Pumpkin’s admission to Bombay Scottish (Powai) had come through.  She was scheduled to join the “big school” on 20th June 2008.

We had spent weeks preparing for the big day.  Naturally, as parents, we were more anxious than Pumpkin was.  And, between the two of us, the wife even more so…

There were uniforms to be bought, labels to be made, and a host of other formalities to be fulfilled.  Then, there was the matter of getting Pumpkin used to getting up early!  The two months of summer vacations from her morning playschool-routine did not help.  But, we had a plan.

A week before d-day, we would all practice getting up early and getting Pumpkin ready, as if she were really off to school.  We even took all the photos of Pumpkin in her school uniform, a few days earlier, so we wouldn’t have to spend time doing so on the morning of the big event. (And boy, did she look all grown up in it?!)

When the day finally arrived, every thing seemed well under control.  There were no unpleasant surprises.  The plan had worked!

I’d already informed my office that I would be in late.  Even though one parent was required by the school to accompany the child on the first day, we’d decided that we would both go.  It was an important time in her Life.  So, off we went, to the big school…

The energy in the school auditorium was noticeable.  The hall was filled with anxious parents accompanying their little ones, all geared up for their first day in school.  The school’s principal was addressing the audience, informing all parents to stand in their respective queues for the various divisions of Junior KG.

One by one, as their names were called out, the children started trotting-off to their class.  Some, of course, were bawling away to glory, refusing to leave their parents’ shelter.  Pumpkin?  She was raring to go – all excited about joining a new class in the “big school”!!!

After all the children had disappeared from sight, the principal informed the parents to take a seat for a brief presentation on the school’s rules, and a few words of advice from her.  The rules were mostly about discipline and do’s and don’ts.  Some, fairly routine, while others were reassuring to us as parents.  But, what followed thereafter was quite a surprise.

In the 30 minutes that ensued, the principal spoke candidly to the parents on her experience with kindergarten-going toddlers, and about what she would like us to keep in mind.  I wish I had recorded her speech for your benefit, but it is well ingrained in my mind.  I cannot reproduce its simplicity and genuineness.  It was heart-warming to note that someone at the helm of such a large institution cares so deeply about these children, as if they were her own.

We’d chosen this particular school because of its emphasis on overall personality development, less emphasis on learning-by-rote and impeccable reputation as an ICSE institution.  Little did we know that, in doing so, we would also be enrolling Pumpkin in a school that genuinely cares about its students and their well-being.

The words that followed covered topics ranging from not using “the principal” as a stick or carrot to not forcing your children in tuition classes at a tender age such as this.  I’m sure all of us in the audience would benefit tremendously by her advice, if we only cared to listen.

Soon, the parents’ session came to end, and the little ones came running back from their classes into the waiting arms of their mothers and fathers.  Pumpkin did too!

We were both anxious to hear all about her first day.  When we asked her what she did once she reached her class, her simple answer was : “I sat down!”  Then, she narrated a fascinating story about PowerRangers and getting some magical powers, attributing it to her class teacher.  At this point, we realized that we would simply not be able to tell what had really happened and what she had imagined in her happy state of mind…

This would mark the first day of the rest of her formal education.  And, we were only glad that she would spend her formative years in Bombay Scottish.

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