Rathin Bhattacharjee

RNB's Diary
6.07 AM
Saturday

I Am Truly Humbled

By the time I got back home, I was completely exhausted. Besides, Virat played a blinder and that put paid to whatever urge I had to write about one of the most love-fun-filled days of my life. It all started like this :
When the English Teacher, Tamal Chowdhury Sir entered the Principal's Office at around 3.10 in the afternoon, I enquired if they had arranged any vehicle for getting back to Bagnan from school. He informed me that our Chairman Sir had a bus arranged for the teachers returning home from Jaipur.
At around 3.20, while I waited for the teachers to sign their departure timings in the Attendance Register, a couple of them asked me to hurry up. Shuvra Madam even told me that they would wait for me outside. I signed in the Register, left the Principal's Room, headed towards the bio-metric for pressing in my fingerprint, found a couple of teachers there, ran back up to my room, picked up the bags and scampered down the stairs. The school car was waiting outside. As I headed to the car, I could see that it was packed to capacity. OK, I'll manage somehow. Either I'll find a bus or some other means of reaching till Bagnan, I thought to myself.
"You won't find anything," Mr. Priyabrata Samanta, the eldest son of our Chairman said to me. So, I didn't want to take any more chances and peeped inside the pool car. It was packed. Tamal Sir, a very nice human being, having noticed me, got out almost immediately. Then I heard another teacher, Madam Poulami, remarking that they would all get out of the car to make way for me.
Next moment, it was Sourav Sir, our PT teacher, speaking,"Wait Sir, I'll reach you till Bagnan." Can you believe it, dear Reader? Bagnan is some 50 minutes ride from Joypur. I heard his equally large-hearted wife, Sangita Madam, muttering next, "Why, you can reach Sir upto Khalna and come back to pick me up!"
It was only then that I decided to run away from the scene. Sourav Sir once reached me till Khalna to help me catch the bus. The way he drove his bike in the rain in front of the bus waiting at the turning there, will always be etched in my memory.
I was trotting away when I bumped into Priyanka Madam, the Mother Teacher of Nursery near the Gates.
"Madam, are you going home walking?" and finding her nodding, I continued," Can I come with you." She nodded her head again, smiling before suggesting that I could get to Khalna by a Toto and get into the school car from there as a few teachers would get off the car by then. But inorder to get into the school car, I had to make a call to the driver. I quickened my walking pace then. I had also seen, on turning my head that Tamal Sir and three other teachers heading towards our direction. I bade a hasty 'good bye' to Madam Priyanka and broke into a trot.
A bike came from behind and stopped beside me.
"Sir, get on. I'll reach you there." The helmetted rider cried out from inside his helmet. It was Saikat Sir, another favourite Teacher working at St. Xavier's Public School, Joypur. I tried not to trouble him but he kept on telling me that it was no trouble and asked me how he could ride on while finding his senior walking like the way I was. He even asked me if I had any problems riding on his bike. Finding me denying his request still, he asked me to wait and made a U-turn back to our school. He came back after 5/10 minutes and started entreating me to get on to his bike again. I saw Tamal Sir with the other three teachers coming from behind and told Saikat Sir not to worry any more as I would go along with them.
Saikat Sir left me only after that once he was sure that I had company!
We had hardly walked a few steps when an Auto halted beside us. ( "We found the car the moment we met you, Sir." Poulami Madam's witty one-liner would also stay with me for long.) As luck would have it (surprise of surprises?), it was going to Bagnan. I had to sit beside the driver while the rest squeezed themselves into the back of the Auto. Though it started raining after a while, it was a pleasant ride as I looked up ahead at the gloomy sky and the vast stretches of the green fields on both sides of the road.
Bagnan is a wonderful place. As we were nearing our destination, I heard Shuvra Madam's teaser. "Sir, the Head is supposed to be the roof over us teachers, especially in times of trouble like this, but here we found you running away!"
At Bagnan, we had tea from a tea-shop by courtesy of the ever so friendly Tamal Sir. As we were moving towards the station, Pallab Sir, our new Physics Teacher wanted to accompany me to the station. I tried to stop him but he said that he had to wait for tuition and had enough time in his hand.
Sitting on the concrete seat at the station, he talked about his family; late father, Mr Amal Ganguli, a prominent leader of the erstwhile Left Front; his mother and the subsequent dilemma.
I was listening to his tale so raptly that I didn't hear the Howrah-bound train trooping in. It was Pallab Sir who brought me out of his spell and urged me to get inside fast as they train stopped at the station. As the train started moving again, I looked out of the window to find Pallab Sir looking back at me, smiling.
"Sir, I'll listen to the rest of your story shortly." I cried out from inside. I don't know if Sir could hear me but as I looked around, the faces of my fellow passengers appeared so loving and caring like never before!
Thank God for bringing me to Bagnan, for letting me get acquainted with all these kind, loving and wonderful people. I had a feeling that happiness was bound to elude me after my departure from The Happiness Country.
Thank God for letting me be truly happy amidst such lovely people even after leaving Bhutan some 5 years back.
I am truly humbled.