The First Day At School

A fictional narrative based on incidents from the childhood of Sri Ramakrishna.

- Gitanjali Murari

“Gadai, come back,” Chandramani said, sounding both cross and anxious. The child had spotted monkeys and run off towards them, completely forgetting that he was accompanying his mother to her brother’s house. She called him repeatedly but Gadai refused to listen. “So many Hanumans in one place,” he cried, clapping his hands, “Rama must be close by!”

Picking up a stout twig, Chandramani approached cautiously and was amazed to find the monkeys merrily playing with Gadai. “Your uncle is waiting for us,” she scolded, “we must be on our way.” But hardly had they walked a kilometre when Gadai pointed to the shrine of a Muslim saint under the shade of a tree. “Ma, let’s stop there for a few minutes,” he pleaded, “it’s a very peaceful place.” Chandramani gave in, and Gadai, clearing dead leaves from the shrine, began to pray. The few minutes extended into half an hour. With all these stops in their journey they reached Mayapur much later than planned, and had to set out almost immediately in order to be home before sunset.