Life’s Uncertainty

“When youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies

Where but to think to be full of sorrow

And leaden-eyed despairs”

 (an extract from the poem Ode to a nightingale) 

Grasshopper and money…?

These days we can find lots of grasshoppers around our resident especially in the evening. Grasshoppers vary in size and colours and sometimes they even find their way into my kitchen which is very annoying.

My association with Tom and Jerry

Every time I enter my kitchen, I am greeted by a huge faded sticker of Jerry with his tongue sticking out and his hands on his ears like he is jeering at me just like he does to Tom in the cartoon series.  I cannot really recollect how it found its place on my refrigerator’s door but it always brings smile on my lips whenever I open and close the kitchen door. The sticker looks faded now but it never fails to bring smile on my lips even today. Sometimes I name my children Tom and Jerry because of the nuisance they make out of nothing just to gain my attention.

Random truth

My nine year old son reads and collects twinkle comics and ever since we had been transferred here, he had been buying a copy each from the only shop that sells comics every time we go for an evening stroll to the shop. I too flip through some copies sometimes when I don’t have any task at hand. While flipping through a copy, I came across a story about a Pundit (Hindu scholar) who found a bird’s feather stuck on his teeth while eating a meal. Now the Pundits are supposed to be a vegetarian and he didn’t tell about the incident to anyone at first. Later he disclosed it to his wife who in turn told her friends about the incident and the story passed through many mouths with various additions. The feather became wings, the wings became a bird and the bird became a flock of birds that flew out of the pundit’s mouth. Imagine the plight of the Pundit when he found his neighbours banging his front door demanding to see the nest of the birds in his mouth.

MY HEART REJOICES

The cell buzzed as I was coming out of the class. I looked at the number and found that the caller was a friend. She doesn’t usually call me without any reason so I picked up the phone and asked her the reason. She shouted excitedly “Our King is getting married”. “Hey, hey, cool down and tell me the whole story” I asked and she went into details about the announcement made by His Majesty at the end of the inaugural address at the seventh session of Parliament in the morning of 20^th May (yesterday) in Thimphu.

Time to buckle up!

The first half of the academic session is almost drawing an end and we are urging our students to keep revising their lesson because no matter what talents they have, at the end it is their academic marks that counts. The rescheduling of LG elections had even brought the exams closer. Now the timetable is out and it’s time to get to the books. As my students get serious with their books I too try to refer some notes because I too have my share of exams.

The wrong number

The cell phone ringing near my bed woke me from the deep slumber. I put on the light to see the time. The clock on the wall read 11.15pm. Picking up the phone, I responded and came to know that the caller was a woman. She didn't wait to know who was receiving her call and went on with her babble for a few minutes. Hearing her babble in Sharchop, I could make out that she was from some rural area in the east. I couldn't cut off the phone and could speak since she didn't give me a chance to do so. She called me "nimin" (sister) and went on with her sad tale. After sometime, I asked her where she was calling from and she responded saying that she was calling from home. I had to interrupt her by saying that she was talking to the wrong person but she said that the number belonged to her sister. I politely asked her to check the number again and switched off the cell . I didn't want to get anymore midnight calls from some unknown number.

Her ever-changing hobbies

My children are growing and their interests seem to change every few months like the change of seasons. “What is the mother supposed to do?” is the question that I almost always ask myself. For instant, at this time last year, my twelve year daughter seemed like a voracious reader when she finished the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer in a month. Even I took a little longer time to finish the books. After that she was keen into music and every time I allowed her access to the net, she was busy downloading the songs and learning lyrics.

Celebrating Teacher’s day!

With abating breath we had waited for the day, the day dedicated to the teacher’s of Bhutan. Many text messages and calls were exchanged and I felt elated since it was our day, the day to reflect on our achievements and failures and to rededicate ourselves to serve our students better.

Being a teacher

As the teacher’s day draw close, my cell rings continuously with my friends and students calling me to wish for the day. Some text messages and some send mails.