To Sir with Love-Part I

Definitely it’s not difficult to visualize the content of the blog once you have read the title. As most of you thought it’s all about teachers with whom perhaps we have spent more time next to our parents, in schools. It’s an attempt to jot down what I thought on the mentors I came across which in turn may unfurl a story of your own in the memory lane.

It’s quite natural that we tend to pick up or learn many a things from parents, mentors, friends which reflect our thinking. But parents (sometimes) and mentors (often) have different way of teaching the things to us be it academics or moral values, i.e. harder way and that to how? In an unforgettable way. I believe this is the one reason why some of you had night mares and treat school as a jail then, as I did.But reminscing incidences of school days with the classmates now make us laugh non stop.

Going back to the flash back of my days in school especially the first period of English for three consecutive years was a night mare and felt like a jail in high school. Even if I think of English teacher today I will suffer with a mild heart attack!!!, for that matter even if he comes in front of me now I will take a step back to fade away from his sight. To describe the scene of his class its just like a terrorist attacks, you never know what can happen, but at the end of 50 minutes you can see most of the class weeping with different tones!!!!That’s the specialty of our English teacher, Mr.Nanja Reddy(NR). The beauty is that he himself will proudly tell us what he was called by us Nara Rakashasa (NR)but again quick to tell that one fine day we are going to realize motive behind what I called attacks. To complement the statement it did not take much time to realize what NR Sir said,either to me or few of my classmates who I know closely when we finished off schooling with a decent scores and entered college life. I and my friends were really quite happy to get rid off the school days especially that first period of NR Sirs’ and was happy feeling that we may not come across such attacks from then on. But it was the time which made me or my friends think that we are missing teachers like him when it comes to mentoring not punishment!!!!in college days.But on the flip side he is a perfect Gentle man in 40s, highly disciplined, austere, always encouraging who used to spend more time in studying than us in library. I believe, if he looks at this blog once he would be more than happy not for the fact that I have written about him but with the fact that I can write something on!!!!!!

There is one more incidence which substantiates my stand on harder way of teaching the things when I was hardly expecting it from lecturer during my PU days. One fine day at the end of class in 1st year of PU,Kannada lecturer was calling out the names for attendance. So when it was my turn I answered “Present Sir” waving the hand. Suddenly the lecturer was staring at me looking at the waved hand but I never knew what was going on in his mind but the moment he gave me a tight slap immediately, which no one including me expected in a combined class of Science and Arts, came to know the mistake of answering the attendance call waving left hand. But make no mistake even then it was not intentional from my end as I was busy taking notes from my friend next to me so my right hand was busy!! That slap from Kannada lecturer was so tight that even for today whenever I wish or greet anyone for that matter younger, elders or friends waving left hand the next moment the hand takes me to the memory lanes nevertheless I wonder and laugh thinking at wow!!!What a shot for the life time, what a lesson!!!at the time when I least expected it .Thank you very much Sir.

I along with few my friends were cricket freaks so mad that we all used to meet in the field to play cricket just few hours before the exams till 9th standard. That’s all changed in 10th standards for many of my friends but not for me .I was so crazy that finally parents complained to one of my favorite teachers, YVN, Hindi teacher. Even that complaint barely had any effect on me but one fine day when Sir asked me in front of the whole class “What you want to be in Life?” I replied “I want to be an Engineer”. In reply to this Sir replied,“Good. If you are playing Cricket like this you are going to be a sweeper one fine day.” I had hardly expected an answer like this from him for to contradict the statement he was the one who was encouraging be it taluk or district sports meet. But the comments from a favorite teacher was more than sufficient to break up with playing Cricket which in turn helped me pass out with a decent score.

It was not what YVN sir intends to convey but it’s always his thinking of the fact that he was dreaming for us (the whole class) to be successful. Unfortunately Sir passed away because of brain tumor, a couple of year’s ago.He may not be alive but his thoughts, moments and encouragement will always remains in the heart.

You and me might have come across many such teachers filled with full of memories but what stands out of all the things about them and make them unique is that there selflessness, austerity, encouragement, desire to dream for us and enjoying our success. Seldom you can see a person with all the attributes but we can see that in our teachers.

Thank you very much for everything Sirs!!!