I had a crazy dream last night. I was delayed to the school assembly. I was running to the entrance gate but they shut it on my face. I had nothing to do and nowhere to go but wait for an eternity, till it finally got over.
That episode reminded me of this whole affair – “the morning assembly” & the hilarity of events that followed with it (side effects).
Chapter 1 : The Assembly line – It was meant to measure your worth (height) everyday
If I think of it now, I might have not discovered that I was short, had it not been the school assembly. That tradition of ordering the queue by your relative height made me envious of other fellas. I was glad, I was not the shortest. But, I was disappointed when someone ahead of me, grew an inch taller to take away “my original spot”. 😥
That assembly line was a fierce competition, to stay behind, as farthest as possible from the dais and the teachers. (You didn’t want ’em to notice you, in case you were bored to death.)
Chapter 2 : It challenged you to stay awake.
Assembly was the first thing in the morning , a mix of prayers with some over practiced speeches (mostly by children). It lasted for one full hour and sucked away that day start energy. Needless to say, everyone was yawning, constantly. Which is why, they decided to turn it into a full fledged TV.
Dance choreography was introduced along with the prayer songs. That meant we had to jump and sway to match the lyrics. (as we sang) 😳
It was a damn pretty sight to see from a distance except that it disturbed our sleeping momentum 😡
Chapter 3 : Some even fainted!
In summers, the temperature soared easily from 35 to 40 degree Celsius.
We were all used to the heat of course (being from an equatorial country) but that didn’t mean we championed an hour long survival.
It was not unusual to witness someone fainting in the middle of the assembly. That didn’t halt the assembly. We watched, while they carried the casualty inside the building.
We danced to the prayers while a few more weaklings fainted.
That taught us a key lesson – Survival of the fittest 😛
Chapter 4: An exception was your birthday
Birthdays meant special attention in morning assembly.
For starters, you were allowed to wear casuals on that special day. So you could dress like a celebrity & grab some eye balls.
To top this up, you didn’t have to join the queue. You were promoted straight to the podium. So, while everybody sang the birthday song, you could just relax & watch ’em from a distance. 😎 Those crazy fellas even choreographed the birthday song.
Chapter 5 : And then it was abruptly dismissed
Believe it or not, that morning assembly was a deadly place! (especially for those who played the band). That one time, there was this guy playing drums alongside the pianist. We were all singing the prayer in chorus when we heard a sudden “thud”. A glass pane fell from the top floor and landed straight onto his head. The glass shattered into pieces and this guy dropped unconscious, drenched in his blood.
The drumming stopped and so did the morning assembly (suddenly dismissed)
That shit happened twice. So they barred the patch of the ground below windows. (forever!).
Turns out, some kids (while playing) scraped off the clay from windows. That (clay) was meant to hold the glass together. Of course they didn’t know it then and hell broke loose in the morning assembly.
Insanely true!
All the things that went on in that school assembly, makes me chuckle even today. No wonder why I can still recall it in my dreams!
© Copyright 2020. Megha Gupta. All rights reserved.
Comments
22 responses to “What went on in that School Assembly”
Lol, the one in the front is me! I’m short so I always had to be in the front. I couldn’t mess around at the back. This post is lovely.
Thank you. I reckon the feeling. 🙂 I too had to stay awake while the ruckus continued behind my back!
Wow Megha! You took me back to my school days! Actually, I found myself nodding my head vigorously through out the post✨😇
Thanks Nathi for your comment. I’m glad you could also relate to it. I am amused how wilfully we complied to the whole assembly system in past. (without realizing the craziness in it) 😛
Unfortunately, we never had a say in such matters! All we can do was pretend to faint😂
Lol 😂 So true. Some even pretended!
😂✌️
Hahaha this made me nostalgic. Morning assembly was a pain at that time, but now that I look back it brings back such fun memories.
Such a sweet fun post Megha.
Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you reckon the feeling 🙂
Ah this is so relatable, especially the first one cuz I always stand at the last! 😇 and yes! surviving this whole time is an achievement, when people around you are either dizzy or fainting 😂
Haha.. glad you like it! Survival of the fittest, I say! 😛
😁😁
Flashbacked to my school life. we aslo had similar kind of experiences and naughtyness in our assemblyies
Glad you find this relatable. 😛
Arre!! One strange thing that used to happen with me was, whenever I closed my eyes for the assembly prayer I used to find myself standing in the opposite direction after opening my eyes😂😂. Thanks for this post!!! What a flashback really……
Lol.. I am amused at the similarities of the assembly system we all had! 😆
😂😂
Oh I always stand at the last n sometimes if wid my friends am always scolded badly by my teacher fr not being at the back , which is quite good !!! There u don’t have any teachers attention n u can just relax , infact u can even run away frm the ground direct to your class , it was a flashback as it has been 6 months n I badly miss school !!! Great post Megha !!!
You sound lucky kripaa. I’m glad you can reckon the school from this post. Hopefully, we all get back to normal next year!
I never fainted infact I took advantage of d ones who did by taking them to the sick room n roaming about that place only
This is ur dream but my soon to come again reality!! Am a student of class 8
Haha.. goodluck!