Noses dripped rigorously… Hankies were pinned to the shirt pockets as they stood in-line…  White chaddis which looked just out of a TIDE advertisement some half an hour back was now no less than the khakis… Socks which stood tall till the knees (held by a rubber-band) were now hanging out of the shoes like an eighty-year-old’s lips… One of the sissy ones stood there crying for mamma as he fell with a “fresh ‘n red” big bruise on his knee… and oh… “Drippings” from his nose served the purpose of first aid (gross? tell that to the kids!!!)… And yes… there was a separate line for the frocks…  Clean ‘n White frocks… Socks which still had their life intact with the elastics, stayed elegantly at their knees… Some had a whole basket of fresh flowers pinned to their twin plaits and the rest had scarves as if they might find themselves in the midst of a snow-storm anytime (Mothers are to blame for that fashion disaster..!) … Various kinds of bindis adored their foreheads… Scattered patches of “talcum powder” were the highlight on almost all their faces..!! The contradictions between the sexes had started all the way back then…!

“SILENCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE” screamed the Head Sister like an Opera Singer from the stage (she didn’t even realize the mike wasn’t ON yet… she didn’t really need one though) and it took less than 2 seconds to make a line which couldn’t happen from last half an hour!!!

“My dear children, Good Morning… Do you know why we have all assembled in the ground this beautiful morning?” asked the sister with a generously broad smile but the glasses that somehow managed to balance itself on the tip of her nose negated that smile.

Every single chaddi and frock on the ground screamed from the top of their voices in chorus “It is Independence Day, Sister”!!! And after the main answer came many subsequent answers followed which ranged from “Chocolates”… “Cakes”… “Chocolates” … “Dance”… “Chocolates” … “Flags”… “Chocolates”…. “Chocolates” … “Chocolates” … to mention very few and no prizes for guessing what their favorite was..! Some were just too excited to say anything and they just joined the chorus and made “sounds” which resembled other kids’ answers…!

The next two hours were spent in listening to many “Dignitaries” on-stage giving their speeches about India’s Freedom Struggle and how India should be grateful to our Freedom Fighters… they all preached on how we should develop a nature to love our nation… most of them forgot that it’s a school stage and not a stage to perform at a theatre… Theatrics and Nautanki was the major take-away from most of their speeches.

The last speaker introduced by the Head Sister was an old guy… by old… I mean… very old…! He seemed older than the whole “concept” of getting old…! He was wearing a simple white kurta-pajama..! As the cliché goes, he had to be a freedom fighter…! Turns out… he actually was one..! Head Miss introduced him as one of the participant of Dandi March.. (Very few nerds at school knew about Dandi march back then) By this time, all that the kids were concerned were those big boxes beside the stage which they knew were filled with chocolates…!

“My dearest children… How many of you want the chocolates in those boxes…?” asked the kurta guy from the stage in a subtle yet loud enough voice..! Since his question had THE buzz word in it, a loud response followed.. All of them shouted yet again in chorus “Yes yes… me me…” and most of them had their hands raised… and a few teaching staff had their hands raised by default! (was it the power of chocolates or was it just our fixation for free stuff… well… who cares..!)

Just then, he spoke again… “I will give you all these chocolates, but on one condition… No one of you will be able to go back home to your mothers today… You have to stay in this school without your mother…!”

This statement again had another buzz word which every kid over there could recognize… one by one all the hands started to drop… within seconds they were all staring at each other’s faces restlessly and then at the gate searching for the face they believed wouldn’t leave them…! The sissy kid with the wound who had forgotten about his wound was now back in the verge of a major tear-burst, followed by vocals of course!

This is when the old guy just walked away from the mike and went to the Head Mistress and whispered… “Did you see that sister..? They are no different from all of the Freedom Fighters… they are not ready to give up seeing their mother even for a day to have something as precious as boxes of chocolates…! I was just like this when I fought for my mother… We don’t have to teach them anything… All you have to do is make sure that they don’t lose what they already have it in their genes… it’s the love… for their Mother”

It took almost an hour before the school teachers could convince the children that their parents were just outside the gate; and that they could go ahead and eat their chocolates. The Head Sister had a little tear-drop as she smiled at the one man who spoke just two lines and made the most impact; and this time… not for the kids… but the teachers and “dignitaries” who were trying to teach the kids something which they needed to be taught… by the kids of course.

Loads of words about freedom struggle and endless theatrics about loving one’s nation couldn’t do it… but a few frocks, chaddis and chocolates did the trick…!