Teachers who made classes fun

Prominent Bengalureans from different walks of life fondly look back on school and college teachers who made classrooms lively. 

‘This fellow called Akbar…’

Sonu Venugopal, stand-up comedian: At Kendriya Vidyalaya, Mysuru, my social science teacher Srinivasa Rao would often begin a lesson with, ‘This fellow called Akbar… ,’ as if the Mughal emperor were his old friend. His logic: ‘History is about cooking up stories.’ Some of us even wrote exam answers about Akbar that way. He also introduced me to Tenali Rama’s tales, which sparked my love for comedy. Once, in a civics class, he said, ‘Politics is a dirty game.’ I repeated the line at an elocution competition and won. When I told him, he smiled and asked me to share the prize.

‘Failure can fuel success’

Captain G R Gopinath (retd), founder of Air Deccan: In Class 8 at my school in Gorur village, Hassan, I had a Kannada teacher named Venkata Subbaiah. I still remember how, while teaching us a short story by Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar, he shared an anecdote about the celebrated Kannada author himself. Iyengar had once attempted the SSLC exam to secure a government job, but failed. In the same exam, his own short stories featured in one of the question papers. Subbaiah sir would narrate this with such wit, adding, ‘Even if you fail, don’t lose heart — failure can sometimes propel you towards greater success. Life is more than just degrees.’

‘Funny side of everything’

Jayanthi Kumaresh, veena artiste: One of the great gurus I learnt from and performed with is Ustad Zakir Hussain. He always saw the funny side of everything. If musicians were tuning their instruments before a concert, he would engage the audience, saying, ‘That was an introductory Chinese melody.’ Once, after violinist Kala Ramnathji and I finished an ‘alap’ duet, it was his turn. He told the audience, ‘Finally the ladies remembered I was sitting here.’

‘Double distilled duffer’

K M Chaitanya, film director: ‘Double Distilled Duffer’ — that was the ‘trademark’ phrase of our math teacher, STR (S T Ramaswamy) at Aurobindo Memorial School. It became a beloved catchphrase for nearly 15 batches of students. Unlike other teachers, he didn’t have favourites. Whether you were a front-bencher or a back-bencher, you would be at the receiving end of his sharp wit. Yet, we adored him. His unique style made even the most math-averse students fall in love with the subject.

Lost in translation

Gubbi, rapper: I can’t forget Nataraj sir from Oxford College of Engineering. He was a sweet person, but his English wasn’t the best. Once, after being scolded by the principal, he stormed into class and declared: ‘Be good… make good citizens.’. Another time he said, ‘Hey, you get up!’. When the student asked, ‘Me, sir?’, he replied, ‘No, next to me!’, leaving everyone confused.

‘Bondas and vadas’

Keerthi Bhanu, theatre and film actor: We had a teacher named B V Narsaiah at MES High School in Jayanagar. He is no more. He taught algebra in a unique way, using examples such as “two bondas and two vadas”. It made us laugh, but the examples stuck, and during exams we would recall them to get the answers right.