Shools in Kerala reopens in the first week of June. The last week of may would certainly be a period of mini celebration. Parents and kids crowd around the shops buying school uniform, books,pencils etc for the new term.
The kids will be going from shop to shop collecting name labels. I collected my name labels from Jacob stores near the Kottayam post office. This time I got purple edge name labels, which the uncle at the shop told me is a rare one. I was waiting for the school tom reopen so I can show my friends my unique name labels.
Although most children get new items, I get nothing new. Because my growth is stunted, I get to wear the previous years uniform and my text books are all borrowed from our neighbour’s children who are older than me. I also got Maria’s old pencil case and Amma told me
“ofcourse it is an old pencil case, but no one in your class has seen it yet, so it is new for your friends”.
Amma was sitting at the dining table wrapping all the old books in new brown paper wrapper.
“Akkachi, make some maida(plain flour) glue”. Amma instructed.
I watched Akkachi mixing maida with water and cooking it on fire till it thickend. she placed the thickened mixture on a saucer and i took it to amma.
Amma already filled the name labels. I took each label, applied the maida glue at the back and stuck the name label on all the brown paper wrapped books.
While I was fixing the labels I remembered the shoes. Stanley Memorial school was implementing new dress code for students and it was decided at the last PTA meeting that beginning the new school year, on every monday all the students would wear black shoes. I was so excited to get a new black shoes.
I asked amma”when are we going to Corona shoe shop?”
“for what?” She asked me
“to buy the black shoes for me?”
“I already got you a pair of black shoes”
I was so excited to know I got new shoes. Amma must have bought it for me when I was in Chengannur.
“Show me, please show me”I pestered her
I followed amma to her room to see my new shoes and to try it on.
Amma took the shoes from under her bed, that is when I saw it. It was the dirtiest shoes I ever saw. The seams were coming off from the edges and there was hardly any soles left on the shoes.
I looked at the shoes and at my mother.
“I am not wearing this old shoes”.I told her
“Too bad”, she shrugged her shoulder,”don’t wear if you don’t want to, you are the one who is going to be punished for not wearing the shoes”.
Amma called Akkachi ” can you clean it and polish it for Nina”
Akkachi took the shoes from Amma’s hands and went to the kitchen.
I remembered the 5RS note Ammachi gave me and thought of going to the shop by myself and buy a new pair of shoes.
I wasn’t sure how much money I needed, so I went to the kitchen to find Akkachi.
“Akkachi, how much does a new pair of shoes cost?”
“must be about RS30.” she replied.
I showed her the money I have and asked”how much more do I need Akkachi?”
That is when Amma walked in to the kitchen
“Where did you get the 5RS from Nina?” She asked me
“Ammachi gave me”
“Give me the money” She told me
“No, this is my money, my grandmother gave me”.
“Children are not supposed to play with money”. She snatched the money from my hand.
Name labels
In the 70’s most children in Kerala had collections of name labels. something similar to the one in the picture, but not sticker type.The label will hv four lines, name, standarad,subject and school. And the parent with a better handwriting, in my case my mother, would fill it up neatly and stick each label on the books.
http://www.horchow.com/products/mf/HCS0158_mf.jpg
I remember covering my books with brown paper aall sond putting the labels in the front,my dad would help us..It was very exciting to show your friends all the new books and pencils. I also got used books and uniforms.I always wanted a new Compass box but never got one, only the handme downs.
I know being younger means handme downs.
In my teens I started grwoing taller than sis and that ended handme downs.
We used to cover and atick labels the week b4 school and mom would say who ever kept the book cleanest till end of the term wud get some kind of treat, Chechi alwayz got it.
It’s sad that the summer at Chengannur with Ammachi ended so fast. Talking of schools reopening, it was indeed great fun with all things new and we used to collect and exchange name slips and stickers in class.
yeah.. before going to school, everyone will be excited as we will be getting new dress, shoes, books labels,…!!.. But the way things went for you.. feel really sad..! Still thinking is it a fiction.. that parents treat like that..!! but seem to absorb lot of hardship from your childhood..
Do you remember that “Petty” we used to hv? instead of modern bags and all…I was one of the few lucky last ones to use ’em…Camel Instrument box, everyones fav….these labels every one used to collect and show others…ohh gosh…those were the real days..
cud u pls tell somthin abt ur famly? hus, kidz?
Starrynights:I wanted one of those persian pencil box, the one with a magnet
Thanu:imagine my youngest sister.. she had to wear clothes tht were so ‘old’fashioned
Arjun:I still hv some of those labels from my childhood.
Sujit:my mother hd 4 daughters..and in a way i understood her phobia.. she needed huge amount of money for the ‘dowry’
q8techdrive:I hd the aluminium petti..most of the kids hd silver colour..mine was blue..and much as i tried to destry/break/damage inorder to get a new one..it survived!! till i was in the 8th
Mathew:one day!!
You called your Mom as Amma ?
BTW:You didn’t answer my querry ?
Mom does that too!! She would tell us ‘kids should not keep money’ and would take the money from us.
And she would tell us, write and keep so when grow old enough, she will return the money.I always forgot about it but my sis would keep records and every now and then she would remind my mom of the accruing amount. My mom would then say “Oh avalude oru kanakku, appo ninne theettunnathinum padippikkanenum njaan aarude aduthu kanakkinu povum?” hehehe..
I remember we used to fight for the balarama and the poompatta since the june editiosn would have the name labels with Mayavi etc. And one time I was ‘rich’ enough to buy labels that would stick by itself and that was like winning a million dollars.
You went to school in Kerala, not M’sia?
Aaaw poor nina..no new shoes and now no money which grandma gave so lovingly *sob*
I remember my cousin sis applying a paste of boiled rice as gum.She used to call it “choru pasha” hahaaha
I was the oldest kid for my parents and they never knew they would have another one because it took them a long time to have me.So I got everything brand new but I wasn’t spoilt.
Sad that vacation is over. Ammachi was so nice!
Anyway, lets go to school 🙂
aargh you just reminded me of the nice vacations in Kerala followed by the horrible scamper before school.
Luckily never had to worry about hand me downs as my I have elder brothers. But the second bro had to :)) He used to hate it!!! lol
Hope you got back the money from Akkachi. How mean of her to take away your money!!!
Jac: In Malaysia it was more ‘mak’ when we came to kerala, it became amma..
LG:I too remember the balarama and poompatta labels.
ann:I had very interesting childhood. Kindergarten and Primary one in chinese school, primary 2 to primary 5 in malay school, std 5 to 10 in Malayalam school and then pre degree in english!!!
Maya: We too used to choru pasha to stick envelopes..
Pophabhi:yep
Silverine:Akkachi didn’t take the money..it was amma who snatched it from me.