Feature



Sharin Shajahan Naomi

We trembled in excitement when we got the news that our entire department was going for picnic in Tepantor. It was the first time in many years that our department would get together for such an event. After waiting for an eternity, 4th March came. At 8 o' clock in the morning, we all gathered in our department - girls in the best jewelry and cloths, boys trying to look their best. The bus rolled out just at 8.30, with chorus songs and monkey dance. Lord knew how the teachers sitting with us tolerated the torture during the entire journey!

Tepantor is a shooting spot that our department had hired exclusively for us. Upon arriving there, we all rested for a short time and then started the usual games pillow passing where all the teachers took part with the students. At last two remained in the game Mizan sir and a student, and then there was just one - Mizan sir.

Then it was time for cricket - Mizan sir and Asif sir played like Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya. The bowlers were the students, who despite their immense struggle could not stop the teachers. At noon Emon sir arrived with the food.

After lunch, the cultural show started. I was preparing for the show for one week. Even in the picnic, while everyone was taking snaps and gossiping, my dance partner and I were practicing our steps. Some found it too peculiar, (we did not have the music, so we were dancing while singing by ourselves, and to others it appeared as the greatest comedy on earth). The song is very famous - Orey Shampanwala, but our choreography was different and exclusive.

The cultural program started with songs, and even Emon sir sang for us. Then came my turn. I was not dancing in the traditional shampanwala attire. This shampanwala was a pirate of the Caribbean. The audience just loved our performance.

Then came the drama. The dramas were all parodies of cell phone advertisements. For instance, when girls were teasing a boy he said angrily: 'stupid girls, don't you have father or brother at home?” And the girls replied, “If all are fathers and brothers, who will be our lovers? My sisters could not get out the traps for the boys, but time has changed… (Banglalink - Din bodoler pala). Himel acted like Mizan sir- the most famous part of the drama.

There was another funny game where the male teachers put moustaches on Rani Mukherjee's picture and the female teachers put tip on the picture of an actor, and they had to do it with their eyes tied with a piece of cloth. Curzon sir found an easy way to avoid the tough task - he instantly got up on the stage and started singing. After the games came to an end, a team constituted by Mizan sir, Asif sir and Emon sir started their survey on best hair, best eyes and best look. When the survey was going on about the best hair, all the girls promptly opened up their hair, and Mishu apu got the best hair award. Best eyes went for Shagar and he got mashkara and eyeliner, which was immediately snatched away from him by the girls. We were planning to extend the program, but Shupon sir was quite determined as time was running out and at last he succeeded in the battle. We all returned to our buses, and again started the monkey dance and broken voiced music on the way.

At 6 o' clock we reached the place from where we had started. I was too tired, just like everyone else. But still, we must admit that this picnic would stay as an aspiration for all of us.