When The Smile Met My Tears

Crying need not be only owing to sadness. Tears of joy are uplifting.

- Reena Singh

Life is a cumulative collection of moments. In the memory chip of our minds, our past has stored enough memories to make our journey, one that is rich with experiences. I had heard somewhere long back that if you look down your memory lane and spot a few moments which gave you tears of joy, you can call yourself a blessed soul. Tears of joy are original pearls and experiencing them purifies your soul too.

Being a teacher, I have always maintained a neutral approach towards all my students at all levels. But I did get attached to one particular batch of class X students. Something about this batch touched me very deeply. I tried to be their support and strength so as to lead them out of the age of adolescence smoothly because I remember how, when we were students, there wasn't anyone to support us and we therefore had to suffer a lot in facing the unpredictable challenges of young life.

For the annual function of our school, I had chosen Christopher Marlowe's play 'Doctor Faustus' for enactment, and one of the students from my favourite batch, Harjot Singh, was assigned the main role. It was one of the best plays that I had directed, and later, the same play was performed in an interschool dramatics competition.