The influencer

The influencer

She did 
Her graduation
And 
Post graduation
Her exams
Campus interview
She  bagged her job
Research assistant 
In a multinational 
Pharma company

Her heart
Wasn’t in it
She missed her dream
To be a teacher
To mould young minds

Her parents aghast
You’ll leave your job
With a multinational
To be a lowly teacher
You won’t make money
Or marry
A rich 
Husband
What’s gotten
Into you?

Her friends
They say the same
Her colleagues 
Her bosses too

But in her heart
She knows
Where her happiness lies

The colleges
They wouldn’t take her
No experience 

She turned to schools
Get a B.Ed. Degree
So she did

At last
A job
She cherished

The headmistress
Welcoming
The teachers too

The children
Not
The first day
They sit 
On their benches
Chattering
Throwing
Erasers 
At each other
Flying paper planes

The next day
Is no better
The laughing
The shouting
It continues

She talked a duster
Wipes out the scribbles
She takes the chalk
In her neat hands
She writes
I want
To be with you

The children
They notice
They go
Silent
They look
At their teacher
Anew

Someone claps
Everybody follows
In that instant
Things have changed

She’s on a roll
Making them happy
Teaching them
Cajoling them
To work hard

Her legs ache
From
Standing all day 
But never mind
She loves them
They love her back

She knows her subject
She’s mastered it
She loves her kids
Loves the creativity
Her job brings

They have to organise
Elocution competitions
Ready the ground
For the sports days
Teach them dance
For Republic Days
Write speeches
Train the kidss
For Independence Day
And the grand celebrations
To prepare for
The Annual days

The weaker kids
To be taken
Care of
Solving their doubts
Extra coaching

Then there are 
Inter-school 
Examinations
Elocutions
Completion

Revelling in  the glory
That kids bring
To the school
Consoling those
Who don’t make it

Her greatest joy
Is when
That little girl
That special child
Who could not
Understand mathematics
Gets a D
She’s passed!

Her parents meanwhile
Are after her
Get a decent
Job they say
So we can get
A decent son in law
For us

She smiles
She ignores
Years pass

And there’s this guy
From her old job
He proposes 
He’s doing well 
At the multinational 

His parents 
They’re after him
To marry
A girl
From their caste
A professional 

He tells them
He’s found
His soulmate 
She’s not of his caste
She isn’t working 
For a multinational 
She’s a kind girl
With a big heart
A teacher!

There’s opposition
From every quarter
She’s not
Of our caste
She’s not 
Fair
She’s not
Tall
She’s not even
Pretty
Moreover
She’s a mere teacher
In a government school

Her parents
Are reconciled 
Someone
Is better than none

They marry
Her children 
Witness
The solemn occasion 

She has no kids of her own
 But she has
So many
They grow up
They work
In big multinationals 

Her greatest joy
Is when 
That little girl
That one
Weak at maths
She influenced 
Has now returned 
To the school
To become a teacher

She is now 
Due for retirement 
With her retired
Soulmate 
But she has 
No regrets 
This influencer
But contentment 




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