When does a teacher walk into our lives?
Please accept my apologies, being a student and a teacher myself; I have started on a wrong note. Let me put it the other way round.
When do we walk to a teacher?
This question was born in my mind, when I decided to create a post for this blog of mine; to simply pay tribute to all my teachers on Teacher’s Day. The question was inspired from what Annu Kapoor shared on his radio show ‘Suhana Safar’, relayed everyday on Big 92.7 FM (do tune in, whenever time is on your side). On account of Teacher’s Day he was anchoring a special episode as a part of the ‘Suhana Safar’ series. During his conversation with awe-eared listeners like us, he listed examples of some amazing Teacher-Student relationships. Three stories stayed with me, and left me motivated to write this piece. At this moment, three minutes into writing; I’ve not yet thought of a title. But this is definitely my tribute to Teacher’s Day. I am unaware about the length of this post. But I might take the liberty of keeping it lengthy by making the same excuse that I am going to release this on my own personal blog.
The three stories, he shared about were of Lord Ram and his brother, Mirabai and her cobbler guru, Amir Khusro and his master Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. As I write this piece, I remain fixated to the story of Lord Ram and his younger brother Laxman. Emperor Dashrath sent his two sons to the ashram of Vashishthamuni to seek education and knowledge. Both brothers quietly landed in the ashram. They found the door closed. Lord Ram took the first step and knocked. From within Vashishthamuni’s voice resonated, “Who is it?”
Lord Ram replied, “That is what, we are here for teacher. Please let us in to help us know, who we are”. Pleased by their reply, Vashishthamuni welcomed them into his ashram and the rest as they say is ‘mythology’.
Going back to the question I asked, when do we walk to a teacher? The reply is – before we start walking, the teacher could have possibly arrived in our lives.
Settled and well positioned in front of my laptop, I wish to recollect every soul; whom I regard as my teacher apart from the teachers I met in my academic institutions and of course in this life.
Part 1 – My Parents, My Teachers
I remember my father had a flat tummy and his six packs intact, till he breathed his last. He hit me only twice in my lifetime. His eyes and his silence were two lethal weapons to make me put all my mischievous intent to rest. He taught me discipline. Right from my kindergarten days, I lived by his rules and till date am unable to tolerate indiscipline. There were no lessons in discipline. But simple steps to keep our own selves uplifted. I don’t remember a single day that I might have walked back home from school, college, workplace and thrown my things away carelessly. The bag went back to its place. The clothes were deposited in a bucket. The books were in the shelf. The utensils were washed after meals. The electrical appliances were switched off, when not needed. Guests were to be respected. Speaking in loud voice (this is the only case, where I’ve grown into a serious offender of sorts) was never entertained. Intervening or interrupting adult discussions always remained classified behavior. I was not scared of him, for being strict. I was scare of him, out of the fear that what if I end up breaking any of those rules. These rules suffocated me. But somewhere they also shaped my mind. My mother on the other hand, kept growing friendlier. I didn’t realize when this mother-child relationship transformed into friendship. Being a teacher herself, my mother could have easily turned me into a guinea pig of sorts. Till date, I don’t remember her telling me to do anything. But I only remember her of telling me to do anything that I wish was right for my growth and development. The hardships, from which my parents had liberated from, remained shrouded till I started earning on my own. I remember my parents never shying away from meeting any of my demands. From them I learnt life had to be managed on all terms. This Teacher’s Day I thank them.
Part 2 – My Grannies, My Teachers
I was always amused by her energy levels, which today stands in dark contrast of her having grown so immobile. My maternal grandmother, we still don’t know her actual birth date, which she still calculates and recollects as per proceedings of Bengali/Hindu calendar. She might have not gone to a conventional school. She might have never sought luxuries. She might have never gone on a shopping spree. All she did was to love us and bring us up. She asked us to follow only one adage in our life – Pora Shona Kore Je, Gaari Ghora Chore Shey (The one who studies, enjoys all the joyrides of life). The best of my academic years were spent in her pampering company. The year, I truly regret not getting to spend much time with her, was my graduation year. I had to suffice with a second class. But since I studied, I definitely am enjoying the joyrides of my life. My paternal grandmother supposedly succumbed to skin cancer. I couldn’t be by her side, when she was counting the last hours of her struggle to survive. I have fond memories of her taking me to the banks of Mother Ganges and telling me, “The one who swims through her tides, may someday rise from her banks being immortal”. From both my grandmothers, I learnt life has its own challenges and we shouldn’t shy away. This Teacher’s Day I thank them.
Part 3 – My Schoolteachers, My Teachers
I was not at the luxury of trying my hands generously at any kind of mischief. Before I could shield my wrongdoings, my mother had already known a lot of me. My schoolteachers kept a keen eye on me, to not only report every big/small action of mine to my mother. But they also continued to groom my skills. The best teachers of my life have been my mother, Shaila teacher, Shikta teacher, Sachidevi teacher, Majali teacher, Chari teacher and more. After my academic association with my school came to an end, it was time to be in the company of lecturers. All of them were wonderful. My teacher from my computer class, Mrs Anjali Gangal spoilt me with her motherly treatment. But she always made it sure that I never compromised on discipline. This Teacher’s Day I thank every teacher of mine from my school, college and computer education institutes.
Part 4 – My Colleagues, My Teachers
The monsoons of 1998 brought across big news – I got a job, I graduated. But before I would graduate, broke the news of I having bagged a job. I still remember the interview. At the very entrance of my so called first office, stood a huge bulldozer clawing red mud away from a piece of land that was to give way to one of architectural splendors in Thane. A hugely built Parsi gentleman Shahrukh interviewed me and instantly rejected me. A week later, I was recalled to meet my first boss P. Laxman Rao. He looked at my CV and asked me, “Can you tolerate me?” I don’t recollect as to what was my reply. But I joined him as his Office Assistant. He taught me all. From maintaining files in cupboards to folders in PC; Raosaab (as I fondly called him) became more of an elder brother to me and less of a boss. He used to yell at me by calling me a ‘Pucca Idiot’. The next moment, he would calm down and tell me that he only wished for my success. He was the one who made me realize that I belonged to advertising. Otherwise which boss would willingly send you to an interview and bear the cost of your travel? He left for Kuwait. Before leaving, he left behind a note, which said – I am asking you for the last time. If you are willing to accompany, I will be more than happy to have you as my partner, my brother. But I declined and today I am not in touch with him anymore. The only successor to Raosaab could have been Sunil Gwalani. Had he not been provoked against me, today we could have possibly been business partners. I still hold nothing against him for the simple fact that he was misled and misguided to start hating me. He taught me two vital things in professional life – Believe and Achieve. His idea was simple, if you believe in something; there is hardly any obstacle that might stop you from achieving it. Many years faded away. But my respect for him remains intact. Yashraj Vakil is the third boss I admired and simply loved to respect. Before the agency could sell itself to an ordinary agency and bring down its fragile shutters; Yash had given me a clear indication that my future needs to be mapped or I will be left with no choice at all. Of course I followed his advice and I still have no regrets except the fact that we are not working together any more. Speaking of other colleagues, I would like to mention names as per the order they arrived in my life. Sanjay Mukherjee made me realize that in any kind of business, ‘charm’ works. Akshadha Rasal made me understand the nuances of being sweet and subtle. Trupti redefined my perception towards artists. Ulka changed my life forever. Then came Swarnali Dutta. However unusual it may sound, but she chose to make me her Guru. On the contrary I learnt an important lesson from her – Never stop being a rebel. Today she prefers to be called Sheeshya and I am her Gurudev. But I am equally a Sheeshya to her for the way she made a name for herself. I would like to specially mention Wiless Dmello, my fellow writer in one of my recent agencies. He conferred on me the esteemed honor of 'Chief'. I got to learn about 'Energetic Thinking' from you. Apart from them I would also like to thank Vaijayanti Karande and Aditi Bakshi for being my amazing guiders. And how could I forget Kavita who titled me ‘Poo’ that she made me learn the power of being a free soul from her! This Teacher’s Day I thank them all.
Part 5 – My Friends, My Teachers
The list might exhaust this document altogether or make it immensely heavy. All of them have been remarkable teachers. But I wish to mention two names – Prashant and Nikhil. The former being my chaddi buddy and the later being my college partner. Prashant and I share a friendship of now more than three decades. I don’t remember a single day of my school, not having him as my bench buddy. From him I learnt to be a good human being and overcoming a situation with sufficient amount of calm. Nikhil and I started off being staunch enemies, yet silent admirers of each other. We were infatuated with the same girl; we were sure of never winning over. And then after she left the college for good, Nikhil and I became the best of friends. So best of friends that even today if we don’t speak to each other for two weeks in a row, either of us will call the other to discuss life. From Nikhil I learnt to be an honest person with an honest perception of life. Nikhil and I are big-time fans of Rhonda Byrne’s THE SECRET. Our lives bear an uncanny resemblance too. Maybe I will write a book someday on these two friends of mine! Also worth mentioning about are Rohini, Shankari and Mansha who made me look at a life in a much more different way. Mansha asked me to go bindaast. Shankari taught me to be dedicated to relationships. And anything that I wish to share about Rohini, will always fall short of her prominence of having taught me many values of our lives together as friends and mentors of each other. This Teacher’s Day I thank them both.
Part 6 – My Love, My Teacher
The day I met her, I had no idea of getting to share the sunshine side of my life with her. My rebellious mind had resigned from the desire to marry. My bitter heart had chosen to walk on the path of fire. My ambitions had grown fierce. As she arrived in my life with greater patience on her side, I knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. Before meeting her and even after having met her, marrying her; I still continue to be a difficult person. But to the love of my life, on this Teacher’s Day I thank my better half for choosing me over all odds and teach me to believe in the idea of being dedicated to the art of ‘Being Patient’.
Part 7 – My Uncle, My Teacher
Mathematics and I were never on good terms. It was my younger maternal uncle, who took the onus on his shoulders to help me sail through shallow waters of examinations. Young at heart and always keeping me motivated to never fail once in mathematics, he became my guru. On this Teacher’s Day I thank him for being such a lovely guru of my life.
Apart from the above, I wish to thank every soul, from whom I learnt and continue to learn. Because the day I stop learning, I will be left in great pain of not being an honest follower of the Teacher’s Day celebrations.
-vociferous
