When Life Teaches

Yesterday was Teacher’s Day back in India. I recall that day very well from my childhood, when no matter what grade you were in, you would make a card for your favorite teacher, bring him or her flowers, or have a craft project dedicated to one’s teacher etc. There was an essay or a talk we would do about the first Vice President of independant India – Dr. S. Radhakrishnan as he was a great teacher and his birthday was September 5th.

 
 
As I fast forward the years, a haze passes by and a few faces emerge very clearly. The beautiful long tresses of one Ms. Fatima Joy, my teacher in 2nd grade who made me conquer my fear of speech and crowds by making the quietest and most nervous girl in her class, the class prefect – when I do a session on accountability and ownership today in a business context, Ms Joy’s gesture remains foremost in my mind. Then there was Sister Mercia, also in Holy Cross at Mumbai, who in spite of being completely exasperated at my inability to score a single grade in my oral exam, would always refer to me as “my child”… Guess the oral thing is not a problem anymore. Those quiet times at the chapel must have helped.
 
My math teachers loved me inspite or my permanent B+, maybe they knew that was the best I could do and decided to accept it, there were teachers like Mrs. Murthy and Mrs. Thyagrajan in highschool, while in Kuwait who were more friends and mentors. I recall my English teacher in Class VIII, one Mrs Nirupa Sethi, move aside Michelle Obama, that lady had the arms and and figure to reckon with. She wouild tie her hair in a bun and wear these flowy chiffon saris and look like a dream..till she would snap out her matter of fact voice and say.. almost with a chuckle but a sincere irritation.. “you girls are so stupid.. read the world “sex” in a text book and giggle like idiots.. snap out of it.. ” umm needless to say.. we did well sorta !!!
 
Later when my Economics teacher shared the name of a boy I had a crush on, my intense desire for everything graph(ic) was very justified )). Move into college and grad school and the memories of interactions never ceased. Whether it was Proff Stice or Dr. Kirkham here at the Marriott School, or Dr. Gauri Dey back in my third year of college back home, or an amazing Math tutor I would go to during that time, each of the experiences simply enriched me in ways that I was unable to fathom then.
 
As I look back in that haze, other faces also emerge, the faces who taught me more than what the books did, my parents top that list. And as my sphere of interaction grew, the one thing my mother mentioned began to hold true each and every day. She always said, and still does that, learn the best from any situation or person and keep that learning with you.. My maternal grandmother was another key mentor in my life, she taught me more about growing up and the meaning of stuff, more than books on biology and philosophy could. She never hid the ugly truths of society from me, gave me clear honest perspectives on things that were depicted in “adult” movies. Then she would pick up a piece of literature and ask me to read Tagore or Sarat Chandra Chatterjee and understand the various characters , understand the nuances of love. She probably knew I had a Bohemian spirit deep down inside and that wanderlust of thought was going to be a part of my soul. She taught me how to learn and how NOT to judge anyone or anything. Not sure I got the first part, the second I consciously try.
 
So my “learning” haze has incidents, people, places, and thoughts from the jigsaw called life. Each of the pieces has taught me lessons that I have either tried to emulate or been immature enough to ignore and forget. That is why my picture of learning is far from complete and far from perfect…and in some sense, that imperfection is what keeps me going, sometimes to wallow in self pity ( and yes I am GUILTY), and sometimes move with a genuine desire to do something worth while with those lessons.
 
Why do I write this here today, because the few kind souls among you who will oblige me with your reading or even more with your comments, I want you to know, my current learning comes from you. Each and every one of YOU. Every person who has touched my life has been kind enough to leave behind a little bit of fairy dust of teaching. THANK YOU, for your kindness and patience as you have done that. Each of you inspire, each of you teach…
 
Remains a different matter of what I learn, but those are my roads to traverse. Thank you for handing me the map and pointing me in the right direction