AN AURA OF GOLD
These great halls can we ever forget?
Where many a lesson had we once learnt And we would run to our teacher to get A lovely star on the hand with a marker felt. As a bus turns slowly towards the huge Raymond logo, every breath is held, for what comes into view is something much greater than a school, but a portal to a world of magic. The school bus passes through the colossal gates to reveal a magnificent cream - coloured building, the distinct quack of geese in a nearby garden, with flags of orange, white, green, blue and brown fluttering by. Presently, the huge sun-yellow bus stops with a loud sound, and after a hoard of teenagers, a little girl hops out, her hair pulled up neatly into two pigtails and her ID card swaying from side to side as she walks into the building. This was my first step into the school. Hardly did I know what I would become, when after ten years, sitting in an armchair, I’d be writing this article. Even today, as I walk through the front glass gate, the guard greets me with a warm, welcoming smile. I proceed to my classroom, meeting many friends and familiar faces, looking at new, brilliantly - painted charts and greeting teachers along the way. I enter the little room, with forty-three benches - as I count - having a large blackboard. I quickly take up my duty of being a board monitor and write the day’s timetable, using a new coloured chalk each day. As we hear a fresh, excited junior’s voice - “Good Morning Sulonians”, we all rise from our seats for the daily prayer. As the soothing school hymn and morning news echo through the PA System around the school, we give a confident and energetic start to our day. Turns out our first lecture today is Computer Applications - our optional subject. As we rush into the computer lab with our textbooks and notes in hand, a wave of cool air gushes past us. After completing an hour of Computers, we proceed for our short break. Friends rush in from every side with new things to talk about, and exciting secrets. As we share our breakfast boxes with each other, one can hear many an excited giggle and constant chatter. We then sit down for our English class. Our teacher reads to us a scene from The Merchant of Venice, and we seem enthralled by the thoughts of Shakespeare, that ever inspire us. We then hurry to the music room where, in perfect harmony, we sing a Raga taught to us the previous week, and return to the class, humming our favourite part of the song. As our math teacher enters the class, we not only learn a new concept of trigonometry but also hear a funny, interesting joke on triangles. We then run to the enormous sports ground for our PE class. Playing throw ball, football, table tennis, badminton and basketball, we actually learn lifelong lessons of team spirit and sportsmanship. Soon, we rush to the biology lab because we are really late for the practicals scheduled today. We watch carefully into the microscopes as we learn about the types of cells and have a long debate whether the skeleton kept in the laboratory shelf belonged to a male or a female. Then, as our lunch break begins, we prop up in a big circle, everyone eating from each other’s tiffin. Soon, all of us can be seen running towards the library, a vast auditorium-sized room with two floors, air conditioned, to our joy. We spend the next half an hour immersed in the library’s vast collection of novels, fiction and nonfiction, and several best sellers too! Opening our books, we are transported into a world of our own imagination. Then, we move to our venues to rehearse for our Film and Theatre Week Performance. As each one of us exercises our best talents, singing, dancing, speaking and acting out different parts, we are reminded of the oft-repeated quote by William Shakespeare - The world's a stage, and we are but characters who must play our parts. After an hour of rigorous practice, we depart for home with stories and stories to tell our eagerly-waiting families. The next day as we enter the hall We see the golden sunshine illuminating the building standing tall Once we used to think - aww, mum, I don’t want to go! But when we’re about to step out, We know that these best moments of life, we can’t forego. CHEERS, |