Teaching: A Tough Job

 

अज्ञान तिमिरान्धस्य ज्ञानाञ्जन शलाकया ।

चक्षुरुन्मीलितं येन तस्मै श्री गुरवे नमः ॥

भावार्थ :

जिसने ज्ञानांजनरुप शलाका से, अज्ञानरुप अंधकार से अंध हुए लोगों की आँखें खोली, उन गुरु को नमस्कार ।

गुरू गोविन्द दोऊ खड़े, काके लागूं पांय।
बलिहारी गुरू अपने गोविन्द दियो बताय।।

(संत कबीर)

भावार्थ :

गुरू और गोबिंद (भगवान) एक साथ खड़े हों तो किसे प्रणाम करना चाहिए – गुरू को अथवा गोबिन्द को? ऐसी स्थिति में गुरू के श्रीचरणों में शीश झुकाना उत्तम है जिनके कृपा रूपी प्रसाद से गोविन्द का दर्शन करने का सौभाग्य प्राप्त हुआ।

 

I was thrilled to join my alma mater as Ad hoc Lecturer just two weeks after passing M.A. exam. In those days when even engineers and doctors remained unemployed for years, landing a Class I job felt like winning a lottery. UGC had recently revised the pay scales; the Basic Pay had gone up from 525 to 700, and with D.A. of 125 it was a lot of money for a novice teacher who was till the other day dependent on his father for a daily allowance.

Those who had taught me a few months ago were now my colleagues, and it was a privilege to be seated in the Teachers’ Staff room, sip lukewarm tea, and listen to the spicy gossip about eccentric colleagues and badmash students.

Teaching undergraduate classes was no cakewalk. Encountering a class of 125 teens with a thousand things other than study on their mind was like striding into a war zone where the teacher performed or perished. Those unforgiving freshers instantly sized up their teacher, and were brutally candid in their feedback. Lecturing non-stop for fifty minutes without ‘losing’ them called for great skill, much advance preparation, a sense of humour and ready wit. A teacher always knew when he lost his students; it was when the little whispers and giggles, gentle ripples to begin with, soon became waves impossible to ignore. Because of this challenge, a well-received lecture never failed to give a high. Pure adrenalin rush.

I had kind of walked into my dream job, and was convinced that I had stepped onto the elevator to rise to a fulfilling and distinguished academic career. A year later, I applied for a vacancy in my university. Fewer lectures, and teaching only PG students would be a kind of promotion. I had excellent academic credentials; and despite my very brief experience, had self-appraised myself as an outstanding teacher! I was confident of being selected, but  wasn’t. Hurt and disappointed, I decided to look for another job. Had I been selected for that job, I’d have stayed a teacher, I guess.

I taught for a little more than two and a half years, and still cherish those wonderful days; but I guess I must have been an entirely forgettable teacher since none of my students ever remembers me on Teachers’ Day.

Great teachers are simply unforgettable. I remember with gratitude my school teachers- Bhagbatia Seth of Burda, Arjun Mishra of Kuchinda, Aniruddha Sahu of Kumbhari, Shri Ghasiram Biswal of Rengali; and the many teachers, thereafter, who taught, guided, and inspired me.

Thank you, all my teachers, on this special day.

***

Postscript

Venue for Teaching-Learning

What is the best venue for Teaching-Learning? An educational institution- a school, college, or Gurukul of ancient days? Not necessarily. Life is vast, throws up opportunities for learning without prior notice, and conspires to bring together the right teacher and the willing student in most unlikely places and venues: Krishna’s sermon to Arjuna in the middle of the battle-field; Bhishma’s sermon from his shara-sayya, bed of arrows, to Yudhisthira; Ravana’s counsel to Ram, the avatar of Vishnu; and Yama reluctantly sharing the secrets of Life and Death to Nachiketa, the demanding student thirsty for knowledge.

Learning happens when the learner is eager to learn, and the Guru is ready to share what he has himself learned from his own gurus, and from life.

Comment

Comment by Wasim Akhtar, a colleague and friend, after reading this blog: Academia’s loss, Bureaucracy’s gain!

Thanks, Wasim; but I’m not too sure. What-if it was: Academia relieved, Bureaucracy burdened?!