6 grams gold!

If I had known about blogs, I would have written this one a long time ago when it actually happened. I was in my 12th standard then..

I got panicked to see the peon and a police constable entering my classroom and asking my Maths teacher permission to take me to the head master’s room. The 40 seconds walk from my classroom to the head master’s office felt more like marching to the death row. But sometimes life has a pleasant surprise for you just when you don’t expect one. When I walked in to his office, my headmaster congratulated me and told me that I had won a prize in the state level essay writing competition conducted by the Tamilnadu police department a month ago. My essay was selected third best from some 400+ participants and the prize was a 6 grams gold medal. Finally my heartbeat started becoming normal.

The prize distribution ceremony was planned very grand. I received an invitation card addressed to me and my family 2 weeks before the function. I wasn't quite sure if my mom or my dad or my sisters would be willing to attend the function. For them, I thought, it would be just another prize I bring home excited to put it on the showcase with the other ones. Though my dad said he might not be able to make it to the function due to work, my mom and sisters were okay to attend. I was happy that they appreciated the fact that this one was special and certainly different from the other prizes I had received thus far.

Assistant commissioner of TN police was the chief guest for the function. The entire arrangement looked like as though it was some kind of a family function of some minister or some wealthy industrialist. The function was held at Nani Palkhiwala auditorium in Mani school, Coimbatore. A huge number of police higher officials some in their khaki uniforms and some in suites all coming in government cars, meticulous arrangements, spectacular stage decorations, all made me a little nervous. I was asked to sit in the third row from the stage with the other winners and runners. I met my mom and my two sisters outside the auditorium before I got in. They said my father was not able to come as he got caught up with the work. The last few rows were allotted for the parents, guests and others. They said they will be sitting there.

10 minutes before the function started, the huge auditorium was jam-packed with people. I saw only heads everywhere and the place became too noisy that I could hardly hear the person sitting next to me. The function started with a usual welcome note. It took almost 2 hours to get to the prize distribution part. Before the prize distribution, the speaker explained to the crowd about the details of the competition, the topics given to the students, how many schools participated and how the selection process was carried out so on and so forth. I was trying to get a glimpse of my mom and my sisters for almost 2 hours but there was no way I could spot them through this huge crowd. The chief guest said that he would be happy to welcome anybody from the student’s family if they would wish to. I did not worry much about it until I noticed all the first five runner-ups going to the stage with their father or mother or both. There was this one guy (I think it was the second runner up) went on to the stage with 4 other people. They must be his father, mother, brother and sister. Now I started worrying. I knew my mom wouldn’t be ready to come with me to a stage this big. She is a little shy by nature when it comes to such matters; so are my sisters. They wouldn’t mind coming to the stage if my mom was there too, but I knew that wasn't going to happen anyway. Besides, I had no way of asking them if they could come with me because I had no idea where they were sitting. I was still trying to find them in the crowd without losing focus from the names being called on the stage.

It was the tenth and the last runner up award and the assistant commissioner of police was spending at least few moments with every parent shaking hands and congratulating them and giving pose for the photographs. At this point, I started breaking down. I was sure that it would be awkward to go to the stage all alone and collect the award when everyone else was accompanied by somebody from their family. I realized I was missing my dad. Had he been there that time, he would have surely come with me to the stage, I thought.

My father is a retired educational officer and a head master. He always insists that one should not depend on others when it comes to things that one can do on his own. I don't remember him ever asking me if I finished my homework if I was prepared for exam, etc

He never dropped me or walked me to the school except the very first day of my kindergarten.

“School is close by and we know he can walk. Why do you have to go with him to the school like a bodyguard?” he would tell my mom.

He gets furious if he sees some lady on the street carrying her kid’s school bag while walking him to the school. According to my father, it is the first thing in the kid’s life that makes him irresponsible.

“If he is not learning how to take care of his duties at this age, he is never going to learn that in his lifetime” he says.

I grew up with those words and they always make sense to me till this day. Sometimes he goes to extremes and his words would start sounding cold, but if there was one thing that me and my sisters learned from it, it was the “self-reliance”, which has always helped us in our life.

That was exactly the thing that went on in my mind when my name was called on the stage. I decided there was no point in looking for my mom and sisters anymore. I am just going to go there and collect the award all by myself. I knew I was going to be first one to go there without anybody, but I thought it was okay. I was mentally prepared.

I stood up from my seat and walked towards the stage. The crowd gave me a big ovation (Remember I was the first one from the “ winner's category” going to the stage! The names of the first and second prize winners were yet to be announced and mine was the first winner award after 10 runner-ups) I climbed up on those steps and spent a second or two getting a good glimpse of the crowd gathered in the huge auditorium. I went to the assistant commissioner of police, wished him good evening and shook hands with him. He congratulated me for the award and asked “Anyone from your family?”. I took a moment trying to think what to say. And when I was about to open my mouth I saw him smiling and shaking hands with somebody standing beside me. I just turned to my side and there was my father standing right next to me. My father looked at my baffled face and just smiled. Apparently he wanted to be there with me when I needed him the most. I did not thank him for what he did. Never did I get a chance to tell him how much his presence meant to me there on that evening.
I heard somebody from the downstage saying “Can you all please look at this side and smile for a photo?”.
I still have that picture in my home and I consider it way more precious than the 6 grams gold medal I received!