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Me-time



One of the parents who met me today during the Parent-Teacher Meeting at school told me, “My daughter is your fan. She often wonders how a teacher can be so innocent like you.”

I was too stunned to respond. Just yesterday I mentioned in another class that I was blessed to have such innocent students. My initial fear when I came from Delhi three years ago and perceived such innocent students in my present school in a small town in Kerala was whether I would corrupt them with the craftiness that Delhi had taught me as an integral part of the survival game we played normally in Delhi.

One of the lessons I learnt even before I took up my teaching job in Delhi in 2001 was to stay away from people as far as possible. Shillong taught me that lesson, in fact. That’s the only place where I ventured out into the society at least to some extent. I turned out to be an utter failure. Shillong was my undoing. It was inevitable, perhaps. I needed to learn the lessons that the little hill town taught me in the most rigorous and steadfast ways. There were people in Shillong whose sole mission in life seemed to be to reform me. And they were successful.

Their success was that I learnt to stay clear of society. I withdrew into myself except for the professional encounters I had and still have with my students. I learnt that I was a misfit in society. This gave me a lot of ‘me-time’.



I love spending time alone. I’m in love with the tea which I drink standing in the yard looking at the leaves nodding in the evening’s gossamer breeze. I’m in love with the books that give me company in the me-time that begins with the tea. I love to sit before my laptop and type out my thoughts for anyone who cares to read them.

Today that parent taught me that I have retrieved my innocence. I love that innocence too. I love the students who gifted me that innocence. I love the distance between them and me where the innocence blooms like the gossamer breeze that plays on my leaves and my evening tea.  

PS. Written for In(di)spire Edition 230: #MeTime
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Comments

  1. MansiJuly 14, 2018 at 9:23 PM

    I guess one who survive in Delhi, survive all odds. Great post. Me time is a bliss

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nima DasJuly 15, 2018 at 9:31 AM

    Delhi is terrible. So much politics and flashy lifestyle. Glad you went back to your roots. I wrote something about my stay in Shillong. We have so much in common- Teaching, Kerala, Dehli, Shillong! Always enjoy reading your post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJuly 15, 2018 at 9:58 AM

      I didn't know you had a Shillong connection. I lived there for 15 long years. My forthcoming memoir, 'Autumn Shadows', has a few chapters dedicated to Shillong.

      Delhi has too many masks. What shocked me, however, was the mask of certain religious people belonging to Radha Soami Satsang Beas. Some of them have the most angelic smiles on their faces but the most venomous fangs behind the smiles. I couldn't learn the survival strategy among them.

      Kerala has been a refreshing change for me though the place has its own share of nasty politics.

      Delete
    2. Nima DasJuly 17, 2018 at 1:47 PM

      I have written about Shillong in this post-http://nimadas.blogspot.com/2018/07/a-brief-sojour-at-pine-mount-school.html
      Radha Swami Lol!! Yes I have seen some of them in white dress looking very angelic.
      All small towns have some amount of petty politics. i am half a mallu myself by the way. Keep blogging. stay blessed.

      Delete
    3. Tomichan MatheikalJuly 17, 2018 at 2:23 PM

      Going to keep a closer watch on you. 😉

      Delete
  3. pushpendra dwivediJuly 15, 2018 at 6:25 PM

    nice to narrate your story

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rakhi JayashankarJuly 16, 2018 at 5:25 AM

    Life teaches us some lessons the hard way. You have a beautiful heart. All the best for "Autumn Shadows" Loved your first book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJuly 16, 2018 at 6:47 AM

      Thank you for the wishes. 'Autumn Shadows' is a serious memoir, quiet philosophical .

      Delete
  5. Aura Of ThoughtsJuly 16, 2018 at 3:31 PM

    Yes students teaches a lot to a teacher.And I am happy that your innocence remained intact in your journey:)

    MeenalSonal

    ReplyDelete
  6. Arvind PasseyJuly 18, 2018 at 1:36 PM

    Being with oneself and being alone are different. The first is about finding what to do with choices and the latter about choices being unable to find you.
    Your interpretation was also interesting. Nice post.

    Arvind Passey
    www.passey.info

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJuly 18, 2018 at 8:47 PM

      My aloneness is my own choice. Life teaches us to make certain choices.

      Delete

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