First Day at School

The first day at school is always painful. Leaving the comfort of your home and being shoved into a uniform that still smells of the shop shelves was no easy task. Kittu cried and tried his best to get out of it, but his efforts did not succeed.

His parents wanted the best for him, and St. Patrick’s was the best school in town. Getting admitted there was next to impossible. Somehow, Captain Naidu managed it. The fact that he was the cantonment officer in Deoli and in charge of the Army Officers Mess was not important. It was his closeness with the GOC that secured the nod from the strict Sisters at St. Patrick’s.

Kittu, or Krishna Prasad Naidu, would be starting in lower kindergarten, or LKG. It was the first step in a long line of classes that he was sure would never end. His elder brother, Shyama Prasad Naidu, was three years his senior. Shyamu, as he was called at home, was in the first standard and loved school. Kittu had hoped for some support from his brother, so he tried to talk to him about it.

“I do not want to go to school,” said Kittu.

His brother was watching TV. The boys loved watching cartoons. Tom and Jerry were funny, but today Kittu just could not bring himself to watch. He had to repeat the comment twice before his brother heard him.

“What?” Shyamu said, then went back to watching TV.
“I do not want to go to school,”

“Why?”

“Why do both of us have to go to school? You can go,” said Kittu.

“What will you do?”

“Sit at home. Watch TV. Play with toys.Mummy would be alone if both of us go.”

Shyamu thought about this for a while. 

“I can sit at home and watch TV.”

Kittu did not expect the conversation to turn in this direction. 

Kittu knew his mother would not budge. His father was scary and could get angry if provoked beyond a point. Kittu felt all alone in the world, with no one to support him and no one ready to save him from the clutches of the evil school that was waiting to devour him.

St. Patrick’s was not far off. It was half a kilometer from D4 – Dhondy Road, where the Naidus lived. In fact, you could see the whole school from the D4 kitchen.

Ram Singh, Captain Naidu’s sevadar or orderly, was tasked with delivering Kittu to the school every day of the week. Shyama was also in the same school but preferred the company of his friends. All the children on Dhondy Road went to St. Patrick’s. Dhondy Road was in the Army Cantonment area. A kilometer on the main road and the cantonment area would end, and the village would start. The village of Bhangar also contributed to the students of St. Patrick’s, but the majority of students at St. Patrick’s were children of Army personnel. Deoli, after all, was an important Army post.

The next day started bright and too early, according to Kittu. He held back tears as his mother dressed him for school.He watched as his brother put on his school uniform in a corner all on his own. Shyamu was a big boy and behaved like one. The school uniform for the St. Patrick’s LKG section was distinct. Light brown-coloured shorts and a half sleeve neatly tucked-in shirt. Kittu’s mother kissed her son, thinking he looked very cute in his new school uniform.

“Pay attention in class. Today is your first day in school,” she said.

Ram Singh had a strong grip. The walk to school took about ten minutes. He handed Kittu over to the Sister in charge of LKG and went back. The school rules were strict. Those accompanying the children had to leave them at the school gates. Kittu was now on his own. He stood there watching himself trapped between the massive gray coloured gates on one side and huge school walls on the other. He was about to start crying when he heard a voice.

“Come with me, child,” it was one of the Sisters. She led Kittu up a flight of stairs to a room. “Krishna Prasad Naidu, this is your classroom and this is where you will sit,” said the Sister as led him to the center of the class. 

All around him, he saw children his age. They all looked scared. This reassured Kittu. He was not the only one worried about school. 

“Put the bag on the desk.” said the sister and Kittu meekly obeyed. He was not sure what to do next. 

“What is your name?” a voice from the next desk made Kittu turn in that direction.

It was a boy with glasses.

“Kittu.”

“I am David,” said the boy. “Do you like sweets?”

Kittu nodded. David had smuggled in two toffees in his pocket.

“It was my birthday yesterday. Here take one.Now you are my best friend”

The sisters managing the class were busy checking the names of the new students and getting them in the correct seats. They did not notice the two boys eating sweets in the middle of the class. 

Kittu looked at the walls around him. There was a huge black board right in the middle of the wall facing them. Above it was a clock. KIttu did not know how to tell the time. On the wall to his left were photos of animals. On the walls to the right were photos of old people. One of the photos reminded him of his grandfather. Grandfather was funny. He always told him stories when he came to their house. Grandfather also slept a lot. He made a loud noise when he slept. It felt like something was loose in his nose. 

The thought of his grandfather made Kittu smile. He wondered when he would come again.

“My grandfather tells me nice stories,” he told David. “Do you want to hear one? It is about a mouse and a rabbit.”

“Tell me two stories.”

The two friends were busy talking and swapping stories and forgot all about where they were.