MY slam Book---school Days

My Slam Book
Shantajit's random stories
School Days.

I started keeping a slam book when i was in 8 standard,at an age of 14 years. I was surprised and elated when i finally found it among the piles of useless things lying inside my old cupboard, while searching for some document . I had a quick look at my profile and my eyes stuck on one line:Aim in life:-i had written , “ to become a Doctor”.

Little did i realize that one day i will study medicine to become a Doctor.
There are many instances in my life which have played a big role in my entire life.
Well, i don't exactly remember all the instances but some instances remain in my mind as vivid as a fresh lime.

“ son , your entrance exam result has been out,”Dad proclaimed, “ But you didn't get through it”.That was when i was searching for a school to start my schooling. But my parents persisted with my case.

“ Father,Please admit my son. All his cousin are studying here. He will face problem if he studies in another school”, pleaded my dad.

I remember the Principal Father Mathew asking me some easy basic questions near the nursery class.
“ what is your name?” asked Father Mathew.

I was in a pensive mood and with a gulp of saliva in my mouth , spine shivering , i finally blurted out my name.
“ sir...., my name is Nameirakpam shantajit”.

He was reluctant at first to grant me admission but he agreed after heavy persuasion from my dad.

This incident happened 18 years back, when i went to get admitted in one of the most prestigious school of Imphal, “ St.Joseph' s school”, which produced lots of toppers in the HSLC exam. So i became a Josephite.

Our nursery class consisted of 120 students. It think it was hell loose for the teachers to control us at that time. i was one of the students who had a heavy build up , so i was made to sit in the last benches always. At the same time, my dad had to finished his studies in Gujarat and my mom was doing her B.Sc course, they had little time for me and i usually spent my time alone . you won't believe how i learned those a,b,c...i never did any homework . Even now, i have lots of cursive writing books lying vacant in my cupboard wanted to throw them away but mom is insisting me to keep them for my little siblings.

I don't know how i was promoted to the next class . But one incident in 3rd standard changed my life.
“ stand outside. You can't even read your lessons, how will you study it”, shouted our Manipuri teacher sir Joy. Sir joy happened to be our disciplinary &Physical Trainer .He would always give punishments for small things. All students ,except few select use to always stand outside in his class and i was one of the privileged student who had the opportunity to experience his “standing outside class”.


“ roll no 73, shantajit , you have a scored a zero in Manipuri otherwise you have done quite well in other subject”, exclaimed our class teacher Miss Mary.
Everyone in the class instantaneously in a loud crackling laughter stared at me for my great performance in Manipuri.
I felt very ashamed at myself.

“ what should i tell mom and dad?”, i thought, “will they scold me ?”

I didn't utter a single word on my way back home. I just kept on thinking of the consequences of my getting ' a big zero'.
But inside me , something internal was forcing me to do something i had never imagined before. I finally decided that there was no point in feeling ashamed and finally told my parents.

so i decided to go for a complete improvement mission in Manipuri.
"Mission Manipuri---to secure pass marks in Manipuri."
Then in the next unit test, everyone stared at me, not because i had scored a zero but instead i got good marks and even got a rank. This was the first time, i had secured a rank in the 1st top 10 . i was elated and happy that i was able to study properly and had the courage to improve my score.

“ shantajit, you have improved a lot, you can further improve your marks. study more.”, said miss mary
This incident happened 15 years back. I still remember the “ zero phenomena” that changed my school marks.
“ shantajit, you got 19 marks in maths . Sir will give you 1 grace mark to make you secure the required pass marks”, said Rojit , my classmate. Rojit was quite close to our maths teacher,Shoji.

I got more than 80% in all other subjects but i was not granted 1 mark in maths , so i was declared failed. I scored more marks than the 2nd ranker but still i was a failure. This happened in 6th standard.
i went home feeling little lost as what should i tell my mom &dad.

“ you didn't pass the exam. why are we paying your fees ?”, was my my mom's initial reaction.
I felt very bad at that time. “Why is she equating everything with fees?”,i felt.

Little did i realize the hardships that my family was facing. My mom was working in a private school and a month salary was 3k. And dad at that time was wayward and didn't really care for us, under the influence of his Mom and sisters, who were dead against us. so mom was having a very hard time.
Mom was doing all she can do for us.

I finally decided that there was no point in whining over my maths mark. i decided to improve and changed myself. When the next exam result was announced , there was a big surprise in store for me. I not only passed the maths paper but i secured 3rd position in overall.

“ who is shantajit?”,asked our class teacher.
“ its me”, i stood up and replied.
May be he is surprised that a non-existent name cropped up to secure the 3rd rank.
“ Good. Try to hold on to your rank. so study more hard to improve further”, said Sir Shoji,our class teacher.
I got my self esteem from that incident and i knew that i had the potential to do good in my studies. Then the years went on by.

In the year 2002, i completed my HSCL exam and secured distinction marks in maths,science and computer. I could have done well if i had not had some problem but in the real world, “ifs and but” doesn't exist. so i realized that problems are part and parcel of life. Life is not all about getting success all the time but learning from your failures and improving further”.

At this time , i started developing aptitude for novels .
The first novel that i had bought was “ The Third sex and Human rights”, a thought breaking story about the Hirza community .i was highly influenced by this book.
Meanwhile, I began participating in many extra-curricular events and i won many prizes in essay,quiz,sports, debates.

The first prize money that i got was Rs 100 for securing a consolation prize in a quiz competition. Then prizes started pouring in. i still cherish those moments and my memory is full of such events.
It was always nice to get prizes because our principal would call out our names in the school assembly to give away our prizes in front of the whole School.
But one big moment leads to another. I Was doing a research project for my Intel science project, sponsored by Intel. i was selected to represent the entire North East .
I still have the letter written by the jury comprising of many eminent scientist in our country, stating my project, “ Lowering Blood sugar level by using Black Plum seeds”, Patent worthy. It was a big boost for me in my academic life.(http:istdf.educationinindia.net for details on Intel science fair

But the real problem came during the execution of the project. I had to complete the project in 20 days but i had little time as i was preparing for HSLC exam .so i couldn't go to Kolkata to participate in the science fair. It was a big blow. Now i' m doing my MBBS course. Little did i realize in my 8th standard that i will study medicine.

This is a bit of my series of story . I will continue further.