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India’s tourism board markets India as
Incredible India, 365 days, 365 festivals and it is tough
deciding when to go or something like that. A good marketing and
advertising strategy! We do have our share of wonderful holidays
and celebrations. And my all time favorite is September 5th –
Teachers Day, a day to honour our teachers.
Over the years I have had amazing teachers
who have played their role moulding me. Million thanks to them.
But today I want to share with you a special teacher, someone
who was always there for me, someone I took too much liberty
with, someone who taught me so much about life, someone whose
ideologies and principles I admire the most, someone who touched
so many lives, someone who spent his life saying ‘no’ to awards
and honours but worked for education. And that someone is my
grandfather, Prof S Nagarathnam, retired principal, REC, Trichy.
In the early 1930’s, hailing from a family of
businessmen who lost everything, my grandfather was quick to
learn that education was the only thing that will change his
life and that of his eight siblings. Losing his dad was the
first blow but he was not going to give up on education. Every
June when I used to get ready for school, he used to share
stories of his childhood in Tuticorin, on what it meant to go to
school for him. His biggest recollection is going to welfare
associations to get money to pay for schooling and supplies for
himself and his brothers. And such memories from childhood
played a major role in his life. He always gifted me books and
till his very end, it was my grandpa who brought me all
textbooks and he always wanted me to have a civil engineering
library. He owned a big collection of books, in excellent
condition and was free giving them away to the needy.
My grandmother tells me stories of how many
lives he touched, how many people he passed along the wealth of
education. I recall as a young gal that many young college-going
relatives visiting the house at regular frequency. It was much
later in life that I realised that my grandfather insisted on
paying their fees and keeping them in college. He followed the
progress of each of his wards with pride and, yes, people have
disappointed him. No one really has told me how many people’s
lives he has changed; it is tough to keep count and tougher to
imagine how much he was ready to give up for the sake of
education. All his siblings tell amazing stories of how he used
to send them money for their education from his days in graduate
school in Iowa. Any graduate student will tell you how hard it
is to save money within their stipend.
I never had seen him teach a class but I
remember him calling my hostel at 5.30 a.m. on the day before my
fluid mechanics exam and conducting a viva. I also remember
sitting with him with doubts and he was one patient teacher. He
put up with all the drama I made just because I was his
granddaughter. How I wish I could turn back time. His dedication
for education never ceased; after retirement he volunteered his
time at many engineering colleges around Tamil Nadu. His health
and eyesight were failing but he still kept moving forward.
He was disciplined beyond words. It was
discovered that he had diabetes in his mid 30’s, heart disease
soon followed but he followed a strict diet and exercise regime.
Yoga was his biggest passion. And the minute I expressed an
interest in it, I remember him buying me two books on yoga. I
never did even follow it!
Honours and awards did not matter to him. I
vividly remember a year before his death; I was opening his mail
and going through it with him. One was from an organisation
informing him of his nomination for some achievement award and
requesting more details, he just threw it into the dustbin. I
was shocked and when asked why, he said he did not care for
them. It was a lesson for me. I have not met someone so
self-sacrificing in my life and my grandpa was simply the best
in whatever he did.
Probably the best thing I admire him for is
accepting life and death. He never complained about anything in
life. Like everyone, he had his moments in life and compared to
his life, my life is a path of roses and I still complain. Never
have I heard my grandfather complain about anything in life.
Well, probably the only thing that he really felt bad about was
his failing eyesight. He regretted having to depend on someone
to read out to him the newspapers; he regretted not being able
to use the computer and the Internet. And I was the bad
granddaughter, always finding excuses to escape from reading him
the newspaper. How I wish I were more patient then.
And then it was his brush with death a couple
of years before his death that showed me the other side of my
grandpa that I admire the most - his cool acceptance of death.
In fact, he prepared each one of his family members separately.
I don't know what he told the others but I remember the
conversation with me. He told me, “Jitu, you should be prepared
to say goodbye to me. I will not be around for long but I’ll
always love you and be there in your thoughts”. I was the
immature 20-year-old; I screamed and told him to shut up. I was
not ready to say goodbye then. I wasn’t when he finally left
this world.
I cried but what kept moving me was he never
would have liked me to cry. He felt he was there for a purpose
on earth and he felt his time was up. He gave everyone he met
something, hopefully something good. But for me he gave me
something that cannot he counted, not money but something more
valuable – lessons, lessons on the values of education, lessons
of patience, love and acceptance of life and death.
He was awarded the best teacher award for his
achievements years ago on Teachers Day, but this Teachers Day I
want the world to know he was the best grandfather, the best
teacher, the best mentor any girl can want. The lessons you
taught are fresh in my mind and I hope someday I’ll be someone
you can proud of.
To all teachers by profession and otherwise,
changing lives of millions, my salutations.
- V
http://poohsden.blogspot.com/
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