Thursday, September 14, 2006

back to the future

straight from the heart
how come we remember only a few people from the past? what makes one stay in our memory longer than the rest. the other day a woman walked in and introduced herself as an ex-student from a 12 year old batch. i couldn't place her- face to a name. but when she said the names of her batchmates- bijoy venugopal in particular- i remembered her class. in each class there are a few who stand out. one need not be brilliant- the naughtiest are equally remembered. but isn't there a way of remembering all those who sat in rm. 714, 712, 109, 102 or 206...

Sunday, September 03, 2006

respectfully yours

straight from the heart
i thought about this a lot, but felt that i had to pen this. a job of a teacher is not without its high points. one feels happy when someone whose face is familiar for three years is doing well. similarly, even if it is for a reco letter, when ex-students call or mail it feels good. but what surprised and confused me was the act of Shashank. yes, shashank is off to London- i could feel the joy at finally making it. from the first year he has been a puzzle. coming from the disciplined background of an armyman's son, he showed excess respect to teachers. it embarrasses me if someone goes overboard in acknowledging a debt. so when shashank called me aside on saturday, i had a feeling that he would sing paens about how indebted he was...instead he touched my feet. that stunned me as it was the last thing i expected. many students over the years have touched me in different ways, but this was different. i am sure the parents would be proud of their son.