Education

Tribute to a teacher

Reluctant to leave the warm lap, draped in care, I was scared. Unknown faces, strange voices and memories of home, made me cry.

In this world, which was so strange, a benign smile, a sweet voice and an affectionate look welcomed me to comfort. It was none other than you, my dear respected Teacher!

You were the one who made the school a place of solitude for me.

Everything except a few faces, and things back home, was strange. Words sounded foreign to a child who longed for a tight hug of his mother.

Yet, your affection gently pulled me out of this unease only to be dropped into the sea of light and spectre. Gradually acquainting with symbols, characters, and colours, you taught me to decode the patterns of the alphabet to express myself.

I still remember how you fine-tuned my poorly scribbled letters and made them more presentable.

My tongue used to fumble while expressing myself, till you taught me the mannerism and etiquettes of using the same muscle lobe differently.

You taught a man whose airbags choked him, how to shout his lungs out in public forums.

“Success and failure are part of life. Never shy away from reality. Do not shiver, but hold fast. Keep trying until you are there, Be what you are,” these, and many other golden rules you imbibed in me to live my life by.

It is you who strengthened my nerves and amplified my passion to move forward. You encouraged me to face the ups and downs of this world full of trouble, to stay calm amidst the chaos, and to stand strong in a storm.

Indeed, I would have vanished in the sea of talent, but for you, who taught me never to lose heart, and keep going strong.

Like many, I too would have gone astray, but you were the one who pulled me back to the right path. You sowed the seeds of reason in me which now help me to differentiate between truth and falsehood, right and wrong.

Such is my love for you that whenever an acquaintance praises your worth, intellect, and style, drums start beating, flutes synchronizing inside me.

As is the tradition with the people from the stream, you too went unsung in this materialistic world. People may have forgotten you, but I assure you, that there are many in whose hearts and souls your teachings, and you, live on.

The seeds of knowledge, intellect, and rationale that you sowed in the minds of scores of your students continue to bloom.

Now being at this stage of life I feel how indebted a “taught” is to a “teacher”.

Thanks for imbibing respect and honour in my heart, for every person who strives for humanity, serves stuents platters of philosophy, affection, and care.

I am sorry that I could not bid a farewell that you deserved, a thing that always pains my heart and agonizes my soul. But a greater solace for me is that for others you were only a teacher. Luckily, I, found both a Teacher and a father in you.

Thank you Dear Teacher.

 

Free Press Kashmir is now on Telegram. Click here to Join.

Click to comment
To Top