I thought of a classroom which drowns the
existence of ‘is this a fish market?’.
I’d like to believe she is proud of everyone’s voice.
All she converses with us is in AAAAAAAAAAAAA.
In the past she won a thumbs up from thunderstorm.
She has a habit of throwing things down —
down staircase, down corridor, down balcony.
In the last six months her mother’s slippers,
my shoes, her chappals, toffee wrappers,
tiny curls of Maggi still hanging on as exclamations
the surprise lasted all the while till they hit the floor
then it was just a rain drop. These days soft toy Ms.
Dog,
katoris, steel dinner plates, nokia phone,
have all resonated different distances,
heights and sounds.
She walks up the stairs one foot at a time
Tries to startle the stairs by asking it to come along.
On the last step, her Majesty turns to look around
Enquiring with one finger if the steps have followed her
footsteps.
Nobody does.
Then she slides down the railings.
Asking once again stairs, to learn from her.
Vibrations are still trapped between railings.
It is only the school bag of her sister she doesn’t throw
away.
Her idea of school has made us all protect our questions.
All she keeps replying in is ‘ohmygod’
It all happened suddenly.
One noon, she started saying ‘ohmygod’
as soon as she saw the sky divide itself in two margins –
one side white, one side blue.
She can make things fly so hard
A cloud comes to her house everyday
To ask whether she would enroll
In a project involving clapping.
She turns out to have most attendance.
She catches a busy wind
carrying the sea in her mouth
A mouth which may not be as wide as the sky
but she tries her best to eat sky or the ocean.
Her voice makes it so clear that she wants to be
reflected by the clouds
Be enchanted by whatever makes us
& believe in this silly possibility of monsoon
even though there was only a little chance
of downpour, that day.
...
A long time ago my teacher had announced
Today the discussion will be led by the cupboard.
All 40 heads turned in the direction of wood and the latch.
Anything was possible even at that time.