During our school days, we had
two short breaks and one tiffin break that we eagerly looked forward to. The
first break came after the second period in the morning, and the second one
followed the seventh period, just before the final class of the day. Each break
lasted around 10 minutes—brief but always refreshing and much needed.
- Sharing jokes—ranging from silly to wildly
inappropriate—with close friends.
- Catching up with friends from other sections.
- Sneaking in comic books, despite school rules
strictly forbidding them.
- Gossiping about teachers and inventing hilarious
nicknames or impersonations.
- Peeking through classroom windows to spy on others.
- Chatting with school peons and playfully teasing
them.
Our peons (office boys) were quite the characters: Satyanarayan (a
notorious troublemaker), Pandey, Shaw Ji, Suraj,
and Kishori Lal—each with their own quirks and stories.
The second break was
even more action-packed. It was our time to:
- Play cricket or other games right inside the
classroom.
- Aim chalk pieces at students sipping tea and
munching toast at Sheetal Toast—a legendary snack shop. The
toast was unforgettable, and even today, I make it a point to visit
whenever I’m nearby. His son runs the shop now and still remembers me
fondly.
- Occasionally, we’d hurl random abuses—just for
laughs.
- Dance in the classroom, using our mouths for music
and benches for drums. One of our classmates would mimic Madhuri Dixit
from Saajan, or Shilpa Shirodkar dancing in the rain (Kehni
thi ek baat...), while another friend would grab him like Mithun
Chakraborty in full dramatic flair.
- Sing together—4 or 5 boys belting out classics
like Aane Se Uske Aaye Bahaar from Jeene Ki Raah.
Though the song was from an earlier era, it was still a hit in the 1980s
and 1990s.
This break was also notorious for
settling scores. If someone had complained about us to a teacher, this was the
time for revenge. From Class V to VIII, our monitors, prefects, and captains
were often the party poopers—trying to enforce discipline and spoil our fun.
Some of them were truly annoying. I still remember their names, but now they
seem like elder brothers, and I can’t bring myself to curse them anymore.
By Class IX and X, we had become
fearless. No prefect or captain dared to challenge us.
From Class V to VIII, the last
period was usually reserved for additional subjects like General Knowledge or
Moral Science. Since marks weren’t counted, teachers rarely taught seriously.
But after 1994, the rules changed—if someone scored above 34, the marks would
be added, which made things a bit more serious.
In Classes IX and X, the final
periods became important—subjects like Hindi, History, Bookkeeping, and
Additional Mathematics demanded our full attention. And yes, we did study
seriously.
Even today, I miss those breaks
deeply.
Do you?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
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