The comedy of errors.

This was published in the Times NIE student edition in 2009

Whatever being a teacher entails, the profession is neither boring nor predictable. How can such an everyday affair such as an assembly that kick starts the normal school morning be so different everyday?

It all started when we teachers decided it  was not enough if only the good smart children were given a chance to go onstage. It was just not fair.. The same children came on stage, kept giving lofty thoughts or recited poems, kept getting accolades. The good ones kept getting better while the “ordinary’ ones kept hiding their talents under the bushel,content to hide in the background, shivering at the thought of going on stage.
Then the school decided that the goal would be to bring each and every one on stage so that “stage fright” would be an unknown experience among Navkians.
Mornings found the timid truants rushing to school to polish up their News before they presented it to the school while others went the extra mile to go through various thoughts which could give their friends something to chew on.
But the fun began when it was the turn of the little children to come on stage. Here the energy was different. There was no fear, only excitement. And the excitement began two weeks earlier as tiny soldiers beat the drum to the tune of the National Anthem ably tutored by the teacher in charge of assembly. As strains of Sare jahan se accha.” would rent the air we at all ends of the school would know it was at 3 0’clock and the little ones were getting rady for the next morning’s programme. We began to look forward to the innocent faux pas they committed such as calling out to the ones who scrambled in late to join them on stage or their total, refreshing lack of self-consciousness often exhibited by their older school mates.
The highlight came when it was the time of Grade II to perform the Ramayana on stage.
A buzz of excitement went among the crowd as the little ones trickled down the stairs from their first floor classroom. Gorgeously attired courtiers from the court of Ram followed an intimidating Ravan and his group. The colourful costumes, the demure little Sita clad in an orange sari, Suparnaka with her school belt showing under her hastily tied sari, chubby hip little companions of Sita all had the crowd transfixed.
Then as Hanuman jumped up on stage, the junior school burst into giggles. This was followed by round-eyed wonder and glee when the war between Ram and Ravan started. Many of them must have been reminded about the WWW spars they had seen on TV. They waited eagerly for Ram to get to Ravan who was ably being guarded by a tiny little bodyguard.The body guard was doing his job well-so well infact that he forgot that he was to have fallen when hit by a club of Rams guard. He was so busy shooting out arrows at Ram that his opponent began to sweat as he gave a loud whisper of “Hey, you have to fall now.”
Undeterred the guard  kept shooting   arrows. Only when they finished did he remember that he had to fall so that the guard on the other side could attack Ravan.
By the time the little fellow fell down the school was in splits. By the time they wrapped up the play with a group song it was clear that these little ones who gave their 100% to what they did and who enjoyed and were so involved in whatever they did were the stars who had the ability by their sheer innocence to pull crowds.
Kudos to the  children.I am   sure  there never was such a hilarious enactment of that well loved tale –one that will not easily be forgotten!