Hum honge kamyab ek din..

 A  session on the Roles and Responsibilities of Teachers in preventing Child sexual abuse, curated for Teachers of Mahatma Gandhi Vidyalaya, housed inside the Hindi Prachar Sabha. (HPS), first offline session since the pandemic!

It is sheer providence that I survived the pandemic drama and Zoom session trauma, and was it liberating to step out for a session with people physically present! 

The PPT had no actual use. No anxiety/panic attacks associated with the number of participants steadily dropping after the 9 th minute only to resurface in the last 2 minutes and flood the chatbox with, Thankyou and so on.

My earliest memory of HPS dates back to school days for writing my Prathmic, Madhyama, Rashtrabasha, and Praveshika exams. 

It was more out of my love for Hindi movie songs ( Mohammed Rafi's, to be specific ) than any love for the language perse.

My minimalistic goals to just understand what Rafi and Kishore were singing to their love interests made me content with Praveshika. 

Visharadh -would have meant Greed. Not me. In all modesty, I say this - when it comes to academics, I was very content even as a child and cherished what I got (as marks) looking at others who got lower. My amma taught me this wisdom. I am still trying to apply the same to other areas of life.

हम होंगे कामयाब एक दिन

Today visiting HPS after decades, the Principal took me to Gandhi Nivas inside the complex, which is well preserved with memorabilia from Bapuji's visit and stay. He stayed there for 10 days in 1946. Goosebumps looking at the  कुर्शी and चरखा that Mahatma Gandhi used, showcased with details.

Had no clue about this heritage place all these years or the fact that Mahatma Gandhi Ji founded the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha!. 

Felt genuinely honored with the Khaddar Shawl presented, which had a beautiful border motif, apparently designed by Bapu Ji himself, as I was told.

I rummaged through my certificates but couldn't find my Hindi exam certificates. But found the book with  Hindi songs of Rafi. Rs.5/-  which was gifted by a college mate.

Never mind the certificates.

Quite an emotionally stirring day, this April 25,2022.