Minor's Intellections

Chapter-2

Atul was happy to see her smiling and waving back, "It always feels nice when someone smiles back" he thought. He reached the school in little time and got along with his friends. But still a little of him was busy thinking of something else and so he didn't give his ears to his friends much and to whatever they said, they discussed mostly about cartoons,story books and a little of sports. "I got a new bat" said one of his friends named Rohan and everyone except Atul started intriguing him on the make and details of the bat. Soon they got back to the class and took their places.  

Atul sat next to Jishnu, they were thick friends. Atul is the chubby fellow, got penetrating looks, yeah very much thoughtful boy, mostly silent, stays at the same place every class and a little attentive as well. Jishnu is the naughty, eccentric and electric kid, keeps shifting his place every class, disturbs the class but he is the one who gives life to the whole class. Both Atul and Jishnu are the favorites of most of the teachers. Though their acts seem contrary they make good friends. At the age of six you don't really know much about friendship but if someone asks Atul "Who is your best friend ?" and he would be fast to respond with the answer "Jishnu" and the same happens with Jishnu. They had created some kind of an internal bond that had kept them close and perhaps more closer. 

Anne teacher had come in, "Good Morning Miss" the whole class would uniformly wish her and "Good Morning Children" she would wish back. This has been a routine affair between them. Anne teacher has been in this profession of nurturing these young children for over 2 decades now, and still she loves what she does and does it with the utmost sincerity. Every single child in that class loves her, and she would be the first one they invite for their birthdays and give chocolates. She would take them to the assembly ground every week, narrate stories, recite poems to them. They loved to listen to her stories. 

"Dear children, today i am going to ask you about your ambitions. I want all of you to think of it and tell me" Anne teacher said. Suddenly the whole silence transformed into some discussions. Atul and Jishnu were talking to each other. Rohan, James and Azhar were discussing as well. The atmosphere had become a lot more thoughtful for many who knew about ambitions;it seemed dull for the ones who didn't know much about ambitions;some of them had a mixed feeling, especially the ones whose parents always spoke of them being doctors and engineers.

 Anne teacher interrupted them for a while "Ambitions are your long term goals. They are aspirations. You should be living to achieve them and that will make you a successful person. This is the time for you to start thinking about ambitions. They give us ideas on how to lead our life, plan your future. So i want all of you to decide on your ambitions" she continued "As a young child my ambition was to become a teacher. I was inspired by my grandma who was a great teacher of her times. As a kid i grew up seeing her as a teacher and said to myself that i would be a teacher as well. I took her as an inspiration. And now i am a teacher. I have been teaching for 20 years. I love what i am doing and that makes me happy". 

Not every child in the class understood her conversation fully. But then they recognized the importance of the term 'ambition' and that is just what Anne teacher wanted, despite knowing that they are too young for the challenges ahead she put forward them, that is why Anne teacher is different, different from the rest. She was one who wanted the children to be practical and know the realities of life. "So now let us start from Aashik". Aashik got up quick, he is among the ones who understood a bit of what Anne teacher spoke of, a fatty in himself he is very fond of wrestling and so it didn't take him much longer to say "Miss i want to be a wrestle-man. I want to be like " and sat. The rest of the class had a mixed feeling, Anne miss had a gentle smile. She always expected such answers from them, but as time goes by she knew it would change. But the ones who stay static in their childhood ambitions were more probable to succeed. "Its not wrestle-man Aashik, a person who wrestles is called a wrestler, w-r-e-s-t-l-e-r" she spelled it.

All the young minds were curious and excited to announce their ambitions, Rohan the cricket lover wanted to be "Sachin". "Rohan you can better Sachin, i am sure. But Sachin would be your inspiration" Anne miss said knowing Rohans passion for cricket even at this age. There were many who wanted to be cricketers. "I want to be a soldier" was Jishnu's answer. Anne miss was happy to hear that. "I want to fight for my country like my uncle" he continued.Jishnus uncle is a martyr, there was patriotism in his words. The whole class applauded Jishnu, Anne miss was the first one. And post Jishnu a few others also wanted to be soldiers and Anuj the son of a police personnel wanted to be a policeman. Many wanted to be doctors and engineers as well, just one footballer. Among girls "I want to be a teacher like you" gained the majority. Anne miss always seemed delighted hearing that. All this while Atul was listening to his friends and their ambitions. Atul hadn't decided on his ambition yet. "I will answer tomorrow miss" was his sincere reply, the thoughtful look in his eyes meant he hadn't decided and so Anne miss accepted his plea. "Alright Atul, tell us tomorrow". She knew that unlike other children Atul made firm plans and hence he took his time.

Anne miss's class got over by then, the rest of the day was not as interesting as hers except for the P.T period they had. P.T periods were always fun, they enjoyed jogging around the ground, the exercises and playing some outdoor games as well. And at the end of the day they bid bye to all their classmates, set of for their homes. Atul had decided to talk to his dad and mom about his ambition, he knew that they would be able to help him. He was confused, he wanted to be someone who could do good for the community. His dad always spoke of bad people ruling our nation, he wanted to be someone good among that bad and then turn the bad guys into good. He wanted to be the different among the usual.

He was keen to get back home, but that didn't bury the thoughts on the boy who could not afford ambitions, who had to work for his parents at this young age. Atul's eyes were searching for his unknown friend, the friend whom he feels sorry for, the friend whom he considers unlucky, the friend who is responsible. And he saw him, he felt great. Atul looked at the boy with respect, he was keen to know if that friend of his ever noticed him, but the poor kid was busy at work. Atul smiled hoping it would reach his friend. The rest of the journey was the same thoughtful one for Atul. He was eager to get back home and talk to his parents. His dad gets back home an hour after Atul, mom is the home-maker. So Atul always had the company of his mom, but he wanted both of them together to hear him,  play with him, talk to him. His mom was anxiously waiting for her sons arrival. As soon as the boy reached his place, Atul bid bye to his bus mates and got down.

His mom was happy to receive her son, her lone day at the house gets a bail when he is around and that always makes her happy. That is always the among the most happy things for every parent, to see their children around and seeing them happy. Atul was happy in his world. He held his mom's hand and took her back home, seemed as if he is her caretaker, it was a nice scene to watch. They got back home and finished his evening chores like having snacks and freshening up and stuffs and was anxiously waiting for his dad to arrive. Finally his dad arrived, Atul was excited. He gave his dad some time to relax after his busy office schedule. Then he went to the kitchen and held his mom's hand and brought her to the hall, that was where his dad was having his cup of tea. " Dad i want to talk about my ambition" Atul said.

(Will be continued)