The School Days From 2014

Chapter One: First Semester

January 14th of 2014, the school year began for the students at Cambridge Grammar School and College (CGSC). It was winter in Sylhet, so all the students could be seen wearing blue sweaters. The teachers came in their finest winter fashion, and some of the parents too.

Everyone was gathering outside for PT, which started around 8:30 am. It was compulsory for all students. It was in this crowd that Tafhim, who had just made it grade 7, was looking for his buddy Ifthi. They had been friends since KG, and the winter vacation gave them a lot to talk about.

Tafhim was a lanky, fair skinned kid who didn't know how to play cricket but was really smart. The same went for his pal Ifthi, who was smart and couldn't play cricket. He was thin too, but slightly shorter. They talked excitedly about how their vacation was and the new books they got for that year, when they were approached by their friend Fahad. Fahad was the class clown, and in lieu of that often got himself in deep waters with the teachers and management.

He joined in their conversation, which by then had turned into a deep discussion and review of the recently finished Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka ODI series. Fahad was a left handed pacer, who styled his bowling to Wasim Akram and his batting to Imzamam-ul Haq, so he had to say about Bangladesh's bowling on the last match. Ifthi was a right arm spinner, not unlike Johann Botha, and Tafhim was a leg spinner who bowled like Samuel Badree and batted like Eoin Morgan.

Just like everyone else in Sylhet, the grade 7 students were really into cricket, which played a vital part in all their school years.

The conversation was halted as the PT began. After being done with it, those three walked up to their classroom on the third floor, and upon entering it saw the rest of their classmates. There was Saif sitting in the middle desk talking to Hasan and Minhaj. Just to point out, we had nicknames for each of us, all of them insulting and maybe in complete distaste, but we were first year teenagers and it was out of camaraderie.

Saif's nickname was Shundori ( meaning beautiful lady), which was for good looks and soft demeanor. Hasan's was Kala Manik, which had something to do with him being dark skinned, and Minhaj's was Abadi ( an insulting term for those who are not from Sylhet) even though he is Sylheti. The truth is no one knows who came up with these names, it is as if they just sprung out of thin air. If you ask everyone, they all say they don't know. Fahad was called Gobadi ( again, I don't know why)

On the other end of the classroom sat Arabi (who is also writing this whole thing) and Labib, with Imran and Faisal behind them as Naim looked out the window.

This class always discussed topics of the previous before the main teacher came. At times they were just about cricket or football, at times they were philosophical. I remember us having an argument whether sleeps with dreams were better or sleeps without dreams. Labib had pointed out that without dreams it seemed like you fell asleep one moment then you were awake the other. Tafhim argued that those dreams had affect, and depending on the type it could have an adverse affect on your sleep.

The first day of school is always interesting. Everyone has new books and notebooks, and fresh clothes. There would be a couple of new students, that was exciting. Some of the boys would be hoping for a pretty girl, and I was not one of them. The teacher asks us to introduce ourselves, and everyone tried to come up with quirky answers. It was during one of these sessions, maybe in grade 7 or 6, when Fahad gave his infamous answer.

The teacher had asked what we want to be when we grow up. Everybody's answer was conventional. Doctors, Lawyers, Engineer, Astronaut or maybe the Army, but Fahad, in his try to be witty and philosophical, said he wants to be human. Mind you, by this time his nickname was already gobadi, that answer cemented the name which runs to this day.

Our school was Pirmoholla, Sylhet, surrounded by thick bamboo foliage. The building used to be a convention center called Peacock but in 2004 it was turned into a school. Our school had what many didn't in Sylhet, fields. We had a field in the front and one in the back. The one in the back was used mostly by guys, while the front was used by the girls. The younger girls played bouchi or something, while the older ones only gossiped.

We of grade 7 played cricket mostly, and were passionate about it. The lunch was when we played, and it was only 25 minutes. That meant in 25 minutes, you got to finish your lunch, clean up and go downstairs to the field to play. Teams were set up beforehand to save time, and depending on the number of players it would either two teams of 5 or three teams. We didn't have any cricket gear with us. For bats a hard cover laboratory notebook was used, for balls we used those stress balls and for stumps the tree behind the computer room was used. The setup was cheap but our fondest memories were made in that area. Since I have the pen ( keyboard to be accurate) in this, I can write whatever I want, so let me put my cricket 11 from our class.

Opener one- Tauqir, explosive batsman who on his given day could tear apart any bowling attack.

Opener two- Naim, less explosive but more dependable as a batsman, giving balance at the start.

3rd- Saif, batsman who can hold things down if an early wicket falls.

4th- Tafhim, a quick scorer who can get us out of trouble if the situation is tight. Handy with his legspin

5th- Fahad, maybe the best striker in the class, perfect at this position and also handy as a pacer

6th- Arabi, can hold the nerves if too many wickets fall and can accelerate at the end. Bowls tight spin too.

7th- Hasan, batsman who can muscle the ball pretty well, but an average bowler.

8th- Imran, Similar to Hasan, but a better bowler.

9th- Labib- A genuine bowler with tricks, capable of big shots at the end.

10th- Ifthi, the best spinner in class and can survive at the end as a batsman.

11th- Minhaj, cannot bowl or bat, but since he is a friend you can't keep him out of the team either.

Faisal would be the 12th men.

The classes were interesting. If a teacher was good, we would pay attention. If not, our minds would fly. Labib and Naim would start playing pen fight or hand cricket. Fahad, Hasan and Imran would begin their shenanigans, smack talking and all. Ifthi and Tafhim sat in the front row like two goodbyes and duly paid attention to the teacher. I ( Arabi) did pay attention to what the teacher was saying, but if the class was boring my mind wondered off.

The girls in the class were Nessa, Joya, Juthi, Bushra, Sadia one, Sadia two, Mehjabin and I think Promi but I am not sure. Back then we had a girls vs boys things going on, so every other day there was a verbal fight among us. Things are much more chill in the present, which gave me a lot of insight how they thought of us. Apparently us boys were divided into two sections, one being the bad boys who they hated and the other being the good guys who they didn't mind much. Me, Saif, Tafhim and Ifthi fell in the latter, while Hasan, Imran, Faisal, Minhaj, Tauqir, Fahad and Naim were considered to be the former. Labib didn't fall in to neither group.

Faisal was a funny, as he used to get beat up by everyone. I lashed out on him once, Naim went out on him twice and Labib countless times. Even Ifthi fought him once, and ifthi was a calm collected dude. Tauqir

What everyone looked forward to as the year began was the sports week and the excursion. Sports used to begin somewhere around mid-February. An entire week of limited classes, and the rest of the time we engaged in various sports activities ranging from sprinting, long jump, to high jump and kabad. It differed for the lower classes and girls. Girls had sprinting, bouchi and jump rope as far as I can remember. I am not sure of the kid's, but I do know they were let out early so their games could be completed before the older ones. The youngsters would play around in corners after their games were done.

When our classes were done, which meant around 11 30ish, we come downstairs to the field like gangsters. Our attitude said " You guys had your fun, now scamper out field youngins", we even walked like that. Once in the field, everyone warmed up. Jokes were made and laughter heard, while some of the folks got grabbed by the teachers to help them set up the field. For long and high jump the ground needed to be soft, otherwise the jumpers land on hard dusty ground. So spades were used by the janitor and the students. In high jumps I think Tafhim and Saif were good, while in long jump it was me and Hasan. In sprinting, if my memory serves right, it was Tafhim or me. For 2014 I can't say who won, since we competed with other classes as well and I have no recollection of those events. What I do remember is the kabadi tournament from that year and the first cricket tournament.

For me , this was the highlight of my cricket career. I was the captain of one of four teams. Two matches and the winner of those matches battled it out in the final. I had on my team Tauqir, Naim, Anisul bhai of grade 8 and Fahadul bhai of grade 9 and a youngster from 6 whose name escapes my mind. Tauqir and Naim opened for us, with Fahadul bhai coming next and then Anisul bhai and me, with the grade 6 kid coming to bat last. We won the tournament, with me hitting the winning runs in the final. Tafhim was the easiest bowler to hit for me, followed by Hasan and Fahad, also Abdullah bhai of grade 9. Toughest was Ifthi, Sakib bhai one of grade 8, and tahmid bhai of grade 8. Tauqir and Fahadul bhai were the best batsman. I still have the vivid image of me hitting the winning runs of Fahad's bowling, running down and celebrating with the team. More sweet was the victory since I was the captain.

But the main event of the sports week was Kabadi. Everyone, from the students, teachers, principal to even the parents and the school staff came to watch Kabadi. We of grade 7 were in the lower group, the older Kabadi group was for students 9 and up. Johir sir (our accounting teacher) and Mofidul sir ( PT teacher) gave the final touches to the field and setup, and then the whistle gave away the signal to begin. Most of us gathered around the huge tree which laid on the west end of back field, with four climbing on the rightside and two climbing on the left side. Granted if no one else was sitting there, also if the older girls or sisters requested us to move because they wanted to sit, then we would oblige. I am describing what happened in 2014, but it remained the same every year while I was there.

Me and my friends can't remember who won that year but we had fun, that is etched into our minds. Shouting and screaming at every play, with commentary being provided by one of the older students.