Farewell

!0^th grade at Marimallappa’s high school and the students are busy studying for examinations. It was March when the 3^rd preparatory examinations were about to commence in a day or two. We never expected a farewell party from our school staff. So we just concentrated on studies.

It was a Tuesday when I was busy memorizing the math formulae that when I heard one of my friend talking about the send-off party.

I definitely knew it would not be of fun kind, because my school is not used to such kinds of parties. It was also the first time that a farewell party was being organized in our school, as we had never seen our seniors celebrating so.

It was Wednesday, and when we were writing our science exams, a memo came. It was a long awaited memo, and yes, it informed that there was a send-off party as well as the releasing ceremony of our school magazine.

We were instructed to wear color dresses of our choice.

It was actually on the day of our social science exam! No one was ready to study for it, we went on discussing how it will be though we all knew that they would screw us with their speech at the function. The whole evening was spent on discussing about it, and we weren’t prepared for the examination. Social science has always been a friend of mine and I was confident enough to get a 90 without touching books.

Finally the day arrived and we all were eager to finish the exams as fast our hands could write. I was the second one to come out of the class, though I didn’t even care about what I had written or how much marks I would get.

I had taken the camera to snap the fun moments and so had some of my friends.

The exam was over and some uninterested folks did not mind missing the farewell fun and left as soon as possible.

There was nothing at the farewell party but just hectic photo sessions.

Everyone was taking photos of their friends and themselves and of course our school.

We began rampaging the school grounds and tried not to attend the function only to be shooed by our teachers. Next we found ourselves sitting at pin drop silence in the functionL. Anyway we even took photos there too adding to the fun.

Whew! And finally an exhausted us relished the samosa- chutney-ice cream-banana snack.

Wonders never cease! The teachers, whom we used to hate, suddenly became the centre of attention. They had become celebrities! We took photos of them too and it was really the time to bid “farewell”. Perhaps it was the last day I attended school. Though there was no fun atmosphere, we created it! It was and will remain a cherished memory!

Refreshed!

Picture if the moon taken from the 14-inch telescope

Social science contest on a bright Saturday, a prepared me wrote the exam with full tension. A dejected I returned home with sheer disappointment.

I wondered” who cares”, and began my normal routine.

It was a bright full moon evening, and I stood out dazing at the glamorous golden bright moon at its fullest! It was such a pleasure and I forgot all my vows.

I ran and called my mom and dad to also enjoy the sight of the moon.

My dad being my dad, could not just see it, but he took pictures of the moon from every angle he could, he went to the road, he went up the terrace, fixed the camera to the tripod too, but it was not a satisfactory photo shoot of the moon for him. It was also the time when mars were very close to the moon and the earth.

It was almost 8:15 in the evening, when he came up with the idea to go to Ramakrishna Ashram for star gazing. So loading his vehicle with me and my sister, we were off. We met Mr.Ramaswamy, a well experienced teacher, and an old man, teaching in that ashram for a very long time.

We requested him to guide us about the telescope and astronomy.

The kind man adjusted his 10-inch telescope to the moon, and explained us about the craters and the hills on the moon. The bright light dazzling from the moon made our vision go away for a minute! In the same way we got to see a magnified image of the brightest star of the night sky, the Sirius, and the Canopus, mars and the Orion nebula. It was a treat to the eyes to view the magnified moon. Then all the students of the ashram started to come and soon it got crowded.

We even got to see the moon from a 14-inch computerized telescope at the observatory. Now the moon was much brighter and everything went black after seeing it, due to glare ness. It was like we were on an abode to heaven!

It certainly was such pleasure that it was almost like we had landed on the moon itself. It was so much fun learning things which we were unaware.

It was then that I came to know why the moon is used for a simile.

The moon really intensified my astronomy interests!