Weirdos

I was thinking about the different kinds of people I have met, and the various weird habits and acts I have seen. I see many of these at the time of admissions in baba’s classes. Different candidates and their guardians have different kinds of eccentricities. Often when I was helping out my parents during the admission procedure, some parents have gushed to them, "How smart and mature your daughter is! My son/daughter can't do a thing on his/her own!" It never occurs to these parents that their children can't do things because they have neither allowed nor taught their children to do anything other than "study" for examinations! 


I also keep observing people in  school. My friends, their parents, the teachers, all kinds of people. Some of their habits and antics are really unbelievable. A few classmates of mine asked their parents to allow them to go to and return from school by public bus. Incredibly, all the guardians unanimously said, “No, you are not yet old enough to travel alone.” Most of the girls didn’t even ask their parents why they thought that their daughters were incapable of taking care of themselves even for such a short distance. I suppose those girls themselves were actually relieved to get the “no”. They themselves were sure that they were only “children” of class eight. Only one of the girls asked her parents the reason for not allowing her. She said, “Why, Urbi is my classmate, and of my age, and she travels alone!” The parents got angry with the girl for talking back. They said, “Urbider kotha alada” (it’s different with Urbi’s family). I don’t know how it is different with me. I am of the same age, in the same class, and actually her friend! I appreciated this girl for her guts.

Another classmate of mine used to come to school in her car escorted by her parents and grandparents every day. The parents were afraid that their daughter might “become bad” if they did not accompany her. This girl has now escaped to a boarding school in Mussoorie, a thousand miles away from her parents. I wish her luck for her glorious days of freedom.

A certain woman I know of always boasts in public about the fact that her daughter, though a working woman by now, never disobeys her mother, and leads her life exactly as her mother orders. This daughter will be getting married in a short time, and will have her own kids. I can guess what kind of a mother she will be, and thank my lucky stars that I’ll never have to be one of her kids.

When I started going to school by public bus in the beginning of this year, it was just me and another girl two years older than me. Now, it is almost twelve girls who travel together. That in itself is good because of the safety it provides. I would have thought that my parents would have been relieved to know that I was travelling with so many senior girls to look after me. But it has turned out to be quite the opposite. In fact, the mother of one girl two years older than me has told my mother that she is not worried about her daughter because her daughter is with me. A girl two years older than me has been left in my care!

A student of baba’s came armed with his bag and accessories all the way to our house the other day only to say that he was feeling ill and wanted to go back home!

These are the same people who stare at me like I was some alien when they see me doing the shopping alone in the market, or reading a book even when examinations are not near at hand. In fact, one woman actually asked me what I was doing with a book after the examinations were over! These people are quite convinced that I am the one who is slightly unhinged. Really!