The Sports Day

The circular said 'children are to be dropped at the venue at 8.00 am sharp.' So there I was in the dusty parking lot of the grounds where my children were to have their annual sports day. They have been part of this institution since they could toddle and there were very specific reasons why I had admitted both of them there. Unlike the new crop of upcoming wealthy parents to whom this school is nothing but a status symbol that makes for great dinner time conversation with their yuppy friends. Recently I have noticed how ridiculous the school's demands have become. But perhaps they are ridiculous only to those who own a single vehicle, are working parents and have no maids/chokidar/bodyguard/driver/houseboy/slave.

A month and a half in advance a notice was sent by the school stating that all children were to enter a training camp for the upcoming sports day. The "camp" was either in one corner of the city or was held at such unrealistic hours that those of us that had to drive/work/supervise the younger sibling all by our self were left gasping. It was brought into the respective teachers' notice but the head shook and the reply was the recently famous 'you have to send your child otherwise......'

Lists were put up a couple days before the event on the school walls that ominously read 'RESULT SHEETS.' Parents flocked around (myself included) looking for their child's name, some mothers clicked pictures to send to those that had not come(I mean seriously?) It was a sight! Haven't sports days been a tradition in Pakistani schools since time immemorial? I never remember anyone having to nose through lists. 

Any how there we were and I had deposited my two into their respective enclosures, which is a fancy name for laying dirty carpets onto lose sand, that rises into your nose as you walk on it, surrounded by tents. I take my seat in the arena and wait. And wait, and wait and wait. The microphones are tested, the music is not playing(it is supposed to be a rehearsal day) but hang on it is also the sports day for the younger lot right? Confused? so are we, every year. After forty five minutes the events begin. There is an atmosphere. Parents are enjoying their tea and snacks as well the various races on the field. According to the program we received the last events take place and most of us start moving towards the children's enclosures to pick them up. Some of you probably think all the children got to participate. You are wrong. forty percent of them have been sitting on a sand dune eating dirt for four hours without having to do anything with their own sports day because remember a month and a half ago we were warned 'you have to send your child otherwise......'

There are plumes of dust as I walk towards my child's 'enclosure,' children are running amok and the sand is everywhere even on her eyelashes. "Where is your teacher?" "I don't know." 

Oh there she is, in the only dust safe corner of the tent sipping tea and talking to her buddy. 

It is noon time and the sun is merciless. Yet we are told that there will be a last time the children will march onto the tracks and then we can take them home. I reluctantly go back to my area to wait. It is scorching and the children walk back onto the field. They are then asked to sit down. I get up. How can they expect the children to be sitting in the sun when we lounge in the shade? For the next forty minutes random prizes are announced and children come up to get their medals while the rest of them sit roasting in the noon sun. One after another names are called of children from 8th 9th,10th,11th grade while the 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th graders hold their hands up to shade their eyes. Parents watch on helplessly most of them with children from 3-7 grade. But none of them utter a single word. After all this is a school that is said to be the best. It is a school that promotes the inculcation of confidence in their children rather than academics alone. For the last three years my son has not been "selected" to participate in the annual sports day of the school he has been attending since kindergarten.