Life is really short and what makes
it special is that everyone has a unique experience of living it. My life experiences
have made me a story teller. Sometimes I am telling these stories to myself.
And my memories about times tell me these stories in a different way, each time
I think about the past, it is somewhat different because the new experiences in
life shape the older memories a little. Before I forget everything the way I remember
today, I should write it down.
Place of residence:
My father was in Pakistan army and he
was stationed in a Town named Taxila cantt near the capital of Pakistan. The region
has huge industrial complexes. It is one of the most developed areas of
Pakistan and the literacy rate in the region is still the highest in the
country (around 98%) with majority of the people having access to higher
education. We were living in a two room’s apartment in a sector of hundreds of
similar apartment in the town. The society was a mix of military and civilian
workers. It was a very tolerant, multi cultural and non-politicized society.
There were people from all over the Pakistan living and working there. It was a
huge gated society where everyone has to go through a security check in order
to enter the residential areas. It was a very green, clean and peaceful living
area.
Mornings:
The hardest time of the day, when my
whole family was struggling to get me out of the bed. I have loved sleeping and
I run back to bed whenever I notice that no one is noticing me. Everyone used
to offer Fajr prayer and I was the last one to offer it in the family. After
that I used to recite the Holy Quran, meanwhile the breakfast was ready. It was
always a warm breakfast with Tea (with milk).
After breakfast we used to wear our uniform
for school. It was a grey pants, white shirt, black shoes with black socks, red
tie and two badges. One badge represented the school and the other one was part
of the drill group I was in for the morning assembly. Since the school system
was managed by military, therefore there was a huge focus on discipline. We
were not supposed to have more than a handful hair. We were not allowed to grow
our nails and our shoes were supposed to be shinny all day long. We were also
expected to keep our dress neat and clean in warm and dusty days.
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| My school building |
School:
The school day used to start with a
morning assembly. I do not have pictures from that time, but here are two examples to give you an idea.
The whole school used to gather in
the main ground in the early morning. There was a morning prayer, a little
drill, some speeches and sometimes inspections of the students. The non-compliance
was subjected to punishment. For example if the line is not straight, or your
hair or nails are longer or your shirt is not clean. Then the teachers or
monitors used to take you out of the line so that everyone in assembly can see
that you are being punished. Sometime it was pushups, sometimes sit stand or sometimes
you have to stand later after everyone has left. The late arrivals at the
school were also punished. After the assembly we used to do a parade before going to class rooms.
We had a class room, where the
teachers of each subject used to come for 50 minutes lecture. We had an attendance
call in the start of the day. We were supposed to keep our class room neat and
clean as well. I had a really big bag for keeping all books and note books. We
had two kinds of note books for each subject. One note book for school work and
one was for home work. There was one more note book that was for rough work.
Both school and home work note books were supposed to be covered by brown paper
and plastics sheet with a name slip on them. Otherwise you were subjected to
punishment for that as well. The punishment was sometimes standing outside the
class room during the whole lecture. Sometimes it was standing while the whole
class was sitting. I remember standing outside sometimes for not doing home
work. After each lecture the teaching staff was changing according to the
subject. We used to have monthly, quarterly
and annual examinations. After each quarter there was a teacher-parents meeting
day. Where you were humiliated by both parents and teachers at the same time. I
must say that I was a good student and normally my teachers were saying great
things about me in front of my parents. We also used to have surprise tests,
when you scored a lower grade, you were supposed to get it signed the answer
sheet from your parents. So discipline and rules were everywhere.
Absence was subjected to fine as
well. Before taking a leave you were supposed to write an application, get it
signed from parents and teachers and then you were allowed to take leaves. If
you were in need of a leave for more than 3 days, your parents were supposed to
visit the school principal and ask for the leave. If you do any action that was
against the school discipline, you parents were called in. Anyways we had our
own ways of breaking rules. And the unity of the class was the key behind every
rule we broke. During my school time I have faced a lot of punishments due to
our group. The majority of these punishments were due to noise in absence of
the teacher.
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| This is a typical pakistani punishment called Murgha |
We used to have two breaks, one was a
short break and the other was a longer lunch break. We always hated the
teachers that kept on teaching during the breaks. During break time we used to
go in the play ground and play football or cricket. No matter how hot it was,
we were playing. There was only one trouble. We had a teacher responsible for
physical fitness. And whenever he was around, he gather us and asked to do some
exercises. All of us hated that person and sometimes we ran away whenever we
used to see him around.
Back to Home:
Around 1:30 PM the school was closed
and we used to run back to our homes. I
was normally very hungry by then. When I reached home, the lunch was always
ready. My mother always asked me to change the uniform and wash my hands before
eating. I was just washing my hands. After lunch we were supposed to sleep,
because all of the military persons in Pakistan sleep in the afternoon. Me and
my brother were normally teasing each other and laughing. That used to make my father angry. It was hard to fall
sleep.
Home tuition:
There was a trend of home tuitions at
that time. After waking up in the evening we were going to visit some part time
tutors to do our home work and prepare for exams. Every home tuition experience
was different. Sometimes I had tutors who were visiting our home and just
teaching me and my brother and sometimes we were attending a tutor who was
teaching a big group of students.
Evening play, dinner and TV:
After tuition we used to go to play
in a play ground nearby our home. Where we used to hang out with our child hood
friends, play cricket, football or some other sports until the sun set. Right
after sun set we used to offer the prayer in the mosque and come back home. At
that time we only had a couple of TV channels. We used to eat our dinner between
8 and 9 PM. That was the only time during the whole day when we were allowed to
watch TV. Normally the Pakistan Television network played one episode of a
drama series at that time. And we had one episode of a different drama series
every night. After eating dinner and watch drama series we used to go to bed
and sleep straight away.
Sometime due to load shedding we used
to go out for a walk. And drink mango shakes (during summer) and milk during
the rest of the year before going to bed.
The times has changed everything. I think that school life and social
life in Pakistan cannot restore that period of time because of smart phones,
internet and all similar things. We were living in a small world, where the
rules were not questioned, no one was complaining and no one in my friends
circle cared about what is happening all over the world. Majority of my class fellows from School times are still in touch, and without any doubts we claim that those days were one of the best days of our lives.
