The Kingfisher

Yesterday I saw a grey cat jumping with joy in my green garden relishing a piece of meal which seemed it has received after eons. It seemed that the feline was enjoying its best meal. As soon as the cat finished its food, it took a comfortable position and quite eponymous to its name, it took a cat's nap.  The cool blades of grass which were lately showered with water by the gardener, Govind became her bed. The breathtaking smell of the wet mud, the continuous cackle of the tiny birds and a playful cat were a sight to be enjoyed by an avid Nature admirer like myself. 
I chuckled with overwhelming joy,my gardener and I had a quick chat about the relaxed life of this feline. In the evening, when I stepped out into my garden, I happened to glimpse at something turquoise and bluish in colour resting on the plains of the lawn. 
Quite ironical to my morning's joy, my broad ear to ear smile turned into sadness. I was flabbergasted as I realised that the  creature lying motionless on the ground is the cat's full meal. It was a kingfisher. Still, beautiful, cut from the centre; I kept on gazing. 
Oh! I exclaimed as the rare bird to this surrounding had now gone forever. I was dejected but soon said to myself that this is the food cycle. When I shared this experience with my Dad, he told me "Dear, this is happening today. The big and the powerful are trying all their ways to eat the small."

Fruit of our labour

My happiness took an another level when I received the fruit of my labour. Today two of my students sat for the Class 12 English board exam.

 Soon after the exam, one of the boys gave me a call at 12:30 pm to share his extreme happiness of completing the exam successfully. He said "Ma'am, I have attempted all the questions and will definitely score good marks."

I would like to share that when this boy came to me requesting that I may teach him for the English exam, I was really sceptical. This boy hails from a village and is living in the city to get proper coaching facilities to clear his 12 boards. Moreover, he was a Hindi medium student till class 10 and switched over English medium in the next year. 

When I first met him, he seemed to be a very nervous, shy boy who couldn't even say his name confidently. This persona of his came as a challenge to me which I took up and said yes to him; I could see a spark in this boy. I tell him every now and then that his decision to switch over English medium was really a bold one. I used to ask him often "Will you be able to manage?" He always gave his answer in affirmation. He always had confidence in himself which he displayed through his confident voice and firm answers as the days rolled by. 

"Days passed,

both these boys enjoyed poetry,

understood poetic devices, 

phonetics, foot and metre."

The second boy is a passionate dancer, has represented the city in the Dance India Dance auditions and other reality shows at the national level. He had flunked in the class 12 last year due to some personal reasons. I had already taught this sincere, down to earth, humble and a very hard working boy in the summers of 2015 working on his communication skills.

 He came to meet me in the evening today and we solved the question paper. He gave all the answers correctly barring 2 questions. He said "Ma'am, I will easily score 90/100 and my happiness is beyond expression"

On hearing his words, I took a sigh of relief and said to myself "I am able to bring a smile on someone's face." 

I'm inclined to write this note as these students loved English whenever we sat to study and understood the nuances of the language with utmost sincerity. They understood the concepts for life, read the stories and poems keeping in mind their message and applicability on our daily life. These students didn't study not only to get good marks but enjoyed each session and gave their heart and soul to the language at the time when their classmates and friends made fun of them saying who attends English coaching classes for 3 hours a day. Their friends used to boast by saying, "We will study just two/three days before the exam as English is easy and unimportant." 

Through my (four and a half years) of teaching experience in Khandwa I have realised that what is important for most of the students here is to score good marks in PCM or Accounts. English takes a backseat and it only remains the reason for the low aggregate which they realise and regret later on getting their result card or CGPA.