Thanks for liking this concept and being a wonderful support. This prologue is dedicated to you, for being such a wonderful person. Thanks armaanrose and enjoy!!
BTW the video in the right, is a video of Tamil song, where the heroine is a quite intelligent, cheery and happy teacher like Ria. So, I thought you might enjoy it. Please do play it and I'm sure you'd love that song, teacher and Ria also.
Ria's Point Of View:-
One fine day of my life......
“Let your next birthday come and you would be 24, Ria.” my mom shouted at me and continued after a small pause which she used to inhale a deep breath that she thought would calm her and it did, “Now come on, you are big enough to get married. I want to see you settled soon, dear.”
“Mom, no! Give me sometime, please. I'm not yet ready to settle I have so much to conquer.” I replied back through my clenched teeth irritated by the pressure that her mom is putting on me.
“Yeah, but you already have a very sucessful career---- Well--- it’s fine unless you don’t love someone. Do you?” asked my mom eyeing me with suspicion.
I hate it when people accuse me of fault that I'm not guilty of. Well, who doesn't? Wait, I don't say that loving or even seeing someone is a sin, but people like my mom just make that, that way.And the worst would be the case when I'm accused by my own mother who I believed till date had understood me, well enough.
“No. How many times do I need to tell you that I’m not in love.” I Yelled. I know that I'm losing my temper and I know this could lead to worst results.
“Ok, fine. But why don’t you just let us to a search a match for you. By the way it might even take months or even years to find a perfect match. Please-“my mom tried to continue but only to be cut off by me.
“Mom, I give in. Do whatever you want. Just leave me now. I need to go. I’m getting late for school.” I found myself saying. Now this is what'll happen when I lose my temper. I do things that backfire on me.
All I know is that my life will be doomed forever and ever.....
Well, you know that one second when you are over-frustrated ( I even wonder if there's a word so, but never mind that now I'm in a very bad mood) you give in to the constant pestering of someone and you feel that that was your life changing moment.
So, heck now the above was mine. I knew I had to reach my school on time and otherwise my principal would really lecture me for a good half-an hour about the importance of being punctual.
Uh, I'm just bored with that crap and I never intend to listen again. So, I quickly grabbed my purse, texts, notes and other stuff that I might require for school and quickly reach my Volkswagon Passat.
( Hey, I don't know why but I just developed a Volkswagon obssession recently, I mean eversince I was 15 I was dreaming of owning a Passat but then dad had brought us Vento as you know he said those same middle class crap that Vento was more than suffice for us and that would fit the budget as his bank only gave him that loan. BTW my dad is working in Indus bank, he was a Junior Vice-President then and now he's the President of the bank, all due credits to his work-alcholic nature. Okay, let's just Cut the Crap and get to the point. So, when my 1st novel "Living My Dreams" made a great success I brought my very own Passat and fulfilled my dream.)
Oh, BTW please don't get scared as why a 23 old woman needs to go to school. The fact is I, Miss. Ria Rangarajan as my school principal would prefer to refer me as is working as an English teacher for St. Patrick’s Higher Secondary school situated in Chennai, India (South).
I'm actually handling higher secondary classes as I have recently finished my Masters degree in English recently through distance education while I worked here from my 21 years, which means as soon as I finished my college . I'm famous throughout the school all thanks to my friendly, generous and down-to-earth attitude. As a part time job, I did columns for a leading newspaper. Almost all of my students and coleagues are my serious fan yet they they love me because I'm easily approacable.Thus, I'm famous as a writer than teacher here. And then for my satisfication and to be faithful to my belief of being the change that want to be, I created and work in a NGO where we go villages to villages to educate the under-previliged. Most of my colleagues join me there and the backbone of this NGO is my best-friend Rajeshwaren commomly known as Raj who's a famous fashion designer. ( hey the pic in the sid is Raj. Sweet, carefree, happy-go-lucky man, isn't he?)
I met Raj when I was designing for a charity event. Oh, did I forget to tell you that I have a passion for fashion designing and I own a botique which my mom sits at cash-counter. Now it was only in that event where I met Aiswarya Parthasarty ( Aishu), event manager, Catherine D'Souza, show-stopper and Muhammed Farooq, fund-raiser. It was actually Farooq's idea and he was the one who raised funds, while because of fantastic idea, we all who we just considered as friends for networking became partners and our friendship too grew more day by day. While Raj and I are BFF. I don't know what but Raj is my perfect supportive best friend and 1st option that I might consider when I'm in trouble as I know that he would drop anything for me and the same as here. But I don't why, eventhough as many has suggested that we should date, I couldn't muster up the courage to do so. We've decided not to do anything that might ruin our special friendship.
Oh let me just tell you I'm such a crazy, huge fan of Jane Austen and I just love her not just for her writing style or she being one among pioneers of women writing but I totally love her for her deep thoughts and ideas which are really too inspiring and different for that point of time. It was only she who brought in her idea of chalk and cheese and she strongly believed that it's better to stay a spinster than marry without love which she followed her whole-life time as she remained a spinster as she never found that "The One". I too thought the same way. So, I was a little hesitant to have an arranged marriage as what if I doesn't find the one in the one I marry?
But when my mother wanted to get my marriage arranged, I did like the idea as it's my parents responsiblity to get me a good match and not mine and so I felt as thought weights were lifted off my shoulders but still somehow I felt that maybe I wasn’t ready.
My life was really getting a little mundane now and marriage will certainly be fun and a good change so maybe these crazy thoughts would have unconsiously made me give up to the pestering of my mother. Now, there is no use to ponder over what just happened. All I have to do is to get prepared to face the consequences of my descision. Tsk.
But, marriage is certainly a big change, am I ready for that change now. Well there hangs that uncertainity...
I was totally zoned out due to the above thoughts and I totally didn't realize that I had reached my school parking lot all the while driving in my car. It's no wonder that mom never allowed to drive a car before I turned 21 years stating that I lacked concentration skills. It's days like today that makes me understand as what my mom meant by the above.
God, even I don't understand as how I would have managed to reach here. But let's just leave it all, I have some work to do, I patted myself, got away from the car and entered my principal office to sign the register.
Luckily, I reached at the perfect time and so I have escaped my principal's wrath. She seemed to be in a good mood meaning that she smiled at me. BUt wait, her smiling means... Oh, no.. What!?!
"Ria, today you have to handle the science class of class IV and V in your free period of hour 4 and 5 and also do a 3 hour of investigation officer duty for the class X who are writing their model test."
I know that I can't back-answer her meaning that my free periods and rest of today are all gone in the well. By the way let me tell me this happens every alternating day. An English teacher made to take science class as substitution thus making her free periods miserable, it's so normal you know?
All I could muster was a "yes madam" in response and rush to my first class, my favourite batch of students. Class X who are going to face public exams this year.
(Public exams are exams conducted by the government where the answer-sheets are corrected by teachers from other schools.)
"Good Morning, mam" they all wished me in unison. '
"Good morning, darlings" I wished them back.
I started my class talking about general happenings in the world and slowly moved on to subject-topics. I finished my class and was back to my cheery self thanks to my darlings who are so sensible and not just book-worms. As being my students, they still can remember and teach the concepts taughts to them way back in Class I-IX. The reason is I insist that they must understand subjects and never just have this attitude of studying for passing that year. They must study to gain knowledge and also remember them for their whole-lifetime.
In this way, we have 8 hours per day and I went to my next class for Class VI taught them some basic grammar, then to Class IX and we all read this beautiful Shasperean play gist of "Twelfth Night that was given in their Supplementary Reader, I also provided them with some background information about the Elizebetian Age that Shakespeare belonged to, his writing syle, play settings and other significant details about the play and they all listened intently. Then I went to class IV and taught them Science in a pretty interactive manner that they all become so enthuastic that they never wanted me to stop. I went 5th hour to Class V and again taught them Science. After the lunch break, I went to the classroom where the model exams where held. I knew perfectly that my students would never copy and if it were I who was investigating, they wouldn't even dare to do such acts as they wouldn't want to get in bad books of mine and at the same time they know as how much angry I could get if I get to know about anyone cheating. They have personally told me that they like my cheery self then the angry women that I'm. But still I need to be alert right? So, I just walked around and checked while the exam ended peacefully.
The students then gave me feedbacks about the exam that they wrote while I ushered them to go home and study for next exam because talking about an exam that we have written can make students get more anxious.
After finishing all my work I went home at around 4:30 p.m. I had planned to write the first draft of my second novel in my free period but heck with that so I started doing that. By 6:00 p.m, I wrote my blog post for that day, posted it and after that Raj came to pick me up for doing some designs in his studio. I returned home by 9:00 p.m and slept immediately as I had had dinner with Raj. Then, I slept peacefully for that night. Aha, what a hectic day it has been. But mind it, this is my daily schedule. I love being busy, you know?
~!@!@!$#$#
Author's Note:-
Hey, guys. Hope you like this story. This chapter is basically like a filler in order to make you understand the basics of life of Ria Rangarajan and why and how does she handle the news of getting her marriage arranged. So, when she talks about Raj or her other colleagues a.k.a friends you won't get confused right?
I know like the writing style might suck, but please stay with me because the actual drama starts after her marriage. It's always like it's Ria who is very sensible, smart and practical that determines her life but this marriage will change it all. Seriously, I feel like skipping to marriage phase of hers. Which I'm sure will start soon.
Feel free to tell me what you feel. Bye and thanks for reading. Enjoy and Live your life!!!