school everyday hahahah.
So, soon days passed and with that we passed in our midterm exams. PTM(parents-teacher meeting) was scheduled and our parents came, for us most of the times mommy used to come as Papaji was busy with his works. Sunaina came with her mother too, and this was the time when I realized why Sunaina was so different from other classmates. Mommy had only one complaint to all my teachers those days that why her son doesn't writes with Right Hand, she even tried and beat me multiple time on my left hand so that I stop using it for writing, but it didn't worked. Kiran ma'am that day explained mommy that it doesn't matters by which hand does he writes, all matters is he atleast writes, she even gave her many names of the successful people who are left handers and that day was the last day mommy ever talked about my left hand using.
All of the teachers that day praised our trio and gave our examples to other student's parents.
Few more days school worked and then Autumn breaks started, I participated in a charity service where we had to collect some funds for the senior citizens welfare which was organised by HELPAGE INDIA.
So, during the vacation it became a task to me and Kunal babu to collect as much funds as we can. We collected around 1000 INR, BUT, we then one day while passing by the SHOPPING COMPLEX no. 3 we saw a PHONE BOOTH, and we already remembered the Tel. No. Of Saxena Uncle which I recalled again in my mind (020*****) and we decided to call them as we were still missing them, so we called and had a talk of worth INR 100.
Papaji's Unit, organized a party during this autumn break, where I saw Sunaina in a light pink salwar suit(Indian ethnic wear) with opened hairs which were continuously coming over her face despite she was tucking it behind her ears.
Sunaina's Father and papaji were colleagues. We both met there after almost a week of the vacations started. Kunal Babu joined us and we all played and ate lots of varieties of dishes.
While coming back home that night two things were stuck in my mind, one, the tagline of my Papaji's unit which was "652 is the purest"( เคे เคธौ เคฌाเคตเคจ, เคธเคฌเคธे เคชाเคตเคจ।), and the other was the heart melting smile of Sunaina.
Schools reopened and the first lecture of the first day was whole spent in collecting and counting the funds we collected, I submitted 860 INR hahahah, because that day after talking with Saxena family, I and Kunal babu ate Ice-cream. Hussain alone collected around 1100 INR, he submitted the highest funds in our class with me being the third highest. We were awarded with the certificates of participation and Sunaina Received a cricket BAT as a monument Which was signed by Sachin Tendulkar, she was one the highest funds collector of the primary sections. Didi got that Bat too as she collected the highest funds in secondary sections.
Classes were regular again with new things being added to our studies day by day. We were learning, we were growing. Final exams were about to begin. Hussain and I used to study together sometimes at his home and most of the times at my home. Exams started, we three got three different exam halls. Two exams were done and on the third exam on 10th day of March 2003, when I was still writing the exam, Sunaina in solid Royal Blue Frock with the matching Hairband and the brightest smiling face entered in my exam hall and started distributing the candies to everyone, she was done with her exam I guess. It was her birthday that day, I didn't forgot it but we were all busy in exams, she gave me four candies happily and I had a Fountain pen gift wrapped for her, which I thought of giving her after the exam. "Happy Birthday Sunaina" I wished her, "Thank you" with the ever Amusing smile she said. She also announced in the class that her father got transferred, so after all the exams she would be leaving with her parents. At the end of the exam I tried looking for her but she'd left already.
During the next two exams I still couldn't see her as we were in different exam halls and after all the exams finished and we didn't met because of the time mismatch, I decided to give her the gift on the result day.
31st march, the result day, I and Hussain came to school with the gift in my hands, Sadly Sunaina was not in the city, her Results were posted to her new Location.
The only good News that day was, we were promoted to next level i.e. third standard and the class would begin from the next day, April 1st, 2003.
"Thank you" with the most amazing smile with crinkled eyes and upturned corners of the mouth baring her front teeth is the last thing that I remember about Sunaina.
Thanking to your patience and capacity for reading and reaching till here.
I hope my next posts will keep you stick to the end like this,
Please do read my previous posts of this chronicles to correlate,
Thank you!
