ms gowri December 20, 2006

one of the many pleasures of growing up in the middle east is the fact that u have access to all of the european consumer institutions so to say, while keeping the muslim ethos intact…be it malls or shopping centers or hypermarkets…we have access to the latest brands from all over the world…barr the abayas,add some pork products and an alcohol section and u’d be in europe

when shopping yesterday, drifting from section to section, i saw a head with the longest braid ever..just one sight of her head and i knew who she was…her long beautiful braid had caught my attention the first time i met her, and it had introduced me again to her yesterday

ms gowri just gave me a look, and as always, there was a big smile on her face…we hugged and screamed and wanted to know everything about each other immediately…i told her about doing my bachelors from the same institute of which i had shown her the prospectus of a few months before graduating, telling her “i’ll never get in!!”….and she always said, u will abeer, u will get in and do a lot more! yesterday she said with a twinkle in her eye “see, i told u u’d get in”…and then i saw a baby in her hands…she started telling me about rishi *her baby boy* and vaishnavi (vaishu) who was now a girl of 5-6…we saw her when she was much younger, so she didnt remember us…but meeting with miss gowri was such a pleasant surprise..brought on memories

i first met miss gowri when i was in 11th grade…there were only 2 a level accounting students *rafiqa and myself* and 3 economics students *rafiqa myself and nicole*…she taught us both courses…i remember all three of us girls sniggering in the back when we first had class with her..she was a shy quiet thing…smelling of curry, with a sharp indian accent…kohled eyes and the looong braid we always marvelled and nicky played around with

most of our classes we tried to distract her, trying to talk about anything but economics…forgetting that we had cambridge exams to give in a few months, and instead ms gowri confessing to us that she would never have another baby because she hated pregnancy and childbirth…telling us about weird south indian customs like never being allowed to cut ur hair…and her opinion about the *promiscuous* and downright *vulgar* arab students…”they cover their head and they still do like this?!!”

rafiqa and i went thru a phase when we used to imitate her accent and nod our heads similarly…we never did it in front of her…she was such a sensitive thing, she couldve burst into tears…we used to do it behind her back…and once, during accounting class rafiqa and i didnt realize but we were doing it in front of her…we gave each other a look and felt horrid about it…went upto ms gowri and apologized…she forgave us immediately, but gave us more work to do than usual

i loved high school…especially senior year *12th grade*..we were 10 students in one section *a level section* and 10 in the other *SAT section*…i can honestly say that be it teacher or our core of 10-11 students *shakir from the other section used to spend more time with us than he did with his section* we were the BEST of friends..teasing, confessing,talking, wondering about the life that lay beyond graduation

a disadvantage of growing up the middle east is that u leave ur international group, and u KNOW that its never going to be the same again…the probability of such a multiethnic group meeting up in the future is pretty slim…*sighs*

but u meet one or two people once in a while *like i do when i come down here every six months*..and u bridge the distances via the internet…but just isnt the same…looking at pictures of school on facebook the other day, i didnt even realize it but i was smiling and had tears pouring out of my eyes…they were such good days…at the time , we only used to whine about school and saudi arabia..but now that we’re away from it, we cherish those memories and miss it like hell

me , and nicole sitting on me, hajra sitting on nicole, and rafiqa sitting on hajra…the little *bye* u can see in the corner was ms demir’s *our math teacher* way of saying bye…she used to write on the walls

to all my girls, and my guys, and my teachers and friends from school…i know i have told u all..but i just want to tell u again..i love u!

thank u ms gowri, for reminding me about life’s most important thing…which in spite of this loooong piece, i still havent been able to find a word for *sighs*