I was browsing the Facebook page of a prominent school of
Dehradun on which a ex student (now in her 60ties ),had put up two
photographs of the school she had studied in ,during the sixties .Inevitably
the word nostalgia found its way into the photograph captions .Nothing new .We
all put up photographs of the schools we studied in .And we all want to flaunt
its rich heritage and its distinguished alumni .The response to her photographs
was also as expected –a flood of teary
eyed comments ,about the teachers ,about the friends and about the passing away
of so and so .!!Again nothing new .
But the question still remains –why do we respond so powerfully to
a collective memory of something which we never liked so much at the time we
were in it ?Schools ,then ,(and let me be honest even now ) were always a
symbol of something that was not a joyous experience to go through .The way
they were structured , led to a movement which propagated that only IF a child
likes to go to a school –then it’s a good school, irrespective of whether he
learnt anything there or not.The index was happiness –not achievement or marks
(though if someone was happy at competing and getting marks ,then it was good
school for that particular child ) .Otherwise –it was a bad school .!But years down the line all
stressful memories get washed away and the one memory that keeps
haunting you is –“school was wow .I wish I could go back to it .Oh –what
would I NOT give to be taught again by Mr G.C .Gupta or Mr J.L. D’Souza”.!!
Why this yearning ?
I think its partly because as human beings we get “selective”
about our memories .We tend to select the good moments of our life –and we have plenty of
them in school,not necessarily connected to lessons in Maths ,Science or
History .School is the first place where we interact with our peer group collectively
over a period of time .It is a place where the mysteries of adulthood start to
wrap around you –the first shave ,the first crush and the first attempt at
dating and drinking !!Anything that happens for the first time is difficult to
forget .And a lot of them happen while one is in school .
Psychologists also propound the theory that the recall factor is
the strongest when we are young .In other words –the further one goes into the
past ,the stronger are the memories .Which is interesting because one would
expect that what happened in the near past should be clearer in our memory than
something that happened lets say about 40 years back .But in practical terms it
does not work like that. .At least as far as I am concerned –I have very vivid
memories of what happened when I was a school boy and less of them
what happened to me lets say about 5 years back .The result –we connect
with what we can remember ,and schooldays are the strongest connect ,because
they go as far as one can get as one ages .
Apart from what psychologists say ,I think there are certain other
factors which make school days always
special .No matter what one goes through –childhood is always associated
with our dreams .Its a special quality
that a child has in plenty – dreams!! .To be able dream and enjoy it –you have to be
a child or as innocent as a child .The
entire school system was based on selling you dreams .I remember writing a
essay “If I could fly”.!!And I remember reading a fairy tales of “Thumbelina”, “Jack and the Beanstalk” “Rumplestiltskin”
or “Rip Wan Vinkle”!!.!! I remember acting in “Cindarella”as Prince Charming .!!
