Associative Nostalgia II - School Teachers....

Most schools start early. Most teachers are women. Most of the women have household responsibilites too. Most of them have their share of blues of life. Most of them cook, get their family going in time during those hectic mornings, catch a bus/auto to school, and also be on time to school. Me for that matter, have been late to school, quite frequently.

To top it all off, a teacher's salary is not that great. What is it that drives the world of a teacher?

This question becomes all the more difficult to answer when the teacher happens to be a man. Nowadays, both have equal earning capabilities. However, in households of the traditional man as the bread-winner types, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage the household. I have seen Sir's take extra tuitions to augment their income. So, again, we come back to the basic tenet. All are one and the same. Be it a man or a woman.

Teaching involves shouting at the top of their voices. Further, unruly classes need to be controlled. An unruly class can create inexplicable havoc in a teacher's life. Then, there is the eternal happening of students commenting on their teachers. She is partial, yaa. She likes him. He likes her. She gives more marks to him. He doesn't like me. She makes me go to sleep. Oh! He is so boring. She gives lots of homework. He doesn't allow me to enjoy my Sunday.

So, coming back to the basic question. What is it that drives the world of a teacher?

"Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya"

O Mother! Help me lead the children from darkness to light. There can be no other reason. I have seen teachers from middle class households who need the income to supplement their way of life. Further, I have seen teachers from well-to-do househould, with their husbands amazingly high up the technical/corporate ladder who teach more to put their degree to use. The one thing that is common amongst all -They love what they are doing. Blesssed are these souls who do what they love to. Satisfaction, Contentment, Happiness are certain pursuits that Money can definitely not buy.

So, what is it that they expect from the students? Believe me, they are so generous that they do not demand anything. Their greatest happiness is when their ward has come up in life and when he/she is happy. They always pray for the well-being of their students. Where else can you find such loving people, who are very well part of your family, yet are not so by blood.

The least that we can do, for all the wonderful things that they have taught us, be it academic or non-academic, is to remember them, and pay a visit to them whenever possible. The joy that a student has remembered his/her guru, is unparalleled.

I end this heavily nostalgic piece, by praying for the well-being of all my Guru's. I have begun to see all of them as one; though in my younger days, I too was partial to some of them. The love, reverence, attachment and respect that a Shisya has for a Guru is the best possible gift and believe me, this gift is ephemeral. The Shisya doesn't forget his/her Guru's during the entire lifetime. Maybe, when each of us are entangled in the web of life, we fail to express contentment and gratitude to them. However, deep inside, within the subconscious, we deeply love and respect these teachers.

That's the beauty of it all. Love and Respect, both going hand-in-hand. Not many relationships exist with these two seemingly conflicting emotions at the same time.

PS: When the author generalizes most teachers to be women, he is not being sexist. Well, a majority of my teachers happened to be women. During the beginning of the article, the author wanted to highlight the dual roles played by the woman in the society.