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Down to Earth

Mothers' vigil outside school premises

A S M NURUNNABI
There are more than a dozen schools for children in Dhaka's Dhanmondi area. A common sight outside such school premises is the assembly of groups of mothers or wards of children attending the schools. The sight of such large groups of waiting mothers outside every school for children is so conspicuous that it has become part of the city scenario in that area.
This seems to mark a change in our social ethos towards school-going children of the new generation.
There was a time three or four decades ago when children's schools were not so numerous within a limited area and children used to be escorted, where necessary, by some adult member of the family at the time of their going to and return from school. There were very few cases of waiting by any member of the school-going
children while the school hours lasted. There was some arrangement on a small scale at that time made by school authorities for a waiting room of some sort for those who chose to wait out the entire period of the school hours.
Times have since changed. Children of schools in lower classes in the city in most cases are now required to be escorted to their schools and back home by a guardian, be it the mother, father or some authorised attendant regularly.
In most cases, the duty of escorting a child falls on the mother. A problem arises if the school is situated some distance away from the child's residence. Some schools may have their own transports for carrying their students, but their capacity may be limited on account of demands made for using the facility from different city areas. In these situations, the mother or her authorised representative cannot afford to return home after leaving the child in school. Because of the distance in such cases, a second trip to the school when the child's classes are over for escorting him back home may not be possible on account of the cost of conveyance and the time factor. In such circumstances, the mother or her female proxy prefers to remain near the school premises throughout the school hours.
Because of the compulsive period of waiting, many mothers are seen to resort to peculiar strategies. Near the schools there may be vacant pavements or footpaths under the shade of trees. Some enthusiastic mothers keep a couple of straw mats within the school premises, which are brought out for use when the school hours begin. In some schools, some benches are kept outside for the waiting mothers. In winter, such spots serve quite well for the purpose of enjoying sunshine. The problem arises during summer when the waiting ladies spread
out straw mats for gossip sessions.
The gossip sessions of waiting ladies present interesting features. Such sessions tend to cover a wide range of subjects from kings to cabbages, as the expression goes. Sometimes, they also compare notes about the academic performance of their respective wards. The problems of daily life figure in their discussions. Some bring flasks of tea or coffee or small transistor radios to relieve the tedium of waiting. Some munch packets of peanuts to add zest to the long discussions. A problem, however, arises during the rainy season. During spells of rain or storm, the waiting ladies may rush into the covered shelters within the school. Some take shelter under the covered porticos of adjacent buildings. There is no doubt that, as a result of their daily sittings panning over a long period of time, a sort of bond develops among them. Such assemblies of waiting ladies often provide materials to advertising agencies to frame interesting advertisements for their various products.
An interesting feature of the waiting assemblage is the display of a variety of colourful dresses worn by the waiting ladies. Such dresses sometimes indicate trends of current fashions to the benefit of the younger mothers, in particular, interested in such matters. It has also been seen that taking advantage of such a large assembly of waiting ladies, some hawkers of peanuts, chatpati, fuchka, etc. run a brisk business. Sellers of candies, chocolates, ice cream similarly get good business when the school
children come out at the end of their classes.
Sometimes poignant scenes are seen when guardians of some small children fail to turn up in time at the end of the classes and such children begin sobbing. Their distress ends with the arrival of their guardians soon afterwards.
The daily grind of waiting for the mothers outside the school premises except during holidays is a significant aspect of our social life, which, in the urban context, has given rise to nucleus families which offer no scope for additional family members to do the usual chores of escorting small school children which were easily possible under the joint family system now on the verge of extinction.
There are some positive aspects of the picture of waiting mothers outside school premises. On account of the close association among them, an atmosphere of bonhomie, which paves the growth of a sense of bond, goes a long way in relieving the feelings of boredom and impatience. So when the final bell for the end of the school hours rings, the waiting ladies stand up from their straw mats or benches with a satisfied feelings of a day well spent with the promise of a similar routine on the following days. After all, the whole episode may be a welcome break in the otherwise monotonous run of daily life of many of them.