The Mobile-Class

(3 min read)

The mobile-class is quite a spectacle for the regular walkers and the visitors to the Durga-Hanuman-Sai temple in Baghmugalia Extension. An old man, a black Labrador on a leash, and a gaggle of kids – aged 7,9,11 and 12. The regulars nod with an indulgent smile; the stray visitors stare a little or more, and discreetly eavesdrop. What could this strange group be discussing with such zest and gesticulation, they wonder.

Indeed, the members of the group have variegated needs: the pet needs to go out twice a day, the old man needs his brisk walk of at least forty minutes a day recommended by his doctor; each kid is in a different class, and solicits the ‘teacher’ to prioritise her/his areas of interest.

Sheetal is quick in mental math – simple addition and subtraction, and says: Uncle, give us sums to solve. Satyam, less proficient in math, protests – why only math? Uncle, please ask who can make a magnifying glass at home; or a telephone with two soft-drink cans? Only he can, and has exhibited his talent earlier! Lakki barges in, ‘Uncle, test who can spell three long words?’ Last year, before Satyam and Shilpi moved to this neighbourhood, uncle had helped Lakki learn a few long words – chrysanthemum, bougainvillea, crocodile, etc. Shilpi is not yet assertive enough to make herself heard, but when only Sheetal is around and hogs all the conversation, she asks Sheetal to keep her stories short, and not so long as to reach Dilli, and occasionally asks her to shut up.

Every now and then, especially when the ‘teacher’ is telling an interesting story, to secure a vantage position there is much jockeying including a little shove and push and stepping on the other’s foot, too. The boys try to elbow the girls away – Hey, kids! Teacher is explaining serious stuff; move away, you’re too small to ‘get’ it! Teacher has made a rule – the younger ones stay closer than the older ones, but the rule is often broken when the story is interesting.

Teacher is often flummoxed. How to design the brief session on the road for such a disparate group of kids in Class- KG II, 1, 2, and 3; ensuring freshness and variety for each session, and retaining focus and attention despite multiple distractions – speeding bikes and cars, keeping the Labrador from rushing at other pets or stray dogs?

Life concerns often intrude into the session.

Shilpi says – Uncle, do you know, Satyam was punished today for not doing his homework?

Uncle: How? By a cane?

Shilpi: No, a slap, but really hard. Bhaiya wept.

Sheetal – Uncle, do you know why Lakki is absent from the class? He’s playing with Papa’s mobile.

Uncle: Tell him it will damage his eyes, and his dimag will be filled with bhusha. Doesn’t your father stop him?

Sheetal: He begs- Papa, please let me play a game for ten minutes only. He never returns the phone in ten minutes!

Satyam: My uncle in Bihar has a big camera, and a drone, too. He records videos for shadis. On 12^th May at 5 in the morning, we will board the train, Papa told, to go to Patna. He has bought the tickets already. Then we’ll take a bus to reach Chhapra in two hours.

Uncle: On your return, tell me the major towns you passed by.

Satyam: Oh, that’s easy, the mobile phone tells the town we are passing by and whether the train is running late.

Shilpi – My naani will buy me a lehenga to wear for Mama’s marriage, and dance. I look very cute in a red lehenga. I’ll show you the video of my dance when we return. Do you think my hair is long enough now? (She had a full-head tonsure two months ago; the growth is good, but will take time to be as long as it was before it was shed.)

Uncle: Your new hair is jet black, and you’re a pretty girl, and you dance so very well. Everyone will love your dance.

Satyam: When I grow up, I will own a 5-star hotel.

Uncle – Only one?

Satyam – First, one; more later. Do you know what Lakki wants?

Uncle – No, I don’t.

Satyam – I will earn a lot of money, and then buy uncle’s house, he said.

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