The walls of the corridor had portraits of national leaders, the maps of the state of Telangana and the country map of India. It was filled with National Anthem, the National Song, and more. The paint was wearing off slightly, but it seemed to hold everything together. The corridor was laid with rough stones that may have softened overtime through the endless running of children every day. The first room was for computers. The computers were donated by a software company, but no one knew how to connect them. The monitors lay waiting for someone to switch them on, while the CPUs were safely wrapped in cloth to protect from dust. The cables were probably lying in the cupboard in the room. Can you fix the computers? The headmistress had asked me on our first interview. I can try. The second room was for teachers – the staff room. Any student who was asked to fetch a piece of chalk or a duster was happy to jump into the room. Next came the classroom for fourth graders.

Fourth graders knew their schedule for Saturdays – their only day with the English master. The children were readying themselves for another English class on a Saturday. Their class started with questions from the earlier class, and they would be ready with answers. On a certain day, the master decided to conduct a full session of questions in the form of a quiz, among four groups – Dosa, Noodles, Ice-cream and Strawberry!

Team Dosa and Team Noodles were racing ahead and there was not much to separate them. Team Ice-cream was not too far behind, and the unlucky Team Strawberry was still coming to terms with the penalty points. Theliyakapothe yenduku cheptave? (Why answer when you don’t know?) demanded an upset teammate, as they tried to keep calm. The rules were clear, they could pass the question to the next team if they didn’t want to take chances. All those boys who would otherwise take a shot with random answers started getting cautious. Neeku thelusa ra? Mari cheyi dhinchu! (Do you know the answer? Hands-down, then!). They started managing themselves – teamwork working its magic when the stakes were high. Inside those four walls it was not the regular class that they were used to. The teams have caught-up with the rules. They were gaming, and they were learning! In hushed tones they discussed their answers, and the leader would decide if they were taking it or passing it on. Sideways nods and pouts was a sign that they would pass and it was the next team’s turn. It was Dosa’s opportunity to take the lead. The question was not as tricky, they just needed the right word, the right English word. A Banana would be peeled to be eaten. The Papaya would be cut. But what of grapes? That was the question! Someone murmured “one-by-one” hoping for a chance win. The teacher duly dismissed with a smile and a wave of hand. Hushed giggles could be heard all around. The English class was in session. And it was Gametime!

Before the first session, there were deliberations on how we proceed with the English curriculum. One of the teachers expressed reservations, that students were below par and would not catch-up with 4th grade syllabus. The headmistress let me make the call, and we decided on a mini-experiment. I would start with Grade 3 book, and assess. If they do okay, we move on to Grade 4. The experiment lasted all but 15 minutes and then I made up my mind. We would go with 4th grade book and I would cover the basics as we progressed. I felt my 2 hours per week were better utilized in this way.

The first day was quite an experience – the lone school attender was on leave for a week, and the students filled-in for him. As the school assembly concluded, they religiously picked-up the brooms from behind the doors and started cleaning-up their classrooms. They seemed to relish the opportunity – swept their room neat and tidy, and dusted off their hands to settle down. So much for entitlements, I thought to myself waiting outside the classrooms. The headmistress summoned me, and introduced the fourth graders to their new English (part-time) teacher! The class erupted with a resounding Good-morning-Saar! When the Saar returned the greeting, another resounding Thank-you-Saar filled the room. The new Saar smiled back as his heart pounded, but he managed to suppress any sign of nerves!

When it was not gametime, the students roared and raised their hands to answer every question under the Sun. Whether they truly had the answers, or just seeking some attention, was another matter. Vaishali, one of the smartest in the lot, nodded sideways, and vigorously, when someone else was picked to answer. Charana’s curled-up braids shook from one ear to the other as she disapproved. On the other side, Chandan and his friends let out a din of Saar, ikkada… (Saar, here…). Do they really know the answer? the master thought to himself. Are they secretly celebrating that they didn’t get picked? The master had his suspicions. It was quite the chaos.

In a few sessions we discussed fruits, monkeys, jungles, lions, buildings, trees, mountains, valleys and lakes. We spend a good 10 mins for each line of the lesson. When we came across a phrase, the trees were taller than the buildings, we discussed the types of trees, the positive, comparative and superlative degrees, we discussed the types of buildings, and a little bit of masonry and gardening. Oh, and we learnt the meanings in Telugu and Hindi, so it actually made sense. The two page chapter could well take a month. As long as we were learning and having fun, all seemed well.

Back to gametime, and back to grapes. Team Dosa gave-up, and passed it on. It seemed like they figured out that none of the other teams could answer it either! When the master readied to share the answer, the world came to a standstill – you could almost hear distinct voices from other classes. Some students gaped in anticipation, others looked at each other, some are ready to pencil it down in their CW notes! Whole, you eat grapes in whole! The answer is Whole. In an instant came a question, Hole ante bokka kada Saar?? (Hole is a hollow opening Saar?) Not Hole, its the one with W, W-H-O-L-E! Their notes was made in the CW book, religiously.

As the year comes to a close, one of my favorite memories would be the Saturdays that I spent with the kids at the Zilla Parishad School. My weekly trips to the school were filled with as much anticipation as the kids probably waited for it every Saturday! Baby-steps for the children, and baby-steps as much for the master!

PS: The picture is intentionally blurred and the children names changed to maintain privacy.