Today is celebrated as Teacher's Day in India, in memory of Sarvapalli Radhakrishna, India's second President and is a day we celebrate our teachers' influence in our lives.
Many teachers have taught me in school and college, but there are only four I remember fondly... Yeah I was a nasty piece of sh*t.
So, Sister Veronica taught me in the 3rd grade, Mrs. Aruna KP taught me in the 8th grade, Mr. Uday Kumar taught me Economics in Law College and Prof. Rajendra Shetty, the Vice Principal of the SDM Law College who taught, The Law of Torts. Wonderful souls these, God Bless them and their vocation.
The batch of '94 that passed out of SDM Law college had their first ever reunion in August 2012 in the college auditorium to begin with at a decent mid morning hour, which ended in the disco and the beach, at a very indecent midnight hour of course.
I was lucky to be in Mangalore at the time and attend it. We met with our teachers in college. Prof. Rajendra Shetty, though has grown older is still the most dapper and stylish man I have ever seen. He inspired us by his looks, his carriage and dignity. His suave style was something we drooled over, was serious eye candy and he gave all the boys in the college, tough competition. Add to it, he was a brilliant orator and a warm and genuine personality... besides, he just validated my adulation by saying with a twinkle in his eye, that he remembered me vividly.
Funnily, we didn't start out that way. As beginnings go, it was the most disastrous prelude.
Reyana, Jolly, Shyams and I joined Law College, from St. Agnes, 'twas akin to Melville's Moby Dick waking up in an NYC nightclub. We were green and gauche, stupid and silly (ok! there persist some remnants to date :S) and I remember practicing the dandiya dance which we were performing for the annual day and some skirmish with students from the BBM batch where I ended up hurling a dandiya at a male student and maiming him. Which Prof. Rajendra witnessed, unfortunately. Sigh!
It was one of the many trips I made to the Principal's office and I was slapped with a three month suspension from college. But it was too close to the annual day and since we had spent weeks practicing, I was allowed to perform on stage.
Legs quaking like jelly, I stepped on to the stage with the rest of our troupe led by Pallo rani and when I saw Rajendra Shetty in the front row, jelly morphed into cement and I froze until Kuki poked me with the dandiya. Took me about a minute for the rhythm of the music to swamp me and then there was no fear, no audience, no one...
Once we were done and stepped out backstage to join the audience, Rajendra Shetty was at the corridor. Gave me the most beautiful smile and said, "if you can dance like that, you cannot be all bad, come to class tomorrow" and walked away. :)
Back to the present! He began his speech by thanking us, for being 'his teachers' and for continually challenging him. The joy on his face sparkled and we were transported back in time into the classroom where we would sit in rapt attention and absorb every word he said. I believe his classes had the highest attendance and the best percentage of grades.
Many of my classmates present were practicing lawyers, one is a high court public prosecutor, another the head honcho of a popular newspaper, two are politicians and the rest of us in different professions. He said something that each one of us could take home irrespective of our occupation.
Quote:
"I always have and do believe that what is morally wrong, can never be legally right, no matter what you do and how, where you are and when, how you conduct your affairs and those of the world around you and irrespective of how the world evolves in the future, let this be your striving and hold you in good stead. Let this be your model, may your lives be ruled by this principle and may all of you live and pass this legacy".
Unquote.
We walked out of that room, inspired and blessed...
I celebrate this day for myself too... was a teacher for five years and I found a fulfillment and peace that is hard to describe, to put it simply, I went to sleep every night with a huge sense of satisfaction, of a day filled with accomplishment and of course I was paid to talk... can you beat that!!!!
To the four teachers who inspired me, my colleagues in the profession and to all the teachers yet to be,
The noblest of all professions
you have made your calling
Your legacy lingers
long after your ashes are scattered
May the seeds you sow bear fruit and nourish
and when it's time to travel to the beyond
May you dwell in the house of the Almighty
for your race as his most Blessed and worthy angels would have been won...
