School days - or holidays - with Fr James

 Fr James has been hanging on to his dear life for almost a week now. His mind is still active, but communication is totally incoherent. So we don't know what exactly is he going through.  

This evening as I was trying to recollect some memories of him, as my headmaster, I barely could remember any.  Very vague images of him walking around the campus and corridors in cassock, him standing and addressing the school assembly on the 'new' stage, him taking social studies for us in class X (his topics were more about his trips and experiences than social!).  But something very clear is his joining us for games during holidays.  

Every summer some of us would be in the school ground morning and evening.  Fr James would join us in the evenings.  If by chance he was gardening then we'd also end up gardening - not because we wanted it, but he got us to do it!! But he would join us for games.  However it struck me, in all those months and years we played, every summer and holiday time, we always played cricket!  There is only twice or thrice in a whole lifetime that I would have played basketball.  And I remember him playing with us (along with Rajiv, the electrician and some brothers).  And then, perhaps a dozen times we would have played football.  Even those football games I remember him, making clever passes, without running much or dodging!  He also played some odd games we played. Like the one with sticks and stones - he still remembers that very fondly!  Then some game with the small rubber ball alone - which Fr Benji never understood! But for the rest (perhaps 98% of the time) we played cricket!  And all that while, not once, do I remember him complaining or trying to coax us to play basketball - which was his favourite. Nor did he belittle our games and playing style. He would correct us if we did a mistake. We also turned to him for final decisions on disputed matters, even though he belonged to one of the teams as a player.  But never did he utter a word moaning or grumbling about anything.  He truly was with us, enjoying the game - even when it was never his favourite games.