God Gives and God Takes!

I fondly used to call him Jamtshen and all of his friends in sixth grade, did so. Except for the tainted mucus that incessantly hung around his nose, he looked beautiful. Jolly always, he was quick at his work but i must admit, most of the times, he made silly mistakes.I often sent him out of the class so that he could blow away those snarling mucus before it hit his notebook. A year ago, he surprised me with an english song "Oh, my sleeping child..". The next day, i had sung the song to Choden. She thought i was being too romantic:)
 Few days ago i reminded him about that incident and he had blushed at the thought.

Also few days back, we had a lesson on solar energy where i was required to explain them briefly about the solar system. I had told them that life is possible only on earth. "But Scientists are trying to find out if human life is possible on moon". There were lots of discussions amongst them to that hypothesis while on the other hand, i wondered if i made wrong announcements for those sixth graders.

" Imagine half of us staying on earth and half of us living on moon". You might have to write letters from moon to earth some fifty years hence, i had courageously told them.

"Sir, i will write a letter and send it in a pipe!", Jamtshen had told me. The class burst into peels of laughter.

He thought earth and moon would be connected with a long pipe. 

Few lessons back, i have boasted of being immortal. "Nga dhi naam ya mi Shi marey(I wont die anytime)". They didnt believe it anyway. They said i was much older and i would die before them while Jamtshen and his naughty friends would make fun of my age.

Yesterday, i had the last class with them. I had taught them about different sources of energy and after the lesson, as usual, we had the Spelling Test. For every science word that they mis-spelt, i pinch them on their ears. I use the highest of my fair play spirit that i pinch the ears with absolute equality so that they won't compare how bitter the pinch was. But yesterday, Jamtshen had two mis-spelt words. I held his ears and acted as if i pinched it very hard. His desk partner, Pema Khando, is very good in studies but had mis-spelt the word "magnetism". SO this is an occasion to let the bright students learn the art of mutually sharing the punishment. I twisted Pema's ears till he growled with a loud "oouch!" Jamtshen had laughed at his partner making such a noise.

We had signed off our day with mutual greetings. Today, as i went to the school, i saw students in class six. I peeped from the window and saw one of them crying. Thinking that he was unwell, i went into the class and to my surprise, most of them were crying too.

"What happened?", i demanded to know.

"Jamtshen shi nu la!". Did i hear it ? "Gachi lo?"

One of the boys stood up and told me the same. 

I went numb at the news. I have had  lots of surprises in my life and against each surprise, i have dealt it so coolly.

But this one, i couldn't. I was shivering then and thought i might break down as well.

I excused myself from the class and just then the assembly bell rang. The Principal formally announced the passing away of Jamtshen to the whole school.

We hurriedly gathered in the MP Hall and lit butter lamps and had lengthy prayer for the deceased. My eyes moistened as i prayed for his soul.

So this is what happened so suddenly in my school. The teachers went to pay our condolence to his home and as i saw his corpse, i was too overcome with emotions to share.

He was aged 11.