indignant.
Samantha had called me on Monday morning, a day before Gates’s
visit.
‘I’m sorry, Madhav. It’s a really tight schedule for Mr Gates. Maybe
you can cut down on a few things.’
‘But the kids have been preparing for months.’
‘My apologies. Trust me, we have actually cancelled a few places.
But there’s no question of cancelling your school.’
‘Fine.What time?’
‘10.30 sharp. See you.’
I went with Tarachand jt to inspect the empty field being converted
into a parking lot. From a distance, I could hear the sound of students
practising the welcome song.
We had stopped classes for a week to focus on the annual day.
Students had planned the cultural programme, scrubbed the floors and
walls of the school, drawn new charts and made props for the stage. I
went to the staffroom and told my mother about the shortened length
of the visit.
She said, ‘It was a stupid idea to call these moody goras to school.
We’ve been going mad for the past few weeks for them, and now see.’