The dormitory was lined with tiny green double-decker beds. So tiny that if you move around too much, you would invariably find yourself on the floor the next morning. Some were bigger beds, in which two to three kids slept together. The dormitory walls were fitted with shelves, where we kept clothes and shoes. Water was scarce. We would bathe twice a week and were given two full mugs of water twice a day to brush and wash. It was cold throughout the year.
We would get up every day at 5 in the morning and get ready for our Karate classes, a painful, torturous exercise I loathed. I was pathetic at it. I couldn’t even stretch my limbs forget about a decent kick. If we were caught being negligent, the regular punishment was to frog jump at least 30 to 40 rounds of the playground. I know the feeling; your knees become loose, they bend on their own, and you can’t walk for at least half the day.
Throughout the year, the chilly wind lashed against our bare limbs. Our regular uniform was a tee-shirt and a knee-length pinafore. When it got really cold during the winter, we wore track suits to shield ourselves from the cold.
The playground was the only open space we had, where we would sit, play, talk, or eat our “tucks”. On one side, the playground was surrounded by an open gutter with black stinky slimy water. Nobody bothered; kids would drop their playthings into it and pick them up without even bothering to wash. The playground would be as big as what we would consider a big living room. It had an antique merry-go-round and, at one corner, a caged monkey called Cindy who was our school owner’s pet. Cindy was excellent at picking lice off kids’ heads.
Everyday before dinner, we would get in line in the small playground. The house captains would count heads and make sure everyone in their team was present. We had very little chances for doing mischief. The rules were strict and if we were found wanting in anything --- for example, dirty or improperly made beds (yes, we made our own beds), untidy shelves, long or dirty nails, torn shirts, unpolished shoes, and so forth --- we were disciplined with the cane. I got my fair share of it too. We were marked/graded for all these tasks and anyone who got more than 3 minuses was banned from the eagerly awaited Friday TV night.
Friday was eagerly looked forward to. I remember watching Grease, John Travolta dancing his ass off to Grease lightning.
We would walk in pairs on the way to school. It was a walk of about 5 to 10 minutes from the hostel. It would rain most days during the rainy season. We always prepared for the worst, being the disciplined, responsible kids that we were, and wore gumboots to school if the weather was cloudy. On such days, the sun would come out smiling at our silliness. So, very often we walked the sun-drenched road in knee-length gumboots, with passersby giving us the funny look.
I loved it. I loathed it.
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