JOIN USTo teacher, with love
When our family moved to Bangalore after my father took a voluntary retirement from service, I was enrolled in middle school. Along with adjusting to a new place, I also faced the challenge of learning a new language. I was admitted to JSS, Jayanagar, in south Bengaluru, which was then a very calm residential locality. Everybody said we were lucky to find a house close to the school. But for me, it was not a plus point when it came to having lunch at school, for I had to walk home and back, while my classmates enjoyed their lunch time squatting in the grounds, under trees.
In a very short span, I made a number of good friends and had loads of fun. What takes me back to those days time and again, even now, is the connection we had, way back then, with the teachers. My heart pays deep respect to every single person who helped us become what we are today.
Recently, some alumni members organised a Guruvandana, thanksgiving to teachers, and all I could feel was the truesome energy in the August Gathering, the emotions behind it, and the happiness and joy that I saw in my teachers, who are reaching a ripe age. They truly deserve to take pride in being a part of our journey and moulding us. At the end of it all, we could see them feel completely content with what they had done.
We often forget our teachers as we progress in life, caught up in the mundane tasks, the rat race of jobs, earnings, and so on. We fail to recognise that these small tokens of thanks that we give, by looking back to where we came from, make a huge difference. That is the least that we can do for our teachers. To date, they have continued to inspire us that learning is a continuous process and age is no bar.
Read | Making teaching attractive
It reminds me of my high school music teacher, who reconnected with us after many years and would sit through odd hours (because she had recently moved abroad) to teach us online, completely out of genuine passion. And my Sanskrit teacher, who continues her yeoman service, even to date, by scripting books that are helpful to students. And I often hear from her that, in the process of writing, she continues to learn. Isn’t that the true inspiration, in Sanskrit, “Spoorthi”?
And such events not only bring students and teachers together, but also allow teachers to reconnect with former colleagues, and there is a palpable sense of nostalgia in the air! It just takes a few words and a few moments, and the memories shall live forever.