From: alwaysnewbieparent@aamail.com
To: The Valley Community
Sub: A ‘newbie’ Valley parent at the School’s Birthday
When I first heard of The Valley School celebrating a birthday, I was pleasantly surprised. I had heard of ‘annual days’ and ‘founder days’ for schools–a birthday was altogether new! In the weeks leading up to the D-day, our daughter brought home titbits of what to expect. Not that these made me any wiser, they were wisps of a beautiful jigsaw that I could not quite grasp.
Stepping into the Valley as a ‘newbie’ parent on the birthday, the air itself seemed festive. There were broad smiles and cheerful voices everywhere. It did not matter that we knew very few people then. The joy was contagious, and our spirits were lifted. We were at home.
Our ‘firstie’ looked so small in contrast to the ‘tenthies’ and ‘twelthies’! Bittersweet feelings engulfed me – these happy, young ones in dhothies and sarees, given the joyous responsibility of the tree planting ceremony. It seemed to be the best way to begin the process of bidding farewell to the place one has grown up in.
Wait! Were those the notes of nadaswaram? That bold, unapologetic, and yet soul-stirring instrument of the weddings and Deepavalis of my childhood? What a unique way to accompany the saplings to the planting ground!
Copies of the Naad Ninaad were thoughtfully passed around to us parents; the children did not need them. They had picked up the chants, notes, and words as they rightly should, naturally through the days, months, and years they had spent in the Valley. Joining along, my heart soared, feeling connected to the place and everyone there - present and past.
After a rejuvenating, traditional snack while exchanging news with our fellow ‘newbie’ parents, we followed the trail of adults to the amphitheatre. A treat for the ears and eyes followed, as the children, former students, and teachers sang, danced, recited, and shared their thoughts and feelings. “No mike?” Another first for us parents.
After polishing off the scrumptious bisibelebath and mysore pak, we ran into our daughter, who reminded her younger brother, “Run to the football field and remember to cheer for Valley, not ex-Valley”. A friendly match – aha, that’s a great way to work up an appetite!
We felt like kids at a typical birthday party – we wanted to linger and not be the first to leave. Our children helped us – they wanted to endlessly slide down the giant slide in the jungle gym, go for unending turns on the tyre swing in the junior school, run aimlessly around the football field – all deftly handling their traditional wear! Among parents (mostly the fathers, I must say!), the discussions were serious – which location was more suitable for a short siesta, the area near the lily pond, or the place under the tree near the kuchcha court?
Leave we must and we did, but with cheer and hope as we knew the Sports Day was in August – just a month away. Our dear school will invite us parents, and we could bask in the warmth of The Valley very soon.
Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprising), I found my feelings of joy and discovery surface again and again, in the nine school’s birthdays I celebrated since 2011. Yes, in the virtual one too, last year. All nine felt like the first one. Perhaps it is because of the school and its people, who like nature, refresh, learn, renew, and yet in one sense, stay the same. My children may grow up and not be a part of the Valley physically, but we will always be connected to it. And every school’s birthday, whether I am part of the celebrations in person or virtually, I think I will always feel like I did on my first School’s birthday – a ‘newbie’ who is at home.
With love and affection,
Ramya Gopalakrishnan