Teacher instils life lessons

An old-fashioned signage had caught my attention, that indicating 'estd. 1890', which I've never heeded. It's our Prathamik Buniyadi Vidyalaya – my first school, where I got to learn in my tender days. What makes me love and call it as 'maar' (mother's) school ever since I stepped foot as primary toddler, I went there learning Ka-Kha from my first teacher too.

I've more childhood memories than years gone by as my teacher-mother had an early insight into my early days. The only one-room school hall under one roof made every day enjoyable. We sat on the soil floor all day and learning that boosted our excitement although desk-bench, fan and light of today's basic classroom were non-existent. The thatch roof with bamboo walls plastered with mud mixed with fresh cow dung made our days special. We loved to go to school with a big smile on our faces.

Recalling days of monsoon, while sharing a leaf of giant bor kochu (elephant-ear colocasia) as umbrella, it barely covered us even as croaking frogs were amused by the rains. But everything went without a hitch as we had fun learning in school. Our teachers faced a daunting task to conquer noise and bullying from hundreds of innocent broods but kept us happy day after day.

The beautiful twilight from the sky had brightened our primary school years. I went out of the car and walked through the grass barefoot and realised how nourishing the earth is; we ran over the ground naturally. The air was still filled with a strong sense of my childhood days. The vegetation was acquainted with me and seemed greatly cheered of my arrival.

One of my earliest recollections is of memorizing the multiplication table on the field that was shaded by splendid trees. It was a lot of fun that last a lifetime. Pieces of wood were thrown fiercely to a bunch of fruits. They weren't the 17th century "aha moment" of the falling apple whilst Sir Isaac Newton discovered the Law of gravity, but we discovered the joy of falling mangoes from the tall perennial woody plant.

The trees were like an elevated crown under sun and rain. The more we shouted the numbers, the more our teachers were happy. We were energized by fun learning, in fact interested in anything other than eating raw mangoes. Probably we had teachers that wanted to see us playing while learning and wanted to retain the smiles and reinforce positive emotions of ours.

On this Teachers' Day on the birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, I've a profound feeling of respect for those teachers who shapes our world. But life's not always rainbows and butterflies in our small little world. While returning, those moments have suddenly got shattered. The silence didn't escape my notice soon I came to know that mom's primary school closed down due to low enrolment. People are rejecting vernacular medium of study for English schools. Our school was founded during the princely state while Lansdowne was Governor General of India. Such was the history.

Teachers take teaching as a noble cause. They are respected and eulogized. The respect they command from society due to the nobility of their profession and the knowledge that they instil in everyone. The great thinker APJ Abdul Kalam believed that school teachers have tremendous responsibility in shaping the life of an individual. "The seeds sown in childhood blossom into the tree of life".

While driving down the street, I kept thinking back to my school. Thank you, teacher, thank you, mother. What they wrote on our blackboard of life that can never be erased.

Kamal Baruah

(kamal.baruah@yahoo.com)