Schools back then

 Early morning musings .... Do you remember playing on a jungle gym? High up, criss crossing , hanging . No one bothered about how safe it was or even thought about what would happen if you fell. Many did fall, dusted themselves off and got on again . No one sued the school if you fell off and broke an arm . There were no staff on lunch duty. No monitoring at all. Then there were the swings and slides. Often rusty. Some jagged edges too. No health and safety audits ! You got cut, washed it and if in school you went to the clinic. The wound was attended to. No entries in any register and no call to parents to inform them. You went home and were probably not even asked as to how you injured yourself . You got into an argument in school. One thing led to another. Someone egged both boys on and soon it was a scuffle. There were scratches, bruises and black eyes there too. No questions asked and no explanation given. You slipped on a wet floor during the rain or fell into a puddle . Never saw anyone mopping the floor or draining the water. No 'BEWARE of wet floor' signs were ever visible. I remember sitting at desks which were decades old and which had seen better days . Also of having the top bang down on my fingers and howling in pain. What about when you were about to sit down and someone pulled the chair away and you fell with a thud. I ate samosas from the school canteen and yes the flies had sat on them too . Municipality checks ? There were none. No one complained of smelly toilets, overflowing drains and leaking taps at school. And if by chance there was a sudden closure of school for any reason , you just found your way home the best way possible. I don't remember of anyone ever being kidnapped and held for ransom. Books and stationery often went missing . Once a text book was covered in ink . There was no complaining ever. We got on with life at school. And God forbid you went home and even attempted to complain about a strict teacher or getting less marks as the teacher ' did not like you '. More often than not , you were scolded, punished and told to behave and get your brains in order lest you became a loafer. How times have changed .