THE FADING ECHO…
-
Kishori Soni (India)
Life teaches us more than the books and
beyond the capacity of reading. Fortunately, I started as a teacher where it is
all about reading and learning but my first day will remain always special
because it touched the remotest core of my heart. It is not always the poetry
that has to be recollected in tranquility but any emotion that takes its course
towards the expression expressed in words or action. Such is the story of a
girl whose tears still haunts me whenever I remember my first day of service.
I always wanted to be a teacher because
one can change the life path of a student or a person and with this zeal I
started my day. In one of the classes of literature I touched upon the concept
of gender inequality citing examples from Indian families. It was just a
real-life example that in some family girls are treated like secondary objects and the boys are the real priorities who gets all the
facilities, comfort and attention. More than the example it is a reality that
in most of the families it is evident in their daily lives that too almost
unconsciously boys get all the creamy affairs of the daily lives for example
mothers take care of the nutrition of the son more than the daughters by
providing a glass of milk to the son or male members of the families. Boys are
allowed to shout or talk back. They are the ones whose complains are taken
seriously. Boys can ask for anything without hesitation and is considered as an
important member of the family. But this is not the case with the girls in most
of the houses. It is very sad to write that the pain of the girls is almost
negligible in the patriarchal families where they face daily discrimination and
they don’t even speak against that. They are considered as a burden if not then
just a helping member in the daily chores of the house. It is really
heartbreaking when we see mothers providing extra care and nurture to the boys
than the girls who too need nutrition as they go through menstruation every
month. With the sun dawn the girl is expected to wake up and start helping her
mother where in contrast extra care is taken not to disturb the son in his
sleep. These might seem an overt expression showing the Indian families being
too discriminatory but in real life it remains hidden in the name of custom and
culture followed in the society where the girl has to learn everything
including subsiding her desires and pain altogether to maintain peace in the
family. My example was just a warm up practice to draw students in the
discussion but somewhere in the middle of the class room a girl seemed immersed
in some thoughts and before I could call her to speak something a tear fell
down on her cheek. I stopped for a moment to understand the situation but
within a flash of moment she started crying bitterly and went out of the class
as the bell rang.
She never expressed the reason even
after so many attempts and with the advent of time the incident faded away but
still after twenty years, I do recall that moment which remained as an
unpleasant moment of my first day of teaching.
I still search for the answer whether the girl with tear was the victim
of such gender inequality or she felt the anguish and pain of being a girl
where she might not be the victim but can feel the pain that lies unconsciously
and universally? It is not always about the inequality and discrimination that
lies in the families but also in the society, different communities and
workplaces that needs to be discussed, shared as well as understood.
My teaching gave me many experiences,
not so forgetful, deeply seated in my heart.
****