Teacher's Day 2011 - A walk down memory lane

Gurur Brahma gurur Vishnu gurur devo Maheswarah |
Gurur sakshat parambrahmah tasmi sri gurave namah ||

Technology has a funny way of taking us to the past.  Connecting up with Sulochana Miss (literally my first teacher, along with Kamala Miss) on Facebook and visiting the CV Group (thanks to Shobha) presents a wonderful occasion to take that walk down memory lane every so often.  MCC School, of course, continues to be my backyard…a place with so many fond memories, one which had a large part in my childhood.  So, what better occasion than Teacher’s Day,  to think of all the teachers who have shaped and moulded my life.  Not all of them were “teachers” in the classic sense of the term, but looking back, I realize they played very effectively the role of a teacher.  So, this post is dedicated to all of them.

The fondest memories of school are of course reserved for the days at Chinmaya Vidyalaya; those were still the days when Engineering or medicine was not the raison d'être of school education.  This was primary school and we were far removed from the usual worries of jobs and careers.  I distinctly remember Sulochana Miss and Kamala miss receiving us very warmly at the school gate, and actually carrying us into class, sometimes.  (It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the same teacher, now Kamala akka, taught my son too in Class I)  These were teachers who really cared for the children, and made us feel really happy coming into school.  All through my school life, I can never remember an occasion when I thought school was drudgery.  The other teacher from school days, who remains firmly embedded in memory is Shri K N P Nair – the school principal.  School Assembly was something he lorded over…a disciplinarian who gave us some very valuable lessons today…that I still believe are the foundation stones of who I am. One story that will never go away from my mind is his description of Arjuna taking aim and seeing only the bird’s eye – a lesson in focus.  As we moved into Class V, Ms. Prema Mohanraj and Mrs. Jairaj are two teachers who remain etched in memory.  Mrs. Mohanraj, took the liberty of telling us the story of The Count of Monte Cristoe, even though she handled Science.  Laxman used to break into tears every time he got up to read about the troubles Dantes had to endure, while we went about endlessly repeating ao to get the right pronunications in Ms. Nirmala Jairaj's class! :)

Moving into MCC School in Class VI was a given – my father was a teacher in this school.  Mr. Clement J Felix with his charismatic personality was perhaps the most impressionable figure at that time.  Mr. Loganathan is another teacher who carried on where Mrs. Mohanraj left.  He used to read to us Papillon and Henri Charrière kept us company through the three years that Mr. Loganathan was class teacher (Class VI, VIII and VIII).  The best memories of school, however, were on the playfield where as an athlete and footballer, we kept winning laurels for the school.  Mr. John Mark, was the football coach and PT master who inspired and encouraged us, as we went on to win the State Level Football tournament.  The first of the informal teachers was my brother who coached us and who was an inspiration to the entire team.

Mr. P Viswanathan, my Chemistry teacher was the person who I should thank for helping me get into BITS, Pilani.  It was he who convinced me that I should go to BITS, Pilani.  Of the days in BITS, I can’t actually remember any one teacher who has been a great influence on me. Well, I probably spent more time on the play ground of BITS, Pilani… BS Shekawat the Physical Director (for make-up permission letters), Kamala – the Asst. Mess Manager of SV Mess (always making sure I ate well), are people who I can remember having helped me. As a friend and co-athlete Tanvir Ali Khan was perhaps the biggest influence on me at that time.  The football team was wonderful…and we went on to win the GD Birla Memorial football tournament.

Dr. V S Rao, is perhaps the only teacher who during our thesis semester used to spend time with us in the Chemistry lab (don’t ask me what I was doing there…it had something to do with how Insulin got absorbed in the body..) I got to meet him much later in life…and I carry very pleasant memories of my interactions with him.  He has since, gone on to become the Director of BITS, Pilani at Hyderabad.

I don’t believe education ends when you leave college.  Learning is a lifelong process, and you tend to learn from everyone.  There have been ever so many people, right from my first Boss, Venkat, to Hari (who continues to be my mentor), Paddy Iyer, my colleagues and friends who have at various times played different roles as guides, mentors and teachers – all of them ultimately influencing and helping shape who I am!

To all those teachers, by profession or by role, I thank you, for guiding me through life.

Hiding with the Pandavas!

‘Ah silence at last!  Poor things! They must be really tired after that long trek to the waterfall and back.’   Ayush walks back to join his friends at the Bey Stadium after checking that it was lights off in all the rooms.  If you thought an active day out was a good summer vacation idea to keep your kids engaged, take that risk only if you think you can outlast their energy levels! While parents nursed weary limbs and aching backs, for the little ones it was just another ‘regular day’.  So, for once the kids had a peaceful night just doing what they pleased while the parents slipped to silent and not-so-silent slumber.

When Ecologin (http://www.ecologin.org) helped organize a holiday for us, we never imagined it would be a test of endurance, but it turned out to be heaps of fun too.  For someone who has tried to steer clear of conducted tours and preferred to use my vacation more as a retreat, it was not with a little trepidation that I had agreed to go along.  However, much to my delight, it turned out to be a whole lot more fun than I could even imagine.  Having missed the earlier outings with this group (the parents and children of my daughter’s class), this was the first time that my schedule allowed me to join this group.  While the previous trips had been short ones to locations not very far from Chennai, this was the first time, the group had ventured into something a little more adventurous.  And it was also the first time that an external team had also been included for organizing this trekking holiday.

Marayoor was the destination http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marayur).  And nearly 30 of us in the group (adults and children in almost equal number).  We got down at Erode and the folks from Ecologin were there to receive us.  After a meandering drive which took us past the Tamilnadu border and into Kerala’s Idukki district, we stopped for what would be our first trekking adventure on this trip – to a waterfall, which was about 3 km, as the crow flies; however, not being crows, it seemed more like 30 as the bunch of mostly 30+ (and some 40+) trudged heavily through a narrow trail carrying backpacks that suddenly seemed to weigh a lot more than when originally packed!  Lunch on the way helped transfer the weight from the backpack a little closer to our center of gravity, but I don’t think that helped much.  By the time we saw the waterfalls, there were at least a few people who were already worrying about the trek back!  It is peak summer in Kerala with the mercury touching 40⁰C, but feeling more like 45⁰C.  And so to see a waterfall at this time of the year was indeed a welcome surprise.  Except for a minor mishap when one of the parents slipped and hurt his head, having the water beat down our backs was like a Kalari massage to loosen up the stiff muscles.

The next couple of days too were spent walking with backpacks up and down hills and through gravelly narrow trails.  Marayur is famous for its dolmens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolmen) a portal tomb that apparently dates back to the stone age.  Marayur itself is a small hamlet, part of five tribal villages in the area (also called anju nadu).  From an educational standpoint, this was very significant from two aspects:

·         A lot of us learned the existence of muscles we didn’t know we had – and the more it hurt the more acutely aware we became of it.

·         If you want to go on a trekking holiday, head to the gym first – at least a month in advance!

While the visit to the dolmens was interesting, it was also sad to see that what can possibly be considered historical evidence that connects people across several countries has been so neglected.  It was also interesting to see mud-houses in the tribal village.  Arul also managed to teach the kids a couple of rope tricks. 

The food was light on the stomach, the living quarters Spartan but comfortable.  The folks from ecologin were friendly and quite well-informed; perhaps a little too fussy about maintaining order – you can’t expect that from 10 year-olds. Or from tired and weary 40-year olds either! Especially when you have come with the intention of enjoying a break!

Certainly a fantastic break! I do look forward to doing something like this again.   And oh yes! The kids enjoyed it too…for all the wrong reasons!  I could hear five-year old Kaveri complaining “What is this walking walking…why can’t we go in the bus (I know at least one other person who would have loved to say that) ! I don’t want to see the birds..it is so boring”.  And yet, she was perhaps the one who didn’t seem tired at the end of it all!!! J

Caught in a time-warp!

For the old-generation Banker, internet banking is still something that befuddles him each day!

“Do you know”, the Bank Manager went on, “in the 1940’s in Tuticorin, where I was born, as a student, we were witness to an extraordinary coalescing of two cultures.  In the town we lived in, a few important people used to walk around wearing a dhoti, pointed shoes, a broad black belt, a linen shirt and a black coat; some would even wear a turban. It was the most grotesque attire I have seen.  This was a period, when the more affluent people, especially those working for the British Government, attempted to imitate their British bosses.  Unfortunately, they ended up looking like buffoons to us – neither in proper British attire nor in our more traditional Dhoti and Angavastram”. 

I had visited the bank to open an internet banking facility for my fledgling business, and was wondering where this  story was headed…when he finished off with a self-deprecating remark about his current dilemma! “You know what…I must be looking like one of those people to you, na!  I am the manager of this branch, and they have given me a computer! But, there is so little I know about this thing!  Can I please check with the IT department and then call you back! We will definitely resolve this issue tomorrow.  You see, we offer this facility to all our SB Account holders, but for business, the procedures are quite different.  Since we have not handled too many of these, I am not sure how to resolve your issue!”

After such a remark, I could not even get upset at the delay! I went back thrice, and after office hours, we patiently went through the procedures manual figuring out how to get to the next step, whenever we hit a road-block.  We finally managed to get this working! An achievement of sorts! I wonder how many more years will need to pass before we will be actually able to take internet banking for granted!