In my school, on one side the grass was green and the ground
other side had no grass. We used to play games like Kabbadi and Kho-Kho (Indian
games) and court marks were drawn over it with a white chalk.
Our school had a big ground and the classrooms encompassed
the ground on all sides.
On the other side where the grass grew at a minimum level
and was greener, the assembly used to take place over there and according to
class and section we would stand in the assembly line.
There was verandah outside the classrooms and tall blade
grass grew near the inner side of the outer verandah wall.
Sparrows, pigeons and other birds used to come and perch on the grass blades and while having tiffin on the verandah, bits of our tiffins such as breads, biscuits would fall in the grass and the sparrows would eat those bits.
They would locate those food particles inside the grass
blades and find them out.
I would observe them with great interest, as they seemed more
important to me than food. The little amount of food they would pick in their
beaks and furr they would fly off, was most interesting to watch.
Grass would always interest me. The tall blades of grass have a tapering top, but
the sides are sharp.
Just notice how unique and beautiful nature is. In a small thing
like grass, you can see the nature’s truth. A blade of grass being without any
stem or strong support, is so strong that it requires quite a heavy energy to
pull it up from the soil. The heave of the pull often pulls a man towards the
grass. It is magnificent example of Newton’s laws of energy. Every action has
an equal and opposite reaction.
All of us have seen cows munching grass for longer periods
of time, but we do not know how the cows do it as they do not have top teeth. Anyhow
nature’s wonder is unparalleled/
However, the story continues. Once after my art class got
over, my art sir showed me a paint brush and asked me whether it was mine. I couldn’t
recognize it, so I said-“no, it is not mine” and before the next art class I found
out that it was missing from my pencil box.
But at that same time, I lost my fountain pen. I couldn’t
find it, I searched for it everywhere.
I was very sad that I
had lost my fountain pen. I had got many good marks with it.
Days passed and I kept missing my pen more and more. I couldn’t
recover my painting brush as sir might had thrown it away. When I asked him
about it, he looked at me with a frown.
Well, one day, beside that place where the tall grass grew, a
debate competition was held between nine grade students with all their sections
taking part in it.
For the last conclusion and for the judgement the teachers
called me. After my judgement, the teachers would give their judgement.
The subject was about the famous novelist and great poet
Rabindranath Tagore who did not want to go to school for his education. He didn’t
like school, so he was home tutored by many teachers and this was arranged by
his father. He honed his talent by learning at home and later on went to become a renowned poet
and became famous with noble prize.He was the pioneer of Bengali literature.
The whole debate was about the topic whether school education
was necessary or not for a person to shine in this world.
When the debate was going on, participants were giving their
debate speech on the verandah platform, four sparrows had a flight over our
heads (including the participants and the teacher’s) and they landed on the
grass. Our attention went to them for few seconds and we continued with the
debate.
But when they had landed I had seen something shining in the
grass. After the competition was over, I went over to that place and looked at
that shining thing, thinking that what it could be? Can you believe my surprise
and happiness when I saw, it was my green fountain pen which I had lost! It was
my father’s gift for me when I was in bed with typhoid.
Green was lost in green. I had nearly danced like a man who
had got water after years for searching for it.
To my great delight, the conclusive part of the debate given
by me was appreciated by the teachers but our section didn’t win. The girl from
C- section won the prize. The happiness of getting back the green pen was
enormous, the fact that I will be writing with it again and with God’s grace
scoring a lot of marks of in all the subjects. It was like acting in a
movie where they show that at the end a beautiful miracle takes place.
Adios!
Before You Travel. 