Christmas means different things to different people. To those of us in Bombay Scottish, it means the Annual Concert is here. So, a lot of schools have annual days and dance shows, but what’s different about ours? Everyone has to participate. And while this spells trouble for those of us with multiple left feet or those quiet people who sit in the corners trying their hardest to blend into the walls, at the end of the day, that’s what makes it special. Over the (extremely limited) days of concert practice, we step on each other’s feet, try to sneak into other classrooms, claw at our hair when the speakers stop working, drink water at inhumane speeds and lose at least one pair of socks. If you walk into any classroom at this time of the year, you’ll find the benches balanced somewhat precariously on top of each other and pushed to the side, complicated schematics of positions and formations drawn on the blackboard, a few pairs of shoes scattered around the floor, students trying their best to remember which kick-step comes next and one teacher looking slightly distressed at how uncoordinated her students are. It’ll be this same teacher who will whisper last minute instructions as we stand in the wings with last minute stage jitters, and clap the loudest after we finish performing to the best of our abilities. Abilities that may not be the greatest but come pretty close to it after hearing the same song on repeat till you can’t possibly hear it again. And when we freeze in our end pose, it doesn’t matter if I turned 3 seconds after I was supposed to or if someone’s jacket fell off, or if the lines were crooked and the formations are all wrong. It matters that Christmas time is here, and we’re here with those who matter.
-Komal Wani, 11A