Memoirs of my Journey to School

One of the sons, in our locality, has to stay attached with the parents and help them run the family, in a way grooming him to be the potential heir. This, however, has almost disappeared today down the shelf of tradition. Then, my parents thought of invoking the responsibility upon me. I was, hence, intentionally held back and ruled out the possibility of educating me. As a youngest son, I was loved, cared and pampered. It must have been because of these reasons, my parents couldn’t dare to loose me away to school for sending me school meant departing from their loved son. Many of my contemporaries couldn’t attend school because of these reasons.

The beauty of being a kid is the innocence. I was not an exception for I was as innocent as every child. The only thing I envied, then, was when I witnessed my parents sending my elder brothers to schools as early as six. I envied not because my brothers would be imparted education to live a decent life but because they were attired in new cloths when I had to retire, clothed in torn-rags, to thick jungles herding herds of cattle battling the ‘vampire’ leeches, battering the heat and adventuring the brunt of torrential precipitation where I only found bit of solace beneath the plastic sheet I was shielded by. Life as a Cow-herder was hard and it was indeed ‘yucking’ to always fade away into the thick jungles. To attend school, however, was not in the wildest of my dreams. I accumulated and mastered every skill a farmer would need to lead his life. I was young, pure and untainted farmer.

Destiny had its own mercy on me. Out of nowhere, a talk to send me to school cropped up. It was a month after having started the new academic year though. I faintly remember that my sister, who herself had nurtured grievances for having not sent to school, had spearheaded the idea. It was a blessing ‘u-turn’ to the life I was supposed to lead. Couple of days later, I remember descending down the hill along with my mother to Wooling Primary School. It was a barefoot walk. I could still recall how wild Hazelnut thorns pierced the callus of my foot. My mother ushered me to Headmaster’s office seeking my admission in PP. I remember her offering dozens of eggs and few Kgs of Butter and Cheese. Such offers were not uncommon during those days.

Headmaster quizzically studied me and outrightly rejected my admission. He was right. I was too old to be in PP. I was nine then. However helpless my mother felt, she was too tough to yield her determination easily. She sought the help of the then school Caretaker upon whose request the Headmaster accepted my admission. At that moment, I ‘childishly’ realized how things were working in this world, which still haunts me today. People who are similarly circumstanced as like me are bound to encounter thousands of injustices I  met with. Poor and powerless are always overpowered; no one is considering their voices considerately. This is happening not just round the globe but at an alarming intensity across the sections of GNH Land-DrukYul, even today. This is the brief memoir of my journey to school. 

The Essay I was examined on

Mr. Pema Wangdi, final year undergraduate of the Bachelors Degree majoring in Applied Mathematics at Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida, has reproduced my essay, I have written as a  11^th grader in Annual Examination English Paper One, in his blog “Lotus’s Perspective- My Life Away From Home” which can be accessed at http://empoweredlotus.blogspot.com.

 It feels great to revisit the paper I was examined on. I was wondering if Mr. Pema could tell me how he could manage to get the paper, annual exam answer sheets, which were usually never shown to anyone. For this, he has his answer vividly scripted in facebook. I quote

“@Gyalpo: Yes, you had definitely written this essay, unless there was another Gyalpo Drukpa studying at Nangkor in that year, which we know was not the case. haha. Well, let me narrate the story here about how I bumped into your "English Answer Paper" while I was roaming around the Nangkor campus. It so happened that when I, with few friends, walking along the road running parallel to Yurungpa lam (path), I am sure you will remember there used to be a garbage pit right behind the Staff room, it was in that pit that I bumped into your paper. I thought I was on time to rescue your paper, when almost half of other fellows’ papers were lying charred! The marks you obtained stood out from rest of the papers, and caught my attention. Then I went on to read, and decided to include in my collection!” I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Pema who happened to be my junior for including it in his collection.

Amidst so many grammatical errors, when I read it now, I find I was trying to exude every bit of ‘negativities’ I could ‘prey’ on the parents and teachers. I might not have nurtured ill-thoughts toward teachers nor parents while I was essaying it, simply, I might have tried to justify the topic I was given to essay on. However, somehow when I read it now, I find I was revolutionarily toned and ‘been vocal’ in that essay.

I am reproducing it below. No proof reading is done and no edition is carried out to make it sound better. I am reproducing it just the way I had written it as a class 11 student then in 2004.

The Topic was:

“Parents and teachers teach children to always speak the truth. Not only is this unrealistic, it is also hypocritical.”

And I had written:

“Yes, indeed! Yes. To advice and instigate others to speak the truth has become almost like fashion. It is very unrealistic and to great extent hypocritical. In order to make other's mind bow, first and foremost thing, ones mind should be arrow. Before telling others, one should be perfect. But parents and teachers instigate students and children to speak the truth verbally. They, themselves are not perfect in this case. Our parents and our teachers teach the fatherhood of God without themselves acting the brotherhood of man.

Most of the parents of this advanced world are known evil. They are much more undignified and bounded by low personality. They are the one who spoke false before the society. They might have done many unwholesome deeds but how pathetic is it to find that, having themselves spoiled, they advise children to always speak the truth? Children has been staying with his/her parents by birth itself and thus he is bound to copy what his/her parents are doing. If parents are morally disciplined, the child would be as so. But if parents are morally ruined, it is definite and sure that child will be ruined similarly. A very pretty lie may be told by parents before his/her children. Suppose, if children wanted and demanded their parents to bring them a new trouser when they were leaving to somewhere, but on returning, he may convince his children that he has forgotten but not brought intentionally. Thus, children are the best copiers and they would copy it and next time the children will practice it. He or she will inherit the character of parents.

Similarly, teachers in the school are the parents of children. Taking the responsibilities of parents, they always advices students to tell the truth and even penalize them for having told lies. This is really hypocrisy. Teachers seem dignified in the school premises, but outside they are acting like barbarians. They tell the lie if it is needed and acts in violent manner if it is needed. Teachers are the lender of last resort of students, thus, if having themselves undisciplined, how can his students listen to them? First thing, he should act what he says. Teacher should be an epitome to students and children so that they may act and shape their future.

For instance, some teachers take leave from school leaving his students in vain, intentionally pretending that there are some genuine reasons after feeling bored in teaching. But in fact, they are just going for loitering somewhere else like an undignified man. Also in some cases, teachers are found lying and boasting in the subject matters. They act as if they know all neglecting to research further. Thus, they misguides and mishandles the human brain. Some teachers wait for bribe from students for some matters. They take partiality to some students. They themselves saying that to take partial is sin, yet they themselves are involving in unwholesome deeds.

Thus, parents and teachers of modern world may say anything from mouth. It is very easy to say than to be done. They convinces children and students to say this and that but it is just paradox. Hence, the instigation of parents and teachers to speak truth is not only unrealistic but hypocritical to great deal. Coincidence in words and actions may be found in rare cases but majority of the cases are paradoxical and hypocritical.” Courtesy Pema Wangdi [http://empoweredlotus.blogspot.com]

If you [readers] were my English Teacher at that point of time, what is the mark the essay is worth of? Locate the grammatical errors in it and leave the corrections and mark you might have given as a comment below.