An Opportunity Missed

For a long time I had been thinking of doing something special for my son’s class teacher (‘didi’ for him) of whom he never stops praising enough. After I come home from work he begins by telling me how his ‘didi’ said something that he had done was good or how she gave him ‘stars’ in his notebook for his homework. He is always talking about his ‘didi’ at his school. He studies at a school where they don’t have exams or tests for students upto fifth standard. He looks forward to going to school every day. Today we were going to his school to collect his report card. It was the last day for him in the fourth standard.

While getting ready to go to the school I had the idea of giving a present to his ‘didi’ for all the encouragement she gives him. Also, apart from home it is at the school that kids spend a long time. So I thought it would be a nice gesture to giver her a gift and also click a photograph of my son standing next to her since he was going to a higher class with a different ‘didi’. So I remembered to carry the camera but forgot her gift, a fountain pen, at home. It was too late for me to turn back so I bought one at a stationer's near the school.

There was a crowd of parents and kids around ‘didi’ so I was hesitant to ask her to pose with my son. I collected the report and hung around for a while hoping she would be free for a moment but the people kept coming. I gave up the idea of taking the photograph. I had originally thought I’d give the gift to ‘didi’ myself but at the last minute I handed it to my kid to give it to her. After all, it was his ‘didi’.

‘Didi’ was busy talking to the parents but my son (shy, like me) went up to her hesitantly and handed it to her. She looked at the gift in his hand and at him silently for a long time. Then abruptly she pulled my son towards her, enveloped him in her arms and hugged him tight. When she released him I thought I saw her eyes had become moist. She told him to keep coming to meet her and talk with her. She waved him bye and as we came away I realized I was still holding the camera. I regretted not taking a picture of that unexpected gesture of a teacher's affection for her pupil. It would have been wonderful to capture that moment. But it was too late. I had missed a great picture.

On the way back home my son was silent. While going to school he was yakking away asking me a million questions the way ten-year old kids do. I then realized it was probably better that I had not taken that picture. Some memories are best stored in the mind.