The Rise

Name:  Haimi Jha

Class: V Section: A 

“Asha, get up, the sky is getting clear”. The sound came in her sleepy mind like a song she

used to hear daily. Opening her eyes, she saw her father’s smiling face, stretched her hands

and finally jumped into her father’s lap, as usual. Both of them came out of their cottage.

The four kids of Kamli, the goat, started hopping, Dhabali, the cow, cried “Hamba” in joy.

Asha jumped off her father’s lap and seeing her the birds started chirping on the trees, the mist started melting and the sun jumped in the scene. The day began for Asha, like everyday.

           While she was in class four of Primary Valika Vidyalaya of the village, she knew that there was none to chase her report card as she always follows her father’s advice –“Never

Rise late”.

           On the way to school with her mother, she crossed the  big pond, behind the orchard and met her friends Meena, Rekha and others.

            Nalini Babu, the head teacher of both the primary and secondary sections of the school greeted them near the gate. The head sir had special feelings for Asha because of her poor peasant father and because he knew secondary section was not free of cost.

          In the next committee meeting Nalini Babu raised the issue with the Secretary of Asha’s good results and further free status for Asha from next class.

            “ This instance may invite other applications Nalini Babu “ – said the Chairman.

            Another member said – “ Development of the school cannot be compromised.”

            Nalini Babu could not say a single word, but from the next day Asha noticed that the smile had vanished from his face. One day Nalini Babu came to her house after final examination, met Asha’s poor crying father, but Asha did not get any clue of the cause.

            So one day the poor girl of the poor father left the village to accommodate herself at the free boarding school at the city.

            Her poor little heart could not understand why she was missing the kids, the cow, the birds, the rising sun, but the strong mindset told her something else.

            To grow a tree is the main issue. Fruits come in time, automatically.

            The days passed by, the kids were growing young. Dhabali gave birth to a new calf, her father was growing older day by day and slowly Asha was lost in the memory of all village folks.

            Some twenty years later in a rainy afternoon the new headmaster, in the school committee meeting proposed – “ This Independence Day we must invite the new District Magistrate to hoist the flag, so that we can request for more grants”. Their proposal was accepted and soon the final day at 8:45 am in the morning a convoy of cars stopped at the main entrance of the school and a lady in white sari came out smiling. She greeted by the president of the school and the head master.

            On the way to the stage she saw a little boy with a Tricolor in his hand standing near the gate. An old man in his dhoti and kurta was holding the other hand of the boy.

            The lady came forward, bent down and asked the boy, “ What’s your name?”

            “Arka”, the child said

           

“Do you know the meaning?”

           

“The sun”, the boy replied.

            The lady knelt down in front of the boy, her eyes meeting his, and said, “So be it child, never rise late”.

She stood up and said “ Thank you sir” to the old man.

            This lady was Asha who returned after twenty years and thanked Nalini Babu.