Project day

Our school project day coincides with Chacha Nehru's birthday every year. And if things were normal, by now we would have decided the topic for our project display over hot tea and biscuits staying after school for long meetings. Some times we get to eat samosas and cupcakes if it's someone's birthday.
We would have by now given n number of suggestions for the project topic. Once the topic gets decided we in smaller groups would have come up with notes, illustrations pertaining to that particular class level. The fracas over who will do what, some times when an interesting concept overlaps then we want to keep it for our own class. Hence the fracas. Otherwise, we are a group of very accommodating ladies. You must see us after the project. We are like sisters who got lost ( lost and found) in some carnival long ago. laughing, hugging, and congratulating each other on our success. It's a sight to been seen. The emotions are at a peak.
How I miss it all now.
After the term 1 holidays, we come back and start zero periods on an auspicious day. In spite of it, it rains every year during our school project. And in spite of the rains, our project displays are a great hit among parents and the children. We pray we tell children to be regular and make the best of this project time. It's a little different from regular school. Children love this period of the academic year. A trip to the weaving Center or dying unit is of great attraction for kids. We took then to Kanchipuram when we did a project on clothing. We have activities lined up for all classes. Kids like DIY activities.  We, teachers, sit, and try it ourselves before we teach them out in class. Each section will produce in multiples of 38 cutouts and models. So each class 38 x 4...152... minimum. With five classes, 4 sections you can imagine the staff room storage filling up daily with beautiful flowers, grass patches, models of houses, and palaces all made in school during school time. As we have more of these DIYs to exhibit...  the project display is going to look colorful and rich. No doubt we excel every year and learn new things -from pedagogy to making craft items.
As the d day approaches, we get taut,  we work after school, some teachers stay in school till very late to complete their work. Project notes completion for kids and corrections for us takes precedence. And the day before the project, its a holiday for the school, but all are present in the school campus to exhibit the beautiful work made out of our children's nimble fingers. We also lunch together and decide on the dress code. The next day we are on shifts dressed especially. We get our sarees customized in advance for this occasion to match the project concept.
We the class 2 teachers usually get a wall to exhibit our kid's beautiful work. It may be a story, a message, or some facts and pictures pertaining to the main theme. It's called class 2 wall, the wall of fame, some have given it my name - Shyamala's wall. I am very egotistical about that wall. For almost 20 plus years I have been designing and executing this wall with utter sincerity. I am emotionally involved and I am not happy when this wall does not get it's due. But that is a rare thing to happen.  I am totally obsessed with this wall. I don't know, maybe after I retire I might want to take that wall as a farewell gift.
This year all this was out of our regular agenda and by no means we can work on that wall.
I did not lose heart.
Even paradise could become a prison if one had enough time to take notice of the walls.” 
I made this tree on one of the walls at home that has not seen paint for years. I cleaned it up with soap and started drawing the branches where ever it looked dirty. The tree grew in size, obviously because it had many dirty patches.  Daughter dear, my inhouse critic who is always right, said the living space is going to look like a kindergarten classroom if I make it too colorful and loud. So I kept the leaves small and in the jungle green color. Not the bright green that we see in lower kg classrooms. Then we had some 12 nails on the wall, which if taken out may definitely need to be painted. Calling a painter now in this situation would mean inviting Corona. The flowers were drawn colored and stuck on those nails. A dear friend ordered I make some birds too.
So here I present my wall, with the tree of life. Project day may not come I may not go to school, meet my kids and teachers, but I am not going to let go of my wall.