Missing the staffroom laughter and chatter
Once upon a time in the pre-pandemic era every morning teachers whizzed in the entrance gate and like a blinkered horse rushed to mark their biometric attendance. A great social leveller – from a peon to degree-acclaimed faculty, all form a unified ‘angootha chaap’ whole. The struggle to appease the truant computer and its whimsical fanciful screen pop up ‘try again’ with the next anxious colleague hovering on your shoulder “Oh! Mine is accepted in one click only” is a daily saga only a teacher can empathise with.
The triumphant Don Quixotes plop into the comfy staffroom chairs. Phew! Early morning staffroom is a heaven for all the tired, harassed women. However organised or meticulous or efficient a woman may be, the rigmarole of morning chores, the trapeze act of managing your home and reaching your institution in time leaves even the most disciplined humble beings breathless.
Every morning, from the core of our hearts we bless the policy-maker who mandated that teachers should arrive 15 minutes before the stipulated time. Those 15 minutes in the staffroom are the best time of a teacher’s day. One gets time to catch one’s breath, use a barrage of words for the domestic help, heap invectives on callous progeny and blame the spouse fairly and squarely for anything and everything. One can rant and rave, vent out pent-up emotions, calm the nerves and get set to face a new day. Fuming and fretting is normal in staffroom parlance, an index of your matrimonial well-being.
There’s sheer buoyancy around. Birthday/anniversary wishes, hugs and cheers, new pinches, wow makeup/hairstyle compliments flow abundantly. The tech-savvy volunteer clicks selfies/groupies and uploads them simultaneously on social media. A makeup retouch, a saree readjusting or even a wardrobe malfunction can be fixed in a jiffy. Selfless help and camaraderie is the hallmark of the staffroom.
In a jiffy, the vibrant staffroom undergoes a transformation. The table catapults into a dining table. A never-ending stream of tea cups flows in through the day, while an aroma of delicacies wafts the air. The early birds have missed breakfast and must satiate their hunger pangs. No sooner does the breakfast tiffin shut than the snack boxes open. Everyone carries a generous amount and sharing is caring.
By mid-day, it’s lunch time. A self-made nutritious meal and an inviting ‘have-a-bite’ sentiment pervades the staffroom. On special occasions or at times on friendly request, my colleagues happily bring sumptuous home-cooked food along with the requisite crockery. The celebration, the bonhomie, the inviting calls can only be enjoyed in person and no words can do justice to that.
Post-noon, the tired limbs drape themselves into the comfy staffroom chairs. This time is devoted to sombre discussions. One day exotic dishes and tested recipes are exchanged, on another remedies to common ailments, policies, customs and traditions, festivals and rituals…anything and everything under the sun is discussed. The loquacious ones contribute their share and the reticent ones enjoy, too. The staffroom is an institution in itself, a microcosm of society.
How I wish this pandemic would end soon! The staffroom mirror is beckoning. I wish to dress up, adorn myself and receive compliments. I wish to shake off this drab lockdown garb. The spontaneous laughter and endless chatter are calling.
THOSE 15 MINUTES IN THE STAFFROOM ARE THE BEST TIME OF A TEACHER’S DAY. ONE CAN VENT OUT PENT-UP EMOTIONS